I'm currently leasing a car condo 5-6 minutes from my house. I have to agree with
@PoorUB , even though mine is a quick drive, I would probably spend more time there if it were in my backyard.
However, if you're looking at it for remote work, and might start another business, it might be better to have that separate space. Also, if you like the neighborhood you live in and your current house, why move?
Yes, this would allow my current home office and her office to serve as a nursery and bedroom for children. I work remote partially but likely my next move will be 100% remote. There's something to be said for having your workspace separate from your home.
And yes, we are spinning up a second business that's motorsport-focused.
Any chance of adding on to the existing garage?
Zero. Suburbia hell.
I completely agree with PoorUB.
In theory it sounds like a good idea, but in reality a remotely located shop becomes a deterrent to a hobby. Perhaps something within close walking distance would work, but anything that requires a drive - of ANY distance - will eventually make it feel less like a hobby and more like a chore. It'll be OK for a while until the novelty wears off. Been there, done that, and it doesn't mean you're lazy; it's just human nature.
Beyond that are security considerations; a remote shop is much more susceptible to petty theft and damage.
Part of the fun of my car hobby is the fact that I can jump up off the couch at any time with a harebrained idea and walk a few steps to my garage and my cars to see if it would work. You just cannot put a price on that convenience.
This is not to say that you couldn't make it work, if you have an overabundance of discipline. But most folks underestimate how much they value their comfort and convenience. Again, just human nature.
Now, if in fact you will using this remote location for a business endeavor, that could provide more incentive. But be honest with yourself about what you really want it for.
My "hobby" is in the operation of race cars, dirt bikes, and ATVs. The shop is to support that. I'm much more likely to block out a Saturday to complete a job vs. tinker for an hour or two at a time. Yes obviously I still run out to check something on occasion and such, but real work is done in larger blocks.
I think the key question is whether this would mainly be a hobby shop or a business/work space.
For a hobby, having it off-site adds friction every single time you want to use it. But if you are going there regularly for remote work and a side business anyway, that same separation can become an advantage rather than a drawback.
Leasing for a year sounds like the safest way to find out which of those two realities actually applies before tying up money in commercial property.
See above. A little bit of both. But I should have clarified, my hobby isn't hanging out in the shop. The shop is to support my hobbies which I'll just classify as racing for the sake of argument.
As usual, I’ll take the opposing side.
We built a 32x54 shop on our lot so I’d have someplace to work. it was ok for a while, but eventually it got a little cramped.
A 48’x75’ building a mile away from the house. (a half mile as the crow flies) became available for a decent price so I bought it. It’s worked out quite well. The property has a couple dozen mature oaks, a shallow well, thousand gallon septic tank, taxes are $1000/year, and it’s close enough that it’s insured as an auxiliary building. It has radiant in floor heat, a restroom, 16’ ceilings and 200 amp service.
It’s a block off the only road to town, so it’s not out of the way.
The garage on our house property houses my wife’s Maverick, three project cars awaiting their turn, the log splitter, front snowblower for the tractor, the UTV, and the mini ex
the shop houses three lifts, active project cars, the CTL, F450, and more. All my welders, etc are there. They both have 80 gallon compressors, but the media blast equipment is at the offsite shop. Yes, I end up with multiple tools, but that’s not a bad thing in my eyes.
There’s also a tv, internet, Sirius xm radio, a kitchen, a recliner and a day bed and more. I usually keep the kitchen stocked with lunch type food, and have our old propane grill set up for brats and burgers.
i usually spend the afternoons ther, come home for dinner, and sometimes go back. Today I worked at the shop from 11 am till 11 pm, with an hour and a half at home for dinner and to sit on the deck with my wife.
Sounds like a pretty ideal setup. Most of what we are looking at is within a few miles of the home. A friend has a cabin on the lake and bought the old fire hall out on the main road. His truck is parked at the house but the work gets done at the shop. I'm looking to emulate this in a suburban fashion.
Do you have a side business? That's the ideal way to lease a shop that can serve for business as well hobby use and storage.
Keep in mind that many landlords require a minimum of a two or three-year lease.
Yes, a motorsports-focused business that is spinning up as we speak. Operationalizing it is going to require more room. I don't expect this to be a constraint for a few years at a minimum, but we are capacity planning now.
fiancée.
That is what sticks out the most in my opinion first and foremost. Are you two set and secure in your relationship ? Are your finances, her finances and ya'll's finances good with this venture ? Since this includes a possible side business, I would suggest the correct legal paperwork for your situation before going too far.
This gave me a good laugh. Not because it isn't good advice (it is), but because she's been driving/enabling this as much as I am. Rest assured, this topic is more than taken care of. Not only do we share hobbies, but she also has the need for more space due to personal and business reasons.
Hmmmm....I'm thinking move.
At least get on zillow and see what's available.
We bought a house on an acre with a barn and later added an attached 3 car. That's worked very well for us for 3 decades +. My projects are generally split between working in the garage and the barn (split between a wood shop on one side, 2 garage bays on the other side and storage in the attic above) and since the barn is only a 12 foot walk out of the back of the garage....that's not normally a problem. If I had to drive to get to my shop, I wouldn't use it half as much.
We have. Anything worthwhile would require relocation and a loss of convenience as well as a custom build. If we move, it will be to a larger home and that is truly something we do not need nor want at this time.
I think it depends on what options are in the area. Up north, I've seen quite a few "shop condo" communities where you can buy the building (sure there is an association fee) and pretty much do what you want INSIDE the building. Full power, heat/AC. Pricing depends on the geography. A lease might let you feel it out. If you have small local airports with private hangers for lease - that's another option that most people don't think about.
Moving doesn't mean "more house". Could mean less house and bigger garage. But these setups are often hard to find. And building it, from land, can take 1-2 years easily from planning to finish. Financing can be tricky too, as "shops" don't typically add value to the "appraisal" like a house does.
I'm also seeing "shared" (large shop) space come up around here.
Like this.
I've done "partial leases" of private hangers with groups of guys, but how well that works depends on the guys... And the owner may decide that he's done leasing at any point.. Moving a shop is a PITA.
Hangar is an interesting idea, I will have to look into that. I know some can be prickly about what you're using the space for and typically require you to have some sort of aircraft kicking around. Airworthy or not is a different story.
Like I said in the OP, I split a lease on flex space with a few friends before. I'm not opposed to this again. A few friends are paying $250-300/mo for climate controlled storage. If push comes to shove, we could defer some of the costs by sticking their cars in the corner.
If there were a dedicated garage condo community closer to my home, I would invest in that. Unfortunately all of the ones in the area are an hour drive or more.
