Commercial/Residential Real Estate Questions by Total Dummy
A potential opportunity has approached me, but I'm completely unaware of how commercial real estate works and the sanity of my idea.

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There is a two-story building downtown near me that was built around 1900 and has been owned by the bank for two years since they foreclosed on it. The bottom floor is rented by a business and they recently renewed a five year lease. The upstairs is a former office space, but has been abandoned since the foreclosure (still full of furniture, files, etc.).

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I know the bank is ready to get it off their books for probably less than it's really worth, and would be willing to finance it. My idea would be to rip out everything upstairs and turn it into two residential units, or even a rentable office space plus one or two residential units, but I want to live in one of them and rent the rest.

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I've done just a little research on commercial real estate loans and I'm totally freaked out about the balloon payment. The downstairs rental should mostly cover the monthly loan payment, but I'd need to finance a fair amount of money for repairs and remodeling the upstairs before I could move in (I'd pay rent to myself) and hopefully rent out the extra space. And also need insurance, etc.

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I'm a single guy with a decent income, but no rich parents, trust fund, pile of assets or anything other than a little savings and my current salary. I've been looking to buy a house, but this could serve as a residence and investment. I'd be thrilled to live in a loft apartment in this location.

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Questions: How do regular people handle the balloon payment in just a short time? Does this even sound like a feasible option for just me, or should I seek out a partner or partners? Any major questions from the laundry list I should be asking that should be at the top of my list?
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