Renting garage workspace

[GreyGhost]

Forum Sponsor

I'll be a debbie downer here; Renting a space for a bunch of half assembled "project" bikes seems like an unnecessarily expensive endeavour.

I rent an office from a company that has a lot of self-storage holdings. The owners are happy to oblige you but recommend only using them for short term use. They have seen so many people paying thousands a year to store things that ultimately end in a dumpster or given away. It's normally cheaper to sell the stuff and buy new stuff when you need it than pay to store it for a long time.

 

[Jampy00]

My space is offered exclusively to GTAM member's. I don't offer it to the general public for obvious reasons. I have 3000 sqft total on two levels. Happy to assist with storage, workshop, etc. the building is virtually empty and I refuse to fill it with my junk.

 

[nobbie48]

That’s a great idea but I don’t think you will ever find a 1500SF unit for anywhere near $75,000. You can’t build a garage that size with heat,hydro,water, permits etc. even if you were given the land for free. I did work at a guys 2000SF unit at HWY.27 and Steeles and I’m pretty sure he paid about $800,000 for it about 2 years ago but I like your idea about wheelies and burnouts!

In my post I said wait for a recession. In the 1990 one I paid about $60,000 for about 1500 SF. $42 per SF. I was too eager. Six months later they auctioned them off. The going price for mine would have been $26 SF. Larger units, 5000 SF went for $19 SF. I should have kept mine instead of selling. Ten years later I would have $100000 K in rental income in my pocket and a unit near a half million. Hindsight sucks.

If you’re going to speculate in real estate have massive cash or buy at less than half price.

The nice thing about industrial is no LTB. If they don’t pay, padlock the doors.

The downside is in a recession no one needs industrial but they still have to live somewhere and residential is needed.

 

[nobbie48]

My space is offered exclusively to GTAM member's. I don't offer it to the general public for obvious reasons. I have 3000 sqft total on two levels. Happy to assist with storage, workshop, etc. the building is virtually empty and I refuse to fill it with my junk.

A caution:

When I got my unit I got hit on by friends that needed space to store stuff.

One offered me $200 for winter storage to store a boat that would take up a quarter of my shop. He would also expect to be able to work on it. No thanks.

Another friend was in denial about his divorce based sale of the family home and closing was in a couple of days. I agreed to temporary storage of his share of the furniture. It ended up delaying my office completion by six months.

Once HIS problem was resolved, searching for space wasn't important. His problem became mine.

I know Jampy's situation and it isn't the normal urban setup. Rules are like fences. They make for good relationships.

 

[NuggyBuggy]

I'll be a debbie downer here; Renting a space for a bunch of half assembled "project" bikes seems like an unnecessarily expensive endeavour.

If I sell my cottage, I really want a place to tinker. I live in a Victorian row house with no garage space to keep my bikes, be they project or road-/trail-worthy. My projects are not a financially viable endeavour, but a flight of fancy. Really, when you break it down motorcycles really don't make any financial or logistical sense, for me at least. I didn't even like riding my bike to work in traffic. Vespa probably made the most sense and that was only because it was given to me.

I'm going to be giving up a bunch of my other hobbies and things I love if this happens - chainsaw milling, woodworking, astrophotography, as well as most fishing and skiing and I'm sure a bunch of other things I love doing up here, but my bikes are the one I think I want to keep.

 

[NuggyBuggy]

About 15 years ago, I was looking for a garage on a plot of land near my house in the gta. Sadly, land value had most at $1M+. That's a hard no. It would be nice to have space but the budget required was nowhere near the budget available.

15 years ago you could buy a nice sized house in Toronto with a garage for $1M. I tried to convince my wife to buy a place like that in the Lawrence/Leslie area for that price. Our kids would have grown up with their cousins literally around the corner, and the monster homes were already going up in the area.

My wife put a damper on that, she said she would kill herself if she had to make the 30 minute commute to her office. I love living downtown but the property values in my sister's neighbourhood have well outpaced Cabbagetown. I'm still bitter as we would have made bank, and now I commute 45-60 minutes each way to my office a few times a week while she works from home .

