For an investor, the first impulse is to buy a commercial lot particularly that on the main road. However, a residential lot is also a good investment when building a house or apartment is in mind. A plus factor for a residential lot is the lower taxes since it is out of the commercial or industrial zone. But a plus for the commercial lot is its readiness for selling. In case you need money then you can put it up for sale and there will be takers.
I have a friend who is looking for a commercial lot where she could build a three-stores building. She plans to make the first two floors her commercial spaces while the 3rd floor will serve as their home. Her family was planning to put up a house on a residential lot they bought years back but her husband decided that they find a commercial lot where they could live and put up their business at the same time. The problem is that it's really hard to find commercial lots that an individual could afford here in our area nowadays. You would have to be filthy rich or a corporation to be able to buy these kinds of lots here. So until now they still haven't found the lot that they wanted.
Gracer, do they have a particular reason for choosing buying a lot and building on it vs. buying a commercial property already built and ready to "move into" so to speak... both for her stores and living quarters?
Maybe @gracer is talking of a Chinese friend because that is the style of most Chinese, having a commecial space on the ground floor and a residential on the top floor. It is a superstition that living on the top floor gives you a complete control of your business empire since the store or office is literally under you even when you are sleeping. But I agree that commercial lots are so expensive to be afforded by the middle class.
I actually recommended that to her because my dad knows of a 4-story commercial building which is ready for take-over anytime someone buys it but my friend says that she wants an empty commercial lot because she has a particular design for the building she wants to put up. Her choice is more expensive than buying an already built building but she said that's what she really wants. To confirm what Corzhens said, my friend's husband is actually half-Chinese so I guess their belief also comes into account.
As for me, I also go for a vacant lot, whether commercial or for any other purpose. It is nice to do the design of your own house or buliding but of course with the help of an able architect. At least you can concretize your dream house with amenities that you desire... provided you can afford the cost. When my husband's ancestral home was sold, the buyer did not hesitate to demolish the structure in favor of a new building. She said that a new building has modern technology which is stronger and safer. Besides, she can have the design that she wanted.
