Home, Land, Property Buying and Selling - Buying a mixed-use property for residential use. Anything I should look out for?

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adamgram
07-14-09, 04:52 AM
I found a house that's zoned 'mixed use' and set up originally to be used as a store on the first floor and an apartment on the second. The family living there now has it set up as a single 2-story house. I would be doing essentially the same thing, but using the upstairs as a traditional living space and splitting the first floor up between a workshop, a rec room, and a music studio (for personal use). There is a storefront to the property, which sits on the main street in the neighborhood, with showcase windows that I might put some art up in as for sale by owner with the artist's phone numbers displayed and take a small commission. Other than that I have no intention of using the space for commercial purposes, and I just want an interesting place to live.

So my question is what problems might I run into buying a property like that? I already checked the real estate taxes, which are reasonable for the area given the size of the building. Will I run into problems getting homeowners insurance or financing? It needs some work and is priced accordingly, and I'm qualified for at least three times the asking price, so I'm sure I can get a loan for it I'm just wondering if the rates or closing costs might be different. Is there anything else I'm not thinking of that I should look into before buying the house?

The property is in Philadelphia, PA.