Unfortunately I know the price of centrally located homes with garages and enough space to keep my wife and I from killing each other is probably now prohibitive for us.

I do still love living in Cabbagetown. Just wish I had a garage.

 

[nobbie48]

15 years ago you could buy a nice sized house in Toronto with a garage for $1M. I tried to convince my wife to buy a place like that in the Lawrence/Leslie area for that price. Our kids would have grown up with their cousins literally around the corner, and the monster homes were already going up in the area.

My wife put a damper on that, she said she would kill herself if she had to make the 30 minute commute to her office. I love living downtown but the property values in my sister's neighbourhood have well outpaced Cabbagetown. I'm still bitter as we would have made bank, and now I commute 45-60 minutes each way to my office a few times a week while she works from home .

Unfortunately I know the price of centrally located homes with garages and enough space to keep my wife and I from killing each other is probably now prohibitive for us.

I do still love living in Cabbagetown. Just wish I had a garage.

Could you get one of these in your back yard. Free on FB marketplace. A couple of them and a bunch of hinges, tarps, some imagination...foldaway garage for bikes under 8' long

 

[NuggyBuggy]

I could fit something like that in; my problem would be getting bikes in and out of the yard. We live in a row house where most of the backyards have been fenced off. THere's a tiny alley that I could use to get to the yard but it would be hard to wheel a bike in and out of there as I'd have to also get through 2 small gates.

Then there's the problem of getting wife approval as getting enough headroom to work would mean blocking off a lot of the light going into my kitchen.

 

[GreyGhost]

I could fit something like that in; my problem would be getting bikes in and out of the yard. We live in a row house where most of the backyards have been fenced off. THere's a tiny alley that I could use to get to the yard but it would be hard to wheel a bike in and out of there as I'd have to also get through 2 small gates.

Then there's the problem of getting wife approval as getting enough headroom to work would mean blocking off a lot of the light going into my kitchen.

Iceberg shed. Constructed like a pool with a roof. Bike stays at ground level or a little below, your feet are a few feet below.

 

[timtune]

I'm going to be giving up a bunch of my other hobbies and things I love if this happens - chainsaw milling, woodworking, astrophotography, as well as most fishing and skiing and I'm sure a bunch of other things I love doing up here, but my bikes are the one I think I want to keep.

Sad news ...

 

[nobbie48]

I was thinking the front side and top being like a gull wing, just over four feet high when closed. ~ eight feet only when open for business. Check first. Bikes are higher than thought.

 

[Jampy00]

If I sell my cottage, I really want a place to tinker. I live in a Victorian row house with no garage space to keep my bikes, be they project or road-/trail-worthy. My projects are not a financially viable endeavour, but a flight of fancy. Really, when you break it down motorcycles really don't make any financial or logistical sense, for me at least. I didn't even like riding my bike to work in traffic. Vespa probably made the most sense and that was only because it was given to me.

I'm going to be giving up a bunch of my other hobbies and things I love if this happens - chainsaw milling, woodworking, astrophotography, as well as most fishing and skiing and I'm sure a bunch of other things I love doing up here, but my bikes are the one I think I want to keep.

You can do most of that at my place, feel free to come by for a coffee. I'd enjoy meeting you. DM me if you like.

 

[Jampy00]

A caution:

When I got my unit I got hit on by friends that needed space to store stuff.

One offered me $200 for winter storage to store a boat that would take up a quarter of my shop. He would also expect to be able to work on it. No thanks.

Another friend was in denial about his divorce based sale of the family home and closing was in a couple of days. I agreed to temporary storage of his share of the furniture. It ended up delaying my office completion by six months.

Once HIS problem was resolved, searching for space wasn't important. His problem became mine.

I know Jampy's situation and it isn't the normal urban setup. Rules are like fences. They make for good relationships.

I 100% agree this is why I will never offer this to the general public.
No good deed goes unpunished kinda thing...

Forum Sponsor