House-Hack/Retail Store All In One - What to do next?

[Aaron Williams]

Hey everyone,

In 2017, my wife and I bought an existing retail art supply store and the C-2 property it was in. It was fairy underutilized being that the previous owners were elderly and ready to retire. The building itself also needed a lot of updates, but what attracted us was the fact that the business was established, the building was in an upcoming location and the owners lived in the back of the property.

Fast forward to now, we have made many cosmetic and major improvements to both the retail space, our living area, and the building. The business itself has grown a ton since we bought it due to the fact that we have expanded both in store and online. We also have a profitable Airbnb in the very back of the building with which we are Superhosts.

This being the case, we have created a lot of equity in the building but feel like we are stuck at the moment. We want to keep investing in real estate but have no W-2 income since we are 100% self employed. We have a great relationship with our local lender who has issued us SBA loans in the past, but rates are not advantageous at the moment.

Have any of you been in similar circumstances and have ideas/advice regarding what you would do if you were in our shoes?

Thanks for any help in advance!