June 2018, I first found this property while browsing for a new home to purchase on Craigslist. The title stated "Unique Building Live/Work," which immediately caught my attention. After looking at some of the pictures and awing over the location, price, building height, the fact it had no neighbors, a parking lot and which almost looked like provisions for tall high bay doors on the side of the building, I knew I had to take a closer look. Within a few minutes, I jumped in my car, at night, and drove all the way there to scope it out in person. I knew I had to attempt to grab this property!
The building was actually an old US Post Office from the 1930's. It was renovated again in the 1980's. One aspect about this building that I love is that it was designed and constructed by the US government. Its entire construction is of extremely heavy duty build!
The original asking price was $340,000 but I had placed a bid for $290,000 and the sellers accepted it. At this price, I felt it was a no-brainer to proceed with the purchase, however it was imperative that I have the entire property evaluated by professionals to make sure I was making the right decision. I had setup my highly experienced construction expert, Uncle Nick Guzman and a local building inspector to come inspect all aspects of the property. In addition, foundation, pest, and sewage inspectors also looked at the property.
Checklist after checklist was marked, showing that even though the property had lots of wear, and has seen better days, its bones are extremely strong. The foundation was in excellent condition, along with the concrete reinforced walls, heavy duty roof, electrical, plumbing, etc. Basically all the major infrastructure was confirmed to be in great condition.
All that aside, if my Uncle Nick says the building is worth buying, then I felt comfortable doing so. In addition to that, all the inspectors explicitly told me they felt the building was in extremely great condition, and very well built and I should feel comfortable buying it.
However, there were some areas that required attention.
I look forward to taking you all on this journey from abandoned Post Office to exquisite private workshop/business/home. Stay tuned for more updates as renovation is started, progresses, and installation and setup of Bavarian Restoration operations.
Enjoy some of the "before" pics!
The building was actually an old US Post Office from the 1930's. It was renovated again in the 1980's. One aspect about this building that I love is that it was designed and constructed by the US government. Its entire construction is of extremely heavy duty build!
The original asking price was $340,000 but I had placed a bid for $290,000 and the sellers accepted it. At this price, I felt it was a no-brainer to proceed with the purchase, however it was imperative that I have the entire property evaluated by professionals to make sure I was making the right decision. I had setup my highly experienced construction expert, Uncle Nick Guzman and a local building inspector to come inspect all aspects of the property. In addition, foundation, pest, and sewage inspectors also looked at the property.
Checklist after checklist was marked, showing that even though the property had lots of wear, and has seen better days, its bones are extremely strong. The foundation was in excellent condition, along with the concrete reinforced walls, heavy duty roof, electrical, plumbing, etc. Basically all the major infrastructure was confirmed to be in great condition.
All that aside, if my Uncle Nick says the building is worth buying, then I felt comfortable doing so. In addition to that, all the inspectors explicitly told me they felt the building was in extremely great condition, and very well built and I should feel comfortable buying it.
However, there were some areas that required attention.
- The roof weatherproofing was in bad shape and needed to be resealed.
- A small section of the floor, in the corner, had termite damage and my foot literally broke through.
- Two of the large front windows had popped out and broken during the 2014 Napa earthquake.
- Various parts of the interior drywall was starting to crack from the earthquake.
- The main floor area was in decent shape but needs some serious cleaning and refinishing.
- Some of the window sills had termite damage.
- There was leaking water spots throughout the ceiling.
- The bathroom looked and smelled very old and neglected.
- Water heater was in bad shape
- Windows in the bedroom were not to code for fire egress.
- There was no shower, tub or kitchen at all.
- Overall the building had typical signs of being abandoned for four years and every inch needed from TLC.
I look forward to taking you all on this journey from abandoned Post Office to exquisite private workshop/business/home. Stay tuned for more updates as renovation is started, progresses, and installation and setup of Bavarian Restoration operations.
Enjoy some of the "before" pics!
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