Meeting hall to Single Family?

[Stephanie Fritz]

My husband and I are new to real estate investing and found what we think is an excellent opportunity but I'm wondering if anyone else has any experience with this...

The property we're looking at is a brick ranch in decent repair. It used to be a grange meeting hall so it's basically a big empty room inside (a blank slate!). Because it was more of a commercial building before, all the ductwork is in the ceiling, the ceilings are the typical florescent lights and particle-board-ish squares you see in offices, and the bathrooms are small with those classic tiny, heavy white sinks with ugly faucets that you find in other commercial buildings (where you can see the metal piping underneath)

Has anyone tried to renovate a building like this? What are some challenges with it? Any help is welcomed.

*We plan to renovate this and then live in it.

Thank you!