How do I turn a dilapidated building into a functional space?
hey all, please let me know if this is not appropriate for this sub. 

I live in northern New Jersey. Every day, I drive past decrepit and run down buildings. My boyfriend and I often dream of buying the land and turning the lots into anything other than abandoned buildings. 

Is the best way to go about something like this just to save a lot of money and start? Is this a futile effort? Should I ask somewhere else? Thoughts? TIA
[{"id": "fc386rb", "text": "This question has about 1,000 variables. \n\nThe short answer is - yes you would need a substantial amount of money. \n\nMost likely all of these \u201cdilapidated buildings\u201d are highly out of code and you would have to tear them down. Also you would need to have banks loan you more money to do projects of this size. Banks will not loan you money unless you can convey that this is going to be a good investment. Do you have a history in successful developments? No - okay. \n\nThis is something that would take years to do.", "replies": [{"id": "fc3v34e", "text": "yes, it does have a lot of variables. i hesitated to post because i know it's a very general question and I wasn't sure if this is the right place to even ask. but, those of you online in this community know way more than me. i have many many years and i hope one day in my future this can be possible for me and my boyfriend. thanks for your thoughtful response!", "replies": [{"id": "fcp13ib", "text": "I think it's cool that you posted, if nothing else you'll learn something.  My husband has worked in commercial development for decades; I work with him some.  We are out of the box thinkers &amp; have uncovered value in \"dog\" properties by determining a more profitable use for properties that require no or minimal rezoning.  \n\nBelieve it or not, developers are not trying to mow down as many trees as possible.  It is expensive for developers to remove trees; government restrict the removal of trees and charge hundreds of dollars in fees for each tree removed.  Developers prefer sites with few trees.  My husband actually prefers and focuses on infill projects.\n\nIf the areas in question are very blighted with high crime and high poverty levels, that is a tough time to hoe.  Who is going to buy or lease in a project in those markets?  Also, theft from construction sites is a huge problem, even in low crime areas.  A GC super probably have to have overnight guards in place to keep the construction site secure.\n\nDevelopers do sometimes buy properties with old bldgs, and develop for a different use. However, this is usually in an area with high land values.  In addition, demolition is quite expensive and if these buildings have hazardous materials in them (asbestos etc) It's even more expensive.\n\nAnother factor against redevelopment n areas with many old abandoned buildings is that the buildings all have different owners.  It would be very difficult for a developer to assemble enough land for a large scale  development, having to deal with so many separate owners, especially when sellers catch wind that an assemblage is being done and jack up their asking prices.", "replies": [], "depth": 3}], "depth": 2}], "depth": 1}, {"id": "fc38bz5", "text": "It all depends on what the end goal of the property is. Message me if you would like to discuss. BTW I am NY CRE attorney (soon to be Nj as well)", "replies": [{"id": "fc3ujd2", "text": "thanks!", "replies": [], "depth": 2}], "depth": 1}, {"id": "fc3909y", "text": "Many decrepit buildings are that way due to environmental impacts from an industrial age that had little care for the environment.   Many are whats referred to as Brown Sites and require significant remediation.   Beyond that there has to be a market/industry that needs/ wants the space.   If its not well located there is no point in remodeling.   Additionally, you have to look into the structural integrity of the building.  It may just represent a coat to tear down.   Id start by looking at the history of the building and understanding if it is marred by one of those concerns.    That would be a non starter.   From there look at the ownership, if it is city/state owned, you may be able to have it gifted to you with a development agreement, but you would need to show capacity to redevelop for that.   That means capital backing, lending ties and a track record.   Maybe start small, develop some industry ties, understand what tenants want in the market and find small flips to start doing that with.  Create a track record to make your way into bigger redevelopment.", "replies": [{"id": "fc3v5fu", "text": "very interesting! i bet a lot of these places i'm talking about are brown sites. i'm intrigued! will be researching more: thanks!", "replies": [], "depth": 2}], "depth": 1}, {"id": "fc393vd", "text": "Money, and time.\n\nAnd you would need to do some research on if there would be any financial return. Abandoned building likely will need to basically be rebuilt from the ground up in order to ensure a sound structure.