equipment loans How would I go about opening a recycling center in a rural town?
Like getting loans for equipment to sort, weigh, transport all recycleable products?
You could do it as a non-profit venture. Creating a non-profit organization can take some time, but once its set up business and individuals could donate cash and equipment to it and receive a tax deduction.
If you go this route, I’d say start out small. Find someone with unused land (an old gas station would be great) and just start collecting in plastic trash bins. Then borrow or rent a truck to take them the the nearest recycling plant. The money you get for the recyclable material could go into the non-profit and eventually buy more and better equipment.
We are looking for a small office building to buy for our professional practice. Our broker is suggesting that we buy an industrial building and convert it to an office building. Is this practical?
As property values have risen on Long Island, particularly in Nassau County, the highest and best use of properties has often changed. So a well-placed industrial building may indeed be a candidate for conversion. And it may also be a pitfall for the unwary! So let’s take a look at some of the factors involved in a conversion and how practical it may be.
One the first concerns I have is parking. Many older industrial buildings were legally built with a parking ratio of “two to one.” This means that there were two parking spaces allocated for every 1,000 square feet of building area. This would be woefully inadequate for any sort of office use, and would not meet any modern building code for office use. An office building is often required to have a parking ratio of five to one, and sometimes more. So in most jurisdictions, a 10,000 square foot office building would need at least 50 parking spaces. So the office conversion candidate probably needs an oversize plot, or an adjoining plot that may be acquired. Or, the economics may actually justify demolishing part of the existing structure to create additional parking.
Zoning in many areas actually allows office buildings to be built in an industrial zone, “as of right”, meaning that a zoning variance will not be required for a conversion. But this is not necessarily so. The actual conversion will require building plans, and probably a new site plan, both of which will need to be approved by the local jurisdiction. But this is relatively minor compared to the time and expense of a change of zoning, or obtaining a special use permit.
The surrounding properties are also a consideration. I would have little concern about an office conversion if the property were located in well-maintained industrial and research park. But the resale value of your office conversion may be a problem if it is located next to heavy industrial manufacturing or a scrap yard!
Know your construction costs before committing to the project! These costs are highly dependent on the actual structure you are considering, so avoid averages or “ball-park” conversion estimates. You cannot afford to negotiate on the existing building without knowing your total cost, which includes acquisition, conversion, and soft costs.
Two other quick caveats: The industrial building will have taxes that seem low by office standards – that will change when the building is assessed! And don’t forget to factor in the time and effort that it will take to supervise, or live through the conversion process. A typical industrial conversion would probably take no less than six months, and could certainly take up to year including filing and approvals.
Properly done, an industrial conversion can be outstanding buy, and I can point to many examples on Long Island. But the process requires exhaustive research, which is best done by an architect whom you have hired long before you go to contract!
David G. Hunt, MCR, CCIM, SIOR is the president of Hunt Corporate Services, Inc. and has provided commercial real estate services on Long Island, New York since 1973. To contact Mr. Hunt, please email david@huntcorp.com, visit the website at http://www.huntcorp.com or call 516 937-1000.
Industrial Loans $100k-$1.5mm presented by CEM Commercial
Child Psychology Vs. Industrial/Organizational Psych…..?
I am getting ready to begin applying to Graduate schoools but am caught up between two paths. I don’t know if I should continue working with children (Become a Child Psychologist?) or pursue I/O Psychology. It’s fun working with kids and all, but the money isn’t all there. I get to travel around town during the day and meet lots of new people, parents, etc…. but I don’t know if it will be worth racking up $$$ of loans! I/O sounds very interesting, but I’m wondering if I’ll be bored to tears working in stuffy business offices. But, I could be wrong………However, I’ve heard that’s where the $$$ is at. At the end of the day, all jobs put you through bull-stuff, so I’m wondering if I should just pick the one where at least I’ll be paid well. Any thoughts?
Money isn’t everything.
It would be sad for you to get your graduate degree in I/O only to end up making more money and be bored out of your mind.
Loans get paid off but the 2 years you’ll lose with a degree you didn’t really want…Then you’ll waste another 5 years convincing yourself you really enjoy the work of an I/O psychologist when you really don’t.
Money isn’t everything.
