Domestic to commercial

buttercup · Post by **buttercup** » Mon Jun 18, 2007 6:37 am

Does anyone know the ins & outs or red tape of converting a domestic property to commercial?

There is no available commercial property for sale or rent in the area im thinking of, therefore if i bought a ground floor flat would i be able to use it commercially?

SuzyB · Post by **SuzyB** » Mon Jun 18, 2007 6:39 am

buttercup;639898 wrote: Does anyone know the ins & outs or red tape of converting a domestic property to commercial?

There is no available commercial property for sale or rent in the area im thinking of, therefore if i bought a ground floor flat would i be able to use it commercially?

I tried that and the council weren't having any of it as it was in a residential area :-5

You need to contact the local council for the area that the property is in and speak to the planning dept.

Good Luck

gmc · Post by **gmc** » Mon Jun 18, 2007 7:23 am

buttercup;639898 wrote: Does anyone know the ins & outs or red tape of converting a domestic property to commercial?

There is no available commercial property for sale or rent in the area im thinking of, therefore if i bought a ground floor flat would i be able to use it commercially?

Depends what you mean by commercially. A home office isn't a problem but converting to a shop or something is-as suzyb says you will need to contact the local planning department or better still your lawyer since you will need one anyway.

Also commercial lending to a business is a different ball game from a domestic mortgage. Speak to your bank manager.

weeder · Post by **weeder** » Mon Jun 18, 2007 9:58 am

My property in Georgia that I owned for 2 years was Residential/ Commercial.

The only reason it still was.... was because the zoning was " Grandfathered in. It would always be permitted to be commercial... with stipulations...

It could only be what it was. A flower shop/ nursery

It could never be operated as Example: A restaurant, gas station, etc.....

I had a heck of a time financing it, as the underwriters didnt know how to handle the commercial/ residential zoning.

We live in different countries, so I know my info cant help you.

However, I did learn enough to know that residential neighborhoods do not want commercial properties along side them.

Also here, when you are " Commercial" The cost of everything is higher than residential. Phone, Cable, Internet, electric, water/.... taxes, of course.

Another fine example of my government " Helping" the small business owner to succeed... Ha!

buttercup · Post by **buttercup** » Mon Jun 18, 2007 10:06 am

weeder;640015 wrote:

Also here, when you are " Commercial" The cost of everything is higher than residential. Phone, Cable, Internet, electric, water/.... taxes, of course.

Another fine example of my government " Helping" the small business owner to succeed... Ha!

Same here Weeder

weeder · Post by **weeder** » Mon Jun 18, 2007 10:12 am

My advice to you would be... if you can.. operate your business from home, without registering yourself as " Commercial" When you try to go legitimate, and play by the rules... it is almost financially impossible. My venture down in Georgia ruined me financially. I more than likely will never be able to own anything again. Being undercapitalized will take a small business owner down in a heart beat. Item # 2, is failure to collect accounts receivable.