Midway Real Estate

Would you buy a fixer upper of a business?

It’s an old restaurant, built in 1910, and needs all the kitchen equipment and appliances replaced. Would you take the chance or say forget it–too much work and money involved?
Sorry, I should have added that I could get it for a song…

Honestly, I would buy a fixer-upper house, but not a business, unless it comes complete with a regular army of faithful diners.

The restaurant business is so competitive that a lot of the little independents are being forced out of business. Even if you get the building for a super bargain, replacing everything costs a lot of money. If it’s a place with a super reputation, you might be able to make a go of it, but if it isn’t, and you are going to have to build your reputation and get regular customers, I don’t know that it will really be a good venture. Unless you have a tremendous nest egg, and can afford to do the fixing up without taking out a loan, I would say it’s risky at best, and downright suicide at worst.

Interest rates are really good and low right now, but my understanding is that for a business, your interest rate depends on how the lender thinks you will do. If they have any doubts, you’ll end up paying a higher rate. Since an entire kitchen remodel will run at least 100K, I would imagine, you need to know that you are going to be able to make those payments back to the bank or you could risk losing everything.

Probably the very best thing to do is get with an expert and have them help you set up a business plan. They can help you factor in the remodeling costs, and also the projected income. Once the hard data is in, you will have a better idea of whether or not it is a good venture.

Just so you know, I think owning an old restaurant would be a great business, and fun as hell to run. I would love to have a regular group of diners who came by for their breakfasts, or came in for pie and coffee in the evenings. But a lot of those old type places are going by the wayside. Costs are just too high to be able to compete with the chains in a lot of places.

Whatever you decide to do, I wish you the very, very best.

Creaky Old House: A Topsy-turvy Tale of a Real Fixer-upper-Linda Ashman, Michael $21.65

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