Posted by
gwern
18 yrs ago
Has anyone bought a commercial property and then lived in it? I have the opportunity to buy a cool 'loft' style property in sheung Wan but it is in a commercial building. I know that there are other 'offices' in the building also being used for residence but what problems could I encounter? Other than a caretaker or neighbour dobbing me in.
Can I get contents insurance from the bank?
Can I have the usage changed legally? (there are many residential properties nearby)
I would appreciate any advice.
Thanks
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I would be very interested in knowing more about this - is it illegal, or is it a grey area? What are the downsides to doing this?
Thanks
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it is both illegal and grey area.
Grey area usually means illegal, but not regularly enforced.
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It would be commercial usage only, there'd be no request to change it back to commercial usage because it's status will not change. To change the usage the whole building would need to be reclassified by the government and as the licensing goes through several departments it could take years to do. So far no commercial property has ever changed to residential use.
Now that's not to say that other usages do not happen because clearly they do. Many old industrial areas which are classified as industrial are now used and leased as offices. This is also illegal but are overlooked. However this could have implications in regard to insurance, etc. There was a great article written around 6 month ago that explained this in great detail.
So to summarise, it's your risk.
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I lived in a commercial building several years ago because the rent was attractive and I was hardly ever home.
Biggest hassle you will encounter is trying to get phone lines installed, internet, cable or Now TV. They will always want to charge you business rates even though there is no business.
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I am also looking at loft style properties in Sheung Wan / Sai Ying Pun and wanted to see if anyone who posted here earlier had any updates. The space that you can get looks amazing! It's all very tempting, but how hard is it to set up utilities, resell if needed, get homeowners insurance, etc. I'm a potential first-time homeowner, so still pretty new to all this. :-)
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