Hello and welcome to the real estate minute. I’m your host Ivan Estrada with Ivan Estrada properties at Douglas Elliman coming to you from beautiful, sunny Beverly Hills. And in this episode,it’s all about transforming commercial spaces into single family dwellings. A church, a fire station and a warehouse. Well, the real estate minute is going to work like this. There are three segments, one minute each, three minutes total. Let the real estate minute begin.
Churches are beautiful. Amazing architecture, high ceilings some of them even stained-glass windows but how about transforming one into a single-family residence? Yes, you can actually do this. Now here are some advantages: they have amazing infrastructure built to last you already have your gas, your water, your electricity. All you have to do is the remodel. Now the disadvantages: some congregations will not allow you to do the remodel and if you do you actually have to bring it back to its original state within a certain amount of time. And the second one which is my favorite actually, my least favorite, is if it has a cemetery you either have to maintain it or move the bodies to a new location. I don’t even know where to start with that. But at the end of the day, it’s creative, it’s unconventional and it’s kind of cool.
Anderson Cooper lives in one of these type of structures in New York City. You might think I’m talking about a high-rise luxury condominium, but you would be wrong. It’s actually a fire station.
People in New York, Chicago and Los Angeles are transforming old fire stations into
single-family dwellings. Now, the major advantage of these buildings is that the infrastructure is so solid no matter the earthquake storm or tornado, the building will be there no matter what.
Now, the disadvantage is that you have to get a contractor and an architect who specializes in these types of transformations and it’s going to cost you a pretty penny. Fire stations are very damp. They’re also very dark. So, you’re going to add windows and skylights to bring in some more light. But if you have the time, creativity and the money you can transform a fire station into your dream home.
Convertingindustrialwarehousesintoresidentialsingle-familyhomeshasstartedquitethebuzz in areas of short inventory such as Los Angeles, San Francisco, Boston, New York and Chicago. Now, what is the advantage of living in a warehouse? Well, they’ll cost you a lot less than buying a single-family home if you buy in the right area. Also, you have a huge open canvas to create anything you want. You can keep it open and airy or you can separate it into different rooms. Now the disadvantages you’re going to have to strengthen the infrastructure doors, windows, insulation. Also, you have to think about lead-based paint, asbestos, and also if the warehouse contains any toxic materials, you’re going to have to make sure you clean that up with the right professional. At the end of the day buying a warehouse gives you a blank canvas to create your own uniquehome.
Thank you so much for watching this episode of the real estate minute. I’m your host Ivan Estrada with Ivan Estrada properties at Douglas Elliman checking out from beautiful Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills. I will see you next month, but don’t forget to follow me on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and Twitter and Ivan Estrada properties. I’ll see you next time.
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