Cheap bastard/living quarters/workshop space

[Taylorfromtucson]

Preface: I'm a 30 year old male, who makes o.k. money for where I live and has had a fairly cheap house with a garage(workshop/attached picture) for the past 5 years. I have no incentive for buying a house in this ridiculous market, so am looking to rent. Motorcycles have taken over my life in the past couple years and it's probably gonna stay that way... The housing market has convinced my landlord to sell the house I've been renting. I have a bunch of stuff I've collected for my home, but I'm nowhere as near attached to that stuff as I am my two motorcycle projects(sportster chopper and 46 flathead) and my welding fabrication projects. I live more in my garage than my actual house, and now I'm trying to figure out my options on housing. If I rented a duplex i would only have room for my tools, and would be living on an indoor workshop and my landlord would kill me. Do I have any options, like living in some industrial space or something? I'd get rid of everything else if I could just live in a workshop, it's all I need. All my money goes to my motorcycle addiction, so I'm trying not to rent a house(prices have skyrocketed in Tucson...)my type house that was 700 a month two years ago is now going for around 1500-2000) and I can imagine all my hard-earned motorcycle money going to a temporary shelter space. Any ideas? What have you gotten away with back in your day? Can I get away with living in some kind of workshop?

[Taylorfromtucson]

This is my workshop as it is now, minus a spare room in my house for my frame jig.

[frichie68]

If I had to do it again, I'd give containers a hard look. I never liked the idea of throwing money down the rent hole & into someone else's pocket.

[Rubone]

Look into small commercial warehouse space. Many have a bath with shower and and gas where a stove could be hooked up. Many do not have restrictions on living in them. An old friend many years back sold his house, bought a commercial space twice as big for half as much and lives in it to this day.Basically a studio apartment with a couple thousand foot warehouse attached. At one time ha had about 60-70 bikes in there along with work space. When I built my shop (metal building) I planned it with a 3/4 bath in it, office with a hide a bed. Makes a great guesthouse!. It could easily be full time living space. Look into an older business park area.

[JoJo357]

Another possibility is buying a few rural acres. I don't know what land is going for around Tucson, but a pole barn is easy to construct. I did my 30x40 with a few friends, in a weekend. Or, land & a used Mobile. Here's some food for thought. Good Luck Taylor.

*M.A.D.*
Pole_Barn_Garage.jpg

pole-barn-houses-adm2d6tg.jpg

[Skirted]

You might need to consider getting out of Dodge and relocating to an area with lower cost of living. Of course you may have to change jobs but it seems all across the nation its an employees market for jobs especially anyone with a skill that can show up for work on time everyday. Find job then a place to live nearby so you aren't driving too far.
You don't need much space for a workshop. Sure it may be cramped and a little inconvenient but often its not the size of a shop that dictates the level and or quality of work that comes out of it. Its the person doing the work and how determined/skilled they are.

[Architect]

We have a small 840 sf home that was previously owned by my wife's father. Having no garage and no money to build a garage, he built a concrete ramp into the basement with a Bilco door. Since we bought the house in 1997 I have improved the situation by increasing the head room for the door and digging out the other half of the basement. I basically now have about a 700 sf shop/garage that my wife also has a washer and dryer in.

I mention this as a small house with a basement might be a good option, even if the house does not look like it would be a good candidate for MC storage.

We have been talking about a garage addition since the 90's, never happened for a variety of reasons. But we adapt and overcome. I have 5 bikes down there, small lift and plenty of room to do what needs doing. If a sixth bike comes by for service, I do need to jockey them around to make some space, but it works. Good luck.

[T. Cotten]

After a lifetime of addiction, Taylor,..

I've learned you can never have enough space. And then enough lighting.

You will always need just one more tool. And your aircompressor will never be big enough.

Its still fun if you've a good day job,... But don't ever give up your hobby.

....Cotten

[joe fxs fxr]

Around here there are a bunch of 'carriage house' apartments, basically a two-car garage with a small apartment above, often in the back or side of the main house. I always said that's all I need, but the wives thought otherwise, lol.

[EricOlson]

Taylor, you might try reaching out to the Arizona chapter president and see if he knows of anyone in your area with a space to rent or knows of anything worth sharing. Good luck!

Arizona Chapter.JPG

[chuckthebeatertruck]

If you decide rent is just as odd as leveraging other folks money, another alternative is to look for property no one wants because of location. This includes airport flyways, taxi ways, sanitary canals, cemeteries, and railroad tracks/sidings. As others pointed out, retail store fronts and disused commercial are opportunities. Look also for properties more than six months on market and homes being sold by companies not people.

often, these properties languish even though they are often 15-20 percent cheaper to start with.

We snagged a house in a country club neighborhood because it is right next to a major train siding. It sat on market for months and I learned it was being sold by an executive relocation service. That meant I was negotiating with a person who had no emotional interest in the property. The other reason we got it cheap is that it came with an unfinished 750 sq foot garage with loft. The garage was nearly the size of the house, and god forbid it was detached. Can’t have your shoes soiled to walk to the garage, you know. The previous owners also let the yard go and it all looked a bit much. Add it all up and it meant I got a perfect shop to finish out in a scenic place for a nearly 40 percent discount. Even better is that the garage was built with 2x12s and double framing. I hoisted my compressors (three of ‘‘em Cotten) into the loft and mounted them on rigid foam insulators. Nothing beats an air supply you don’t have to hear.

oh, and the previous owners insulated our house so well we rarely are disturbed by the trains. I also very much like watching them roll by.

End product is a grubby biker in a posh neighborhood on the cheap. Strangely, my neighbors like all the bikes. And they are mainly Tesla folks if you get my drift. I really shouldn’t be here. . .but there’s always a bargain everywhere if you look.

[chuckthebeatertruck]

Another possibility is buying a few rural acres. I don't know what land is going for around Tucson, but a pole barn is easy to construct. I did my 30x40 with a few friends, in a weekend. Or, land & a used Mobile. Here's some food for thought. Good Luck Taylor.

*M.A.D.*
Pole_Barn_Garage.jpg

pole-barn-houses-adm2d6tg.jpg

I have several buddies who have done the same. A couple also lease out additional acres to farmers and cover their taxes and a touch of the mortgage. Win win. Only sucky thing right now is cost of propane.