All Forum Posts by: Zachary Ngai

@Account Closed Thank you for raising these points and I see how they are important questions to address. The town is a small town and the space I am looking at has neighboring spaces that are also structured this way (aside from the second floor restaurant). The entire town is a college town and the main mode of transportation in the town is walking or biking. There are already a couple of bars on the block so I was thinking of a pool hall. As far as the freight elevator and the passenger elevator, I will need to give it more thought. 

@Elizabeth Sylvince Thanks for the advice. I will definitely check them out. 

@Account Closed I originally wanted just to start a restaurant, but I would have to buy a lease on a building and I would have to renovate the space. If I own the building, I can design the restaurant while I am constructing the building. Additionally, income from the residential rental spaces can be used to fund the restaurant. The reason why I want the restaurant on the second floor is because it would overlook the city park. I would love to put frameless windows on the side that overlooks the park. I believe that residential spaces on top of the retail spaces would drive up revenue of the retail spaces because of the fact that it would increase the amount of exposure that these spaces get. 

@Matthew King Thanks for your reply! At the moment, I am working on a viable business plan which includes a financial plan for start up costs and operating costs. The idea I had in mind was to construct these financial documents to show to potential investors in order to obtain sustainable financing with a payback plan. My dilemma however, is figuring out the startup costs. I know that by talking to an architect or contractor in the county, I can probably get a ballpark estimate for demolition and reconstruction costs. I am thinking that I should first talk to an architect who can help me put numbers into the documents. The town I am focusing on is Oxford, Ohio, home of Miami University. The parcel of land that I would like to purchase and work on is currently, in my opinion, highly overvalued and if I do not get a good price on this lot, this project will not be economically feasible. My main question at the moment is, how do I figure out my startup costs and how do I figure out my costs of operation?

Hi Everyone, 

I am a young professional from New York. I want to build an apartment building in a small town in Ohio mainly to learn the ropes of real estate development. What I am looking to build is a 4 story, multi-unit apartment building with commercial space on the first and second floor. The third and fourth floor will be residential housing for neighboring college students. I would like to lease the first floor to an entertainment company and lease the second floor to a healthy restaurant. I am just starting out, but that does not mean I cannot accomplish much. I want to learn as much as I can about the industry. I have talked to the head of economic development of the city and he talked to me about the zoning codes and limitations of constructing a new building. We are limited to a 4-story building. I know that I now need to talk to an architect and a contractor. I am looking for any advice on where to go from here.