Woody wrote: Living in a home as it is being renovated is not a lot of fun for an individual. Once you add a wife and four kids to the mix, the stress level could rise exponentially.
Ding ding ding!
I have to back away from my project-adhd long enough to tell you that this sounds like EXACTLY the kind of deal I'd try to get into. And that alone is enough reason to reconsider your intentions.
I'm just sayin'
Clem
Thanks for all the input.
Just to clarify - this isn't a remodel job, the place is totally liveable as-is,(well, other than cleaning out the junk) and is in comparable condition to our present dump....I mean house. 
I've got some of the details together this week. Looks like about $600 to replace the front plate-glass window(cheaper than I expected), and about $600 in closing costs(also cheaper than I expected). Insurance is $1200/year for just a residence. Of course, depending on if & what type of business I might open would affect the commercial insurance, if needed.
I'm not legally required to have an inspection - but of course I'm foolish not to. I'm just not a fan of "licensed" inspectors, so I'm planning on having a few people check the building out. I need to track down a roofer, and I'm going to talk to the contractor who did some of the previous work. I've got people who can handle the general/electrical/mechanical stuff already lined up.
I still haven't made a firm decision, but I want facts before I do.
Given the status of the "floor"...I'd highly recommend a structural engineer have a look at it.
Old buildings with basements are not just scary...they're some other adjective that is worse than scary. The fact that this building has had known structural issues in the past brings dollar signs up in my mind's eye.
Clem
Well, the reason the floor fell in was because some dumbass 30+ years ago decided it would be a good idea to pour 4" of concrete on top of wood floor over a basement. 
Now that section of the floor is gone & filled with clay/gravel I don't see where there's much to worry about, but I'm talking to the contractor who did the work anyway, and I've got a structural engineer friend that I've got a call in to.
I mentioned the foundation/structural engineer thing because, around my parts, any house with a basement over about 40 years old scares me before I've even seen it (because I've seen enough...). Most of them here might as well be filled up with clay and gravel.
Maybe soil conditions and such in your area are different. Still. Three stories on top of an old foundation...worth a little extra poking, you know?
Sounds like you're doing your due dilligence on the building itself. Let us know what becomes of all this.
Clem
Hey, I wanted to give everyone an update on this:
I ended up hesitantly making a low-ball offer on the building mentioned in this thread of $4k(they were wanting $15k), and never heard back from the seller, though I found out last week that someone else had bought it.
I the mean time, I started talking to our mayor about some buildings our village had come into possession of, and went to check them out. They're two attached buildings - one 2-story, and one 3-story, 8800sq/ft total. The 2-story is on a cement slab & has space for a 30'x40' garage area once I re-open where the large door used to be. There's a partially completed 3500sq/ft apartment on the 2nd floor combining both sides, and the 3rd floor is presently open storage. There in surprisingly good shape - there's a couple cracked/broken windows & some general cleanup, but they have dual 200-amp electric, and newer high-efficiency gas furnaces & central a/c. The roofs were just re-done & there's new windows & doors in the majority of the building.
I'm going to open my business in there, starting part time, doing a combination of services(that I've already been doing some of) which there seems to be a calling for: PC/printer/copier repair, Bicycle repair, sign painting, pinstriping, and eBay sales. I have plans to grow into some other areas if there's demand as well.
The best part - I got them for $2500! Our village is really desperate for businesses, and I think I can eventually grow this to full-time.
Here's a pic, it's the 2-buildings on the left, though I have the option to purchase the 3rd building if I should need it.
Well done.
Snag the third building.
Congrats. And +1 on trying to get the third building.
$2500? E36 M3. That's insane. The brick and copper alone ought to be worth that.
Yeah, I look at all the artists/hippies/whatever moving to places like Detroit with their cheap real estate & think they could have done much better down here.
I hope none of the buildings ever housed a dry cleaner
Score, now fix up the apartment and either rent it out or your house. Seriously property is low, selling it now will cause a loss, put a renter in and hold onto it until the property returns to a level where you won't lose so much.
spitfirebill wrote: I hope none of the buildings ever housed a dry cleaner
No, from all the history I've read on our town, I'm pretty sure there never was a dry-cleaners(1500-people at the peak in the 1980's). I know there was a shoe factory housed in the 3-story section, and later on both buildings were combined into a hardware store. In the 80's a couple guys bought it for their antique store(just wait till I post pics of what will become the "garage"...you guys will get a kick outta this. ). It's been vacant almost 6-years, but has been kept up, so it's not in bad shape.
great deal , get some more piks up or a youtube vid of a walkthru would be cool 
awesome thread... i LOVE old towns with the old downtown section... problem is most of the places i've been they want a TON of money for anything like those types of buildings
def get some pics :)
Good for you! And snag that third building before it's too late. It may be more attractive to someone else now that the other two are occupied.
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