Apartment buildings with commercial store fronts

[Jason Smith]

I am interested in purchasing an apartment building as a first investment property, it's the only building that has decent numbers at first glance.   It is an 11 unit building with two store fronts.   Only 4 of the 11 units are occupied at just under 600 each unit per month.   I'm planning on going to see the buildng and ask questions on Monday.  How should I determine the overall value?  Current list price is 159000, taxes are 4300 a year.  Are there any questions other than why are you selling? and what keeps the rest of the building from being rented? That I should ask?   Thanks for your help!  

Newbie Jason Smith

[Benjamin Timmins]

If the store fronts are/were restaurants, check to see if they still have the hoods and air flow evac systems and fire suppressant systems. Check to make sure the stores have separate gas /water / electricity (would be hard to lease out of they dont). Check to make sure theres enough  car parking to support both store fronts, plus the tenants of the apartments (city can limit the types of businesses depending on parking, for instance if theres not a lot of parking they can not permit restaurants).

Also find out if the building is in a DDA controlled area. Those can be a real pain to deal with.