Buying Our Building Was the “Best Decision We Ever Made”

QUESTION:

Do you own your own building?

NO: 50%

• We live in a huge, Civil War-vintage woolen mill near a major Philadelphia river. It was converted into a center for entrepreneurial artisans, craftsmen, and artists. We have four large spaces in this complex, with 15-foot ceilings and loads of light. Couldn’t ever replicate or purchase something like this studio space. — Barbara Chandler Allen, Fresh Artists, Philadelphia

• Never really thought it was the right thing to do with the growth we experience. Now, in hindsight it would have been smart to do because of the increase in lease rates and other expenses in California. Rather than put the capital into a building, we put it into people and technology to service customers. — Brian Hite, Image Options, Foothill Ranch, California
• Soon. It’s my five-year goal to own my own building. — Kristin Lanzarone, WrapStar Pro, Sacramento, California
• Lease. Used to own my building, but didn’t want that expense and upkeep. — Rick Mandel, Mandel Graphic Solutions, Glendale, Wisconsin
• We plan to buy the building, but given the huge run up in real estate we are content leasing and waiting to see if prices will ever come down a little. — Cain Goettelman, FLS Banners, Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin

YES: 50%

• Best decision we ever made. Gained equity and payment flexibility during the pandemic. — Jason Roberts, Futura Color, Poway, California

• We have owned our building for five years now. We are currently beginning construction of a 29,000 square-foot expansion. — Gary Schellerer, ER2 Image Group, Hanover Park, Illinois
• Owning our space is a critical component in giving us the freedom to reconfigure as our business grows and evolves. — Wade Neff, Strategic Factory,
  Owings Mills, Maryland
• Our corporation does not own the building, but I, the owner of the company, do. So, the company rents the building from me, the property owner. We are a smaller company and so this scenario gives a big tax advantage at the end of the day. It might not make as much sense for a larger company to be set up that way. I am not a tax or legal professional; this if for informational purposes only! — Tracy Hiner, Black Crow Studios, Long Beach, California