Office Hacking in the Bay Area

[Lindsay Ferlin]

Investment Info:

Office Space commercial investment investment in Berkeley.

Office Hacking! This is an unusual deal as I do not own the building. I am a psychotherapist with a full time private practice. In the fall of 2018 I was give the opportunity to become the master lease holder on the psychotherapy suite I was already working in. I was able to update the offices and rent them out at a profit. This enabled me to use my office for free while cash-flowing $400 a month.

What made you interested in investing in this type of deal?

I was initially motivated by the idea of reducing my monthly expenses. Finally after renting my office for about 7 years I was presented with the opportunity to eliminate the cost of renting my office. The timing is interesting as I had just began listing to both of the podcasts Bigger Pockets produces. I think that listening to these podcasts helped me seize the opportunity I was presented with.

How did you find this deal and how did you negotiate it?

I was already working in my office when my suite-mate decided to find a different space. This allowed me to take over the lease, update the offices and rent them at a profit. When another office in the building became available I jumped on the opportunity. I leased the space from the landlord, rehabbed it, furnished it and now cash flow $600 a month for that particular office bringing my total cashflow from this building to $1000 a month.

How did you finance this deal?

Cash

How did you add value to the deal?

Cleaning, junk removal, paint

What was the outcome?

I was able to use my current office for free and rent out 3 offices for above market value rates because of my connections to other therapists and because I was offering a nicer product than was available elsewhere.

Lessons learned? Challenges?

Things are possible in the Bay Area if you are creative and persistent.