\n\nI am curious where the large swaths if abandoned building are though. I am out west and we don\u2019t have issues like this, yet.", "replies": [{"id": "fc3uipu", "text": "newark, irvington, elizabeth. i guess people from NJ will not be surprised to hear this since they are notoriously 'bad' cities.... new jersey is very interesting because we have incredible wealth and devastating poverty mere miles away from each other. new mansions will be built and sit empty for years in suburbs near where i was raised, but old, beautiful apartment buildings nearby will be abandoned. i find it so frustrating that money is put into clearing the forest when there's empty lots to be used already. i understand this whole idea is incredibly expensive, but i just wanted to ask.", "replies": [], "depth": 2}], "depth": 1}, {"id": "fc3ceii", "text": "I met with a guy who had a similar mindset a few months ago. He owns and operates a car dealership with an old abandoned building across the street. He bought the half acre and had the building torn down because he was just so tired of looking at it and had hoped to get a national tenant to come in and buy the property to be developed. \n\nUnfortunately that is much easier said/thought about than done, for a few reasons. Even for a STNL property half an acre is small. It's on a side of town that has become dilapidated and new developments are mostly on the other side of town. A lot of potential tenants have already established other locations in the area.\n\nHis intentions were good but the actual execution is going to be tough.", "replies": [{"id": "fc3u8jy", "text": "this sounds like a very likely scenario. it's an incredibly exhausting endeavor but i just see many neighborhoods falling apart. i think it's a cool thing to dream about but highly unlikely to execute.", "replies": [], "depth": 2}], "depth": 1}, {"id": "fc3d9mb", "text": "If you gotta ask here then it\u2019s probably a bad idea. Real estate development is an easy way to lose your ass, especially with no experience", "replies": [{"id": "fc3urj0", "text": "i just like to think about it. i'm really young and don't have nearly enough capital anyways", "replies": [], "depth": 2}], "depth": 1}, {"id": "fc3ueyu", "text": "One way. \ud83d\udcb8\ud83d\udcb8\ud83d\udcb8\ud83d\udcb8\ud83d\udcb8\ud83d\udcb2\ud83d\udcb2\ud83d\udcb2\ud83d\udcb2\ud83d\udcb2. Lots of it.", "replies": [], "depth": 1}, {"id": "flut2df", "text": "I realize this is an older post, but my brother and I have repurposed a couple of old buildings.\n\nBoth buildings were in viable commercial areas; you need to have tenants.  If you can, an area that's being gentrified and is up and coming can be a good investment if you get in early.  Riskier, however, since you don't know how long it will take for the area to become popular.\n\nTo repurpose a building, you need to have an engineer make sure it's structurally sound and able to withstand the renovation.\n\nWe specifically looked for buildings on corners that could be subdivided into multiple units, each with a storefront. It's difficult to find tenants for a single large space.  With multiple tenants, you only risk having part of the building vacant at any one time.  \n\nWe took 6000-7000 square foot buildings and divided each into 5 rental units.\n\nIt wasn't cheap. Even though we live in an area with a relatively low cost of living the renovations were $100-$150 per square foot.  And that's with acting as our own contractor on one building.  \n\nNew roof, ADA bathrooms for each unit, new HVAC, electric and plumbing for each unit, cutouts for windows and doors for each space.  Building codes are quite different for commercial buildings.\n\nGo to some revitalized downtowns and walk around inside some of the buildings to get some ideas.\n\nWe didn't want to borrow money so it took us about three years for each property, paying as we went (with money from our \"real\" jobs).  \n\nI scoured Craigslist, Habitat ReStore and EBay for leftover and salvaged building supplies.  Windows, commercial entry doors, railings, light fixtures, vintage-style metal ceiling tiles, sinks...you name it. \n\nWhile the entry doors on one building aren't the greatest, we got them for free when a commercial building was being demolished.  We were getting quotes of $40-50 per linear foot of commercial railing.  I picked up 220 feet of commercial railing that was left over after a large condo replaced its balcony railings.  The railing only cost us $2000 and I don't recall what we paid to install it, but we easily saved $40,000 on a 110-foot railing.\n\nYou have to think ahead and not be in a hurry.  You can store the supplies in the empty building.\n\nWhile it's much more difficult to do without borrowing, I can't tell you how glad we are right now not having to worry about paying a mortgage.  We have other commercial buildings and many of our tenants may not be able to pay much if any rent until the current crisis has passed. We're able to work with them and give some forbearance on their rent.\n\nSince you're young, you have time to save up a big chunk of cash. You need to be ready when the next real estate crash comes. And they come an average of every 15-20 years.\n\nAnother building we have is a completely renovated historic building on the National Register.  The owner did an absolutely fantastic job but had to do a short sale during the 2008 crisis.  He had to sell it for less than half of what he put into it.\n\nRead all you can about Opportunity Zones.  Really great tax breaks.\n\nI've attached some before and after photos of one of our buildings. We had already started on the before photos and had put windows and doors in.  It started out as a windowless brick wall.\n\nhttps://imgur.com/a/GA5Tw3c", "replies": [], "depth": 1}]