3 ms·

You can't just rent out an office as an apartment. There are large costs associated with retrofitting the office space to be up to code for a residential unit.

You can't just rent out an office as an apartment. There are large costs associated with retrofitting the office space to be up to code for a residential unit. These retrofits would also likely lower the properties value as an office space. So C is not an obvious win in all cases - otherwise all landlords would be doing it.

iancmceachern 4y ago
Yes you can, if it was designed as such from the beginning. I literally live in one now. They go back and forth between residential and office occupancy with each lease, with no changes to the building or spaces themselves. It just has to be done right. My apartment is exactly identical to how it was when the previous tenant used it as an office.
- AdrianB1 4y ago
  So you do not have a kitchen and a bathroom with shower or the office used to have lots of kitchens and showers everywhere? It is not clear.
  - iancmceachern 4y ago
    It's a large 2 story loft space. It has a full kitchen (as most offices do too these days), and 2 full bathrooms. There is a loft bedroom and small closed off office space that are both conference rooms when it's in office mode. Really, how different are offices from apartments? You have space, kitchen, bathrooms, etc. The only thing that is weird is most offices don't have a washer and dryer, other than that if I walked in this space and it was decorated as an office I wouldn't think twice, same in apartment mode.
    - dahfizz 4y ago
      Does it scale down? I can see two floors of an office building making a (very expensive) apartment but what about a cheap 1 bedroom? In "office mode", the office unit would be < 50% office, with most of the floor plan as bathrooms, laundry, and kitchen.
      - iancmceachern 4y ago
        Not really. I would argue that I live in a cheap 1 bedroom, it exactly this that you describe. The bathrooms are a wash, both commercial and residential spaces require them. If anything the bathrooms in this arrangement are a bit smaller than traditional commercial bathrooms. Same with the kitchen, commercial spaces have them, every place I've worked for the last 15 years has had one. So that's a wash. Also, our kitchen isn't huge, it's of similar size to those kitchens. That leaves the laundry. For us it's a stacked unit in a small closet in the bathroom. They could easily be removed and then the closet could be used for bathroom cleaning supplies and no-one would ever suspect it wasn't just an office. So the real comparison is: Residential: 1500 Sq ft loft, small glass office and loft bedroom, 2 full baths Commercial: 1500 Sq ft office, 1 large loft conference room, 1 small glass conference room/office, open Floorplan for 10-15 desks, 2 bathrooms with shower, full kitchen Both have door service, package receiving and security services provided on site, parking space
- dahfizz 4y ago
  I'm sure there are buildings which are built to both codes. In the general case, there is significant costs in time and money to convert an office to a legal apartment unit.

iancmceachern 4y ago

Yes you can, if it was designed as such from the beginning. I literally live in one now. They go back and forth between residential and office occupancy with each lease, with no changes to the building or spaces themselves. It just has to be done right. My apartment is exactly identical to how it was when the previous tenant used it as an office.

AdrianB1 4y ago
So you do not have a kitchen and a bathroom with shower or the office used to have lots of kitchens and showers everywhere? It is not clear.
- iancmceachern 4y ago
  It's a large 2 story loft space. It has a full kitchen (as most offices do too these days), and 2 full bathrooms. There is a loft bedroom and small closed off office space that are both conference rooms when it's in office mode. Really, how different are offices from apartments? You have space, kitchen, bathrooms, etc. The only thing that is weird is most offices don't have a washer and dryer, other than that if I walked in this space and it was decorated as an office I wouldn't think twice, same in apartment mode.
  - dahfizz 4y ago
    Does it scale down? I can see two floors of an office building making a (very expensive) apartment but what about a cheap 1 bedroom? In "office mode", the office unit would be < 50% office, with most of the floor plan as bathrooms, laundry, and kitchen.
    - iancmceachern 4y ago
      Not really. I would argue that I live in a cheap 1 bedroom, it exactly this that you describe. The bathrooms are a wash, both commercial and residential spaces require them. If anything the bathrooms in this arrangement are a bit smaller than traditional commercial bathrooms. Same with the kitchen, commercial spaces have them, every place I've worked for the last 15 years has had one. So that's a wash. Also, our kitchen isn't huge, it's of similar size to those kitchens. That leaves the laundry. For us it's a stacked unit in a small closet in the bathroom. They could easily be removed and then the closet could be used for bathroom cleaning supplies and no-one would ever suspect it wasn't just an office. So the real comparison is: Residential: 1500 Sq ft loft, small glass office and loft bedroom, 2 full baths Commercial: 1500 Sq ft office, 1 large loft conference room, 1 small glass conference room/office, open Floorplan for 10-15 desks, 2 bathrooms with shower, full kitchen Both have door service, package receiving and security services provided on site, parking space
dahfizz 4y ago
I'm sure there are buildings which are built to both codes. In the general case, there is significant costs in time and money to convert an office to a legal apartment unit.