EarlVanDorn
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- Feb 22, 2017
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My wife and I are thinking about buying a house that would be suitable for a bed and breakfast in my hometown, which is an antebellum cotton town which reached its apex in 1860. Housing prices are cheap, so our upfront costs will be relatively low. There are no decent hotels or motels in town, so there is a market for a decent place to stay for what little business traffic does pass through, in addition to tourist traffic. Several people who have B&Bs do quite well.
Right now we are thinking about a couple of options, with others standing in the wings. One option is two antebellum homes that stand side-by-side. They have been vacant for a while and are in need of a good bit of repair. Our thinking is that we would live in one home and rent rooms in the home next door, and also the "servants" quarter of the home we would live in (which would need to be substantially upgraded). Two of the rooms in the antebellum home would not have an ensuite bathroom (although each bathroom would be dedicated to a room), and the one or two servants quarter rooms would be fairly spartan. Big downsides: Lack of ensuite bathrooms in every bedroom; possible lack of banquet facilities. Upside: Pride of ownership, as these are beautiful homes, once they are fixed up, and there is a definite historical feel to the properties.
Option Two is a very small and plain antebellum home onto which a 6,000 sq. ft. addition was added in the late 1960s. This addition was specifically designed to house business guests, so there are two bedrooms with baths, and an office that could easily be converted into a third bedroom with bath. This wing also has an exercise room and a large den. This house had what was a large "play" room when I was a kid, but in fact it could be a medium-sized banquet room or conference room that could seat 40-60 people. All total I think you could have a dinner for 80. I'm not sure I want to go into that business, but it would be nice to have that option. I should note that there is not an "antebellum" feel to the new part of this house, but at the same time, the rooms either are or can easily be made to be nice and modern, like a nice hotel room. I know that if traveling on business this is where I would want to stay, rather than somewhere that I would have to leave my room to use the bathroom. I should note that even though these rooms have the feel of a "hotel" room, I would still plan to serve coffee and breakfast in the main part of the house.
I will say my wife prefers Option One; I do, too insofar as living arrangements, but for a business model, I think i might prefer Option Two.
Right now we are thinking about a couple of options, with others standing in the wings. One option is two antebellum homes that stand side-by-side. They have been vacant for a while and are in need of a good bit of repair. Our thinking is that we would live in one home and rent rooms in the home next door, and also the "servants" quarter of the home we would live in (which would need to be substantially upgraded). Two of the rooms in the antebellum home would not have an ensuite bathroom (although each bathroom would be dedicated to a room), and the one or two servants quarter rooms would be fairly spartan. Big downsides: Lack of ensuite bathrooms in every bedroom; possible lack of banquet facilities. Upside: Pride of ownership, as these are beautiful homes, once they are fixed up, and there is a definite historical feel to the properties.
Option Two is a very small and plain antebellum home onto which a 6,000 sq. ft. addition was added in the late 1960s. This addition was specifically designed to house business guests, so there are two bedrooms with baths, and an office that could easily be converted into a third bedroom with bath. This wing also has an exercise room and a large den. This house had what was a large "play" room when I was a kid, but in fact it could be a medium-sized banquet room or conference room that could seat 40-60 people. All total I think you could have a dinner for 80. I'm not sure I want to go into that business, but it would be nice to have that option. I should note that there is not an "antebellum" feel to the new part of this house, but at the same time, the rooms either are or can easily be made to be nice and modern, like a nice hotel room. I know that if traveling on business this is where I would want to stay, rather than somewhere that I would have to leave my room to use the bathroom. I should note that even though these rooms have the feel of a "hotel" room, I would still plan to serve coffee and breakfast in the main part of the house.
I will say my wife prefers Option One; I do, too insofar as living arrangements, but for a business model, I think i might prefer Option Two.