Building a Warehouse on my Own Land Instead of Renting
Hi all

I'm looking at expanding my business and am in need of a warehouse. Where I live (nashville) warehouses run about $1.50 a sq ft for the size I need. I run an internet business so location does not matter whatsoever. I am considering, instead of renting a warehouse, just buying a piece of land and building a pop up warehouse on it. From my preliminary search it seems like it'll run me 80 k ish to build a proper warehouse with insulation and all that. But for a 3000 sq ft warehouse rent would be around $4500 a month which after a year would cost around $54,000. It seems like a no brainer to pay a little more and own my business's home free and clear after a year and a half. Especially since with NNN I'm stuck paying the landlord's bills for repairs/ insurance and have to pay for improvements to a property that isn't mine. 

Am I thinking about this correctly? Are there other factors I should be considering with making this kind of decision? Are there things I'm overlooking that are critical to doing this successfully?
[{"id": "i5n0dog", "text": "Are you including all the site work &amp; utility hook ups needed in your $80,000 figure?  $27 a foot feels really low...\n\nAre you going to need to finance this plan?", "replies": [{"id": "i5o0c23", "text": "Was just quoted $22 per sq ft for metal buildings and erection of buildings. That didn\u2019t include site prep, foundation, electrical/mechanical or insulation. The quote seems low.", "replies": [], "depth": 2}], "depth": 1}, {"id": "i5n4yoe", "text": "$80k for what? Maybe hard costs only. \n\nI\u2019d say in rural areas, it can be cheaper to build but your math is just lacking. \n\nDo you have land for sale that is properly zoned? Are you running electric or plumbing? Sewer?", "replies": [{"id": "i5ndvpc", "text": "I think you're right there are costs like hvac and electrical hookups I haven't considered. i'll rework my costs\n\nBut say it's closer to 120k (random number I pulled out of thin air). The logic is still sound right? cheaper to build than buy? \n\nAlso yes I'm planning on buying a property with no zoning restrictions then building on it", "replies": [{"id": "i5nhptj", "text": "You should be seeking advice from your account and not Reddit. This is a question of rent versus own which comes down to a break even point over time, and what\u2019s the best capital allocation for your business.", "replies": [{"id": "i5nznf1", "text": "That's wise i'll run the question by him", "replies": [], "depth": 4}], "depth": 3}], "depth": 2}], "depth": 1}, {"id": "i5nv2p5", "text": "I don\u2019t think it\u2019s a bad idea at all but one thing to consider is how long is it gonna take you to build out on the property. 6 months? A year?\n\nThink about the \u201ctime value of money\u201d\u2026if you rent a property, you could be up and running with increased capacity in 30 days or less. How much more will you make in those extra 5 months minimum compared to building out a property.\n\nMaybe consider a 12 month lease to grow to increased capacity and sales and start building out your own warehouse as that effort achieves success. \n\nFinal note: consider looking for a property in your area that has the storage space, maybe another house with a large workshop or garage? \n\nIt may be possible to buy another finished property with 20% down or less and still end up with a significantly lower payment than your triple net lease situation due to the leverage from having a conventional loan.", "replies": [], "depth": 1}, {"id": "i5pcd2g", "text": "If you believe you may expand rapidly or need some more space it seems like a good idea. Just remember that if you ever want to leave you need to consider an incoming tenants desire to own the real estate you\u2019re going to create.", "replies": [{"id": "i5pmu14", "text": "I imagine it won't be much of a selling point to people. Low demand for a property with a warehouse. But that's ok as it still works out with how much you save on rent. Plus the benefit of being able to grow my business's footprint in relation to the needs of the business", "replies": [], "depth": 2}], "depth": 1}, {"id": "i5px3a4", "text": "I am so always encourage real estate ownership. \n\nBut at $1.50/sqft (wild) you\u2019re better off renting IMO.", "replies": [{"id": "i5r6vyy", "text": "1.50 is high or low? How do you figure renting makes more sense?", "replies": [{"id": "i5r70g8", "text": "Just to clarify, do you mean $1.5/annually or monthly? \n\nI took it as annually.", "replies": [{"id": "i5rf0vb", "text": "oh no monthly. Annually would be a steal.\n\nHonestly the pricing being annual is new to me, coming from a typical residential renter mindset", "replies": [{"id": "i5uabol", "text": "Makes sense now lol\n\nI\u2019m used to hearing the psf price on an annual basis. My mistake.", "replies": [], "depth": 5}], "depth": 4}], "depth": 3}], "depth": 2}], "depth": 1}]