Thinking of buying a roller rink

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Pro no offense you do not know the details of the deal, or the tax situation in this town, It's only $15000 not a small amount but not a huge deal either I have far more than enough money to buy this with out worry, this is a small town where a handshake still means something, I fully expect the city to continue the tax agreement for a set amount of time I do not expect it to last forever.
 
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Bob, are you nuts? Upon the original owner's death, projected to be no more than a year, he's free and clear to do what he wants with the property. 3 commercial acres with a 6k sq ft structure on it (which looks to be in reasonably good condition) for $15k? Man, I'd take that risk all day long.
 
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I think the overwhelming theme here is to be careful. Even though the current owner has wishes and such - honor them the best you can. As stated, issues may come up at some point to change all the rules of the game. Just be aware of what the potentials are. Go in knowing what is possible. Knowledge is power.
 
Pro no offense you do not know the details of the deal, or the tax situation in this town, It's only $15000 not a small amount but not a huge deal either I have far more than enough money to buy this with out worry, this is a small town where a handshake still means something, I fully expect the city to continue the tax agreement for a set amount of time I do not expect it to last forever.

I know enough about Real Estate to know this story is missing way too much information, and that in all 50 states handshake RE deals are not legally valid. So, what is really going on?

RickRyan said:
Upon the original owner's death, projected to be no more than a year, he's free and clear to do what he wants with the property.

Not if it's a deed restriction added to run with the title. Without restriction, I think it's fair to question the integrity of misleading the seller if there is no intention to honor his dying wishes.

The reference to a "handshake" is a big Red Flag. I would suggest that the seller find an agent, get the property appraised and sell it at it's current market value. It is sounding more and more to me like a case of an unrepresented elderly and emotional seller being taken advantage of.
 
I know enough about Real Estate to know this story is missing way too much information, and that in all 50 states handshake RE deals are not legally valid. So, what is really going on?



Not if it's a deed restriction added to run with the title. Without restriction, I think it's fair to question the integrity of misleading the seller if there is no intention to honor his dying wishes.

The reference to a "handshake" is a big Red Flag. I would suggest that the seller find an agent, get the property appraised and sell it at it's current market value. It is sounding more and more to me like a case of an unrepresented elderly and emotional seller being taken advantage of.

Once again, you're just being argumentative and making a LOT of pessimistic assumptions. The OP stated earlier that this deal was to be until the seller dies. It's his deal and he appears to have done diligence in the matter. I hope he does well with it. You can stop arguing now. You're making yourself look stupid, yet again, by continuing to do so.
 
My Mother in Law is trying to sell her Mother's house. She passed away 2 years ago.

The house has been on the market a little over 60 days. It took a while because she originally rented it out, and it took her a while to get the tenant out of the house (She was being way too nice with the dude). ...The guy didn't pay the electric bill the last 3 months, and didn't pay the last month's rent. He owes her $1,400 which she will never see.

Anyway, The house does need some work. The furnace works fine, but is old, and needs to be replaced. All thewall paper has to be ripped off, and walls painted. It needs new carpet, and new floor in kitchen. It also needs an Asbestos abatement in the basement because the material under floor in basement does have Asbestos in it. She got a quote of $1265 for asbestos abatement.

Anyway, the house is "valued" at $123,900 however, that was with appliances in it which she had all taken out. She priced the house at $89,000 to make it attractive to sell. She has a realtor trying to sell it who will take like 6%. So far she has gotten a offer of $60,000 cash which she declined, another offer of $64,000 which she declined. She also received an offer of $70,000 which she declined, and now has an offer of $75,000. All offers have come fro contractors who buy houses, fix up, and resell. Not a single regular customer has put an offer down on the house. The lowest she wants to sell for is $85,000...I am wondering how long this house will be on the market for. This is for a middle of group townhome.

If you can buy a roller rink on 3 acres of land for $15,000 and that includes the land, I would jump on it. Even if the roller rink fails, you could do something else with the place. Maybe if the area grows in population, you could sell to a commercial developer for much more money 5 to 15 years down the road.
 
Residential property and commercial property are two very different animals and they should be approached differently.

Ricky, it sounds like the house you describe is doing just fine - yes, all the initial bids will come from home flippers. However, at $89,000 the cost to renovate has already been properly factored into the asking price. It will take longer for first time home buyers with an inclination for fixer-uppers to find this. The Holiday season is not a big time for home sales and real estate shopping. I would expect little action outside of the contractors until after the first of the year. It's also a condo (townhome) which has it's own unique market different than single family detached homes.

Commercial property is even more unique. It's value is rooted in it's highest and best use, zoning, and convertibility. While $15,000 might be a steal for residential land - for a business property with a building on it it might be a boondoggle. Zoning alone can make or break a commercial building.

Many businesses prefer to lease the land rather than own it. Leasing provides a better tax position where land ownership also ties up cash and equity in a non-producing asset. If your business is producing widgets - you invest in widget machinery not real estate. The building is a depreciating asset, so you build to suit and own it. Land does not typically depreciate unless you are mining, foresting, or polluting - so, you lease it and the payments are 100% deductible against your widget profits.
 
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Once again, you're just being argumentative and making a LOT of pessimistic assumptions. The OP stated earlier that this deal was to be until the seller dies. It's his deal and he appears to have done diligence in the matter. I hope he does well with it. You can stop arguing now. You're making yourself look stupid, yet again, by continuing to do so.

No, I'm paying attention to what is being said - and you are not.

...this is truly an old man at the end of his life who wants this to live on with his legacy attached, ...he has no living relatives, ...his only request is that upon his death that the rink be renamed after him,

The man fully expects (as it has been presented to us) this to remain a rink long after his death. Would it be illegal to shake hands on that request, buy it, and then convert to something else? No. It would not. Would I want to represent such a buyer? No. I would not. Would I point out this folly and recommend an appraisal if I represented the seller? Yes. I would.

The right thing to do by this guy is admit you'll continue the rink only until a better use can be found, and that naming the building may or may not be within your control if you resell or lease it. The appraisal is really the seller's responsibility but, if he is an underrepresented elderly man there is a personal measure of integrity that can be noted here.
 
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That may be an issue if there are problems with the property.

You could register as an LLC or a Corp and eliminate alot of the risk
 
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You could register as an LLC or a Corp and eliminate alot of the risk

Registering as an LLC or S-Corp doesn't eliminate risk, it just shifts the burden of it from an individual to an entity owned by the individual.
 
I guess I should have said it limits the risk to the assets of the business
 
Keep us updated Tunes love to hear how it's going
 
we did a thorough inspection with a certified building inspector as well as a very good friend who is a commercial contractor, everything is in good shape and up to code, For the last decade it's only been open during the school year, my plan is to close for the summer and give it a new look on the inside with fresh paint and carpets and update the exterior facade, with a grand opening slated for next fall