Anyone ever rent a shop...?
 

Seems my car addiction needs more space! :eek:

I currently use some space at a buddys shop for my "projects", but seem to have outgrown the space that I borrow from him (plus more and more projects of my projects need a lift, which he doesn't have), and am looking at getting some of my own space....

Has anyone here ever rented shop space? Should I look into carrying insurance on it?

Alabasi rents a space. He should be able to provide some input.

Tyler I think has also Daw_two might have

If you've got that kind of disposable cash to spend and devote monthly on a hobby shop? Go for it.

For my money, I'd build a shop at my home on my own property - hands down. Way, way too much money out-of-pocket to spend it on, and the time spent running to-from your rented 'shop.'

About insurance? Most of the hobby shops I've seen or know of, are in industrial areas, and known for their burglaries - so you should factor the potential for loss in your equation of budget too.


Tyler runs an actual business from his.

Talk to the guys in the pits.

my two closest buddies and i have thought about splitting the rent on a small shop space in the past. i am flat out of room at the house to store tools and equipment. i waiting for the city to cite me any day for my utility trailer in my front side yard

Waay back in the day, if you were a hot rodder as I was, it was a sign of "cool" to have a shop, a place to store and work on your old stuff. I had one, with two buddies for a while. Of course, back then rent for this old mechanic's shop was around $125.00/month and we got electricity from the house next door...:cool:

now days, I'd try to build one at home...

Justin, don't forget the maxim, "Stuff expands to fill all available space".:eek:

It's a dark, slippery slope you are heading down!:D:D:D

I own my warehouse, the warehouse has property insurance, and I just carry storage insurance on the parked cars that covers against fire and things of the like.

Talk to your insurance agent about what your policy really covers.

Just an idea, but you might want to bring-up your city's rules and covenants on PDF, and scroll for the information section on both licensing and how the surface must be treated under your trailer. There may be the language that the surface needs to be paved with either concret/asphalt, or crushed rock/gravel under anything like a trailer that is mobile. You may then be good to go with the trailer located in your presntly side yard. The up to date licensing of mobile vehicles/trailers, may or may not be addressed in your jurisdiction.

I would too, after looking at the costs, and weighing it out in my mind versus rented space elsewhere.

I use to own a t-shirt shop ,an office/ warehouse ,some 400 sq ft upfrt and 1100 sq ft warehouse ,it was perfect and all for a mere $650. a month .It was after the new owner began uping the rent that I got fed up and moved out.That same unit sits unused and 3 more are still not rented since I left 3 yrs ago .Its a yr with any landlord and 2 months deposit so your going to be putting out some serious cash up frt .My suggestion to you is to keep 2 of the cars you like the most and not go crazy on trying to juggle 7 at a time like I did, buy a shed for parts and sell anything not running ,your life will be so much richer along with your pocket book.

I'll rent you my two bay shop for $500 a month and a pork chop. :D

I pay $7.50 per hour for full access to a shop with hoists and tools at the Auto Craft shop on post. Access is restricted to DOD members (current, former, and card holding family members)

I'm happy to pay it!


~Nate

Ive rented a few shop spaces. Whats already said about stuff expanding to fit is ridiculously true.

First I rented a 3500 sq foot space for about 1000 a month with two other guys. 1/3rd of the space was supposed to be dedicated to running my business, the other two thirds for hobby purposes between the 3 of us.

We found an auto shop going out of business and in a super bargain picked up a lift and a bunch of shelving, tables, and an air compressor for about 2 grand.

The original purpose was that each of us would have their project car in there, and the lift would be primarily used for repair and maintenance on our work vehicles.

within 3 months, I had taken over the entire space, bought the other two guys out of their 3rds, bought all the equipment, and literally packed the available space with diesel VWs and mercedes. I think the high water mark was 7 crammed in there, none that ran. This is the risk you run. :D

Since then and since discovering incredible health and safety concerns on the old space, I moved my business and hobby stuff into a 2 story high 1300 sqft space for about 900 a month, which was brand new with excellent amenities, which I then divided in half, one for business, the other for hobby with some movable walls, and limited myself to only as many hobby vehicles as I could fit in one half of my space with all my equipment. That means a total of three, one on the lift, one parked under it, and one outside.

A few tips, if you rent a communal space with other people-
1. make sure you hold the lease and they sublet from you. Its better to be the one with the power.
2. The most expensive part about owning the lift will be moving it and setting it up, especially if your move around over time. Its WAY more cost effective to you to spend 500 bucks having someone set it up who is fully insured. you drop a 400lb cross beam on yourself, you might be crippled for life. The first guy I hired to do this had to cancel my pending job as he actually did this to himself, turning his lower leg and foot to paste, was a nasty incident and over two years have gone by and he still can't walk.
3. Depending on the location of your hobby shop, the possession of a lift may require compliance with local ordinances on electrical and safety, I just recently had to add an emergency shut off right on the lift.
4. Like the lease, its better to be the one who owns the equipment and you let other people borrow it or use it for a fee. I ended up buying the other guys out of the lift use as there were repeated instances where it was unusable to me to maintain my work van, with project cars stuck up there for months. its better to be the guy who can do that cause he owns the thing. :D


Personal property insurance should cover most of your personal stuff, no matter the location based on your provider, but you need to verify this as stated above. My unit technically carries two insurance polices, one for business, one personal form stuff that belongs to me. The way I have this rigged is im personally on the lease to the landlord of the whole unit, and I sublet out half of the unit to myself as an officer of my company.

Having said all this, the cheapest thing to do in the long run as stated by multiple people is to simply put up a pole barn on your property and not have to deal with rent or any malarky.
I will eventually do this in some years time when I settle on a house and yard outside of the city.