The unit has been empty for a few years. The last tenant moved out, and since then you've had two viewings and no offers. You have the keys, the costs keep coming, and every time you think about it you end up putting it off.
Call us. In ten minutes we'll tell you whether a meeting is worth it.
Commercial property doesn't have the broad market a home has. Only a handful of businesses are looking for a shop or a warehouse, and each one wants something specific.
Then there's the point that holds everything up. Is the rent you have in mind still the one from ten years ago? Today's market has a different figure, and until the two are compared side by side, the unit stays empty.
A shop's value comes from footfall, not square metres. If the street has lost customers, the rent of ten years ago won't come back.
A ground-floor unit, though, has an advantage the upper floors don't: it can be put to a different use. A home, storage, an office, parking. Not everywhere, but it's the first thing to check.
A warehouse isn't bought as an investment. It's bought by a business that needs to work in it, and they look at ceiling height, vehicle access, the yard and the permitted use. If one of these is missing, nothing else matters.
This is a simplified, hypothetical example, not a real case.
Take an 80-square-metre ground-floor shop in Trieste, empty for three years.
ILIA, the local property tax, is charged in full on a commercial unit: for a shop like this it comes to around 1,500 euros a year. Condominium fees and basic upkeep, about 600. Insurance and standing charges on utility contracts still active, about 400.
That's around 2,500 euros a year. Over three years, about 7,500 euros out of your pocket, and the unit hasn't earned a thing.
An empty unit isn't standing still. It's a cost that keeps running on its own.
Then there's the rent the unit didn't earn. We don't put a number on it here: rent depends on size, footfall and location, and another street's figure isn't yours. We'll work out yours once we've seen the unit.
Finally there's deterioration. It isn't a yearly cost: it lands all at once when the unit goes back on the market. The roof, wiring, plumbing and windows of an empty building deteriorate faster.
This is a simplified example. The council's tax rate, the property's cadastral value and the condition of the building all change it. We can tell you how this applies to your unit once we've seen it.
There are six. None is right every time: what matters is knowing when each one makes sense.
It makes sense when the unit is in good order and you accept today's market rent. If the choice is a lower rent or another three years empty, it's an easy one. But choose the tenant carefully: the risk isn't only that they don't pay; it's also the state they leave the unit in.
From one large unit to several smaller ones. A deep shop can become two units, each with its own shop window. A warehouse can be split into modules with separate access, or into storage units let one by one. It changes who you're selling to: a small unit appeals to tradespeople and small businesses, not to someone looking for a whole warehouse.
This is the best-known option and the least predictable. A ground-floor shop can be turned into a home, and a warehouse can be used for something other than what it was built for. The council and the technical requirements decide. It isn't just paperwork: it's a project, and the numbers may not work. A special case is the ground-floor shop that becomes a garage: converting a shop into a garage or parking spaces.
Worth considering when the building work would cost more than the unit can earn. A ground floor can become storage, a stockroom for an online business or parking spaces. With a warehouse there's also the roof, which can be leased to a solar panel installer. These earn less than a conversion, but need far less investment.
It makes sense when you don't want to manage anything, when you need the money, or when the property belongs to a company that no longer uses it. Today's market sets the price, and the buyer will knock the cost of the work off it. If the owner is a company, look at the tax consequences first.
It's a choice, not a postponement, and sometimes it's the right one. It makes sense if the area is changing and you can afford to wait. It doesn't make sense if the unit is simply sitting empty. Doing nothing by choice is an option. Doing nothing because you don't know where to start is a cost.
There are six options. Which one suits your unit only becomes clear once the figures are worked out.
The question we're usually asked is “Can it be done?” The more useful one is different: what will it cost, and what will the finished unit be worth?
The cost is made up of design and permits, building work and council fees, and the building work is by far the largest part. There's no single figure that applies to everyone. Set against the cost is the only figure that really matters: what the converted unit will be worth.
Two cases where the answer was no, put in writing before the owners spent anything.
An agricultural warehouse. The owner wanted to sell an agricultural warehouse along with the surrounding land. He expected it to be worth about 1.4 million euros, counting on a possible conversion. Before any design work began, we checked whether the conversion was technically feasible. The study concluded it wasn't: the property remains agricultural and is worth less than 800,000 euros. The owner found this out before negotiating with a buyer, and without paying anything.
He had in mind the value of a conversion nobody had checked.
A warehouse and its asking price. The owner of an unused warehouse expected to sell it for about 700,000 euros, and asked us how to get there. We looked at three possible new uses, each paired with a solar installation to add value. The structural work needed limited every option: at most, the property could be worth 600,000 euros. The owner kept his original asking price, and the warehouse is still unsold.
The warehouse is still his and the costs keep running. But he has the figures, in writing.
For your unit, the study sets out the six options side by side, with what each one costs and what it could earn.
You read it. It's yours to keep. You decide whether to go ahead. If you like the way we work, we'll give you a quote for the in-depth study.
And if the answer is that it doesn't stack up, we'll tell you that too. We've done it before.
The Preliminary Feasibility Study is not a formal appraisal, an official valuation, an architectural design, a building quote or an estate agency agreement. We don't ask for exclusivity and you don't sign anything.
Often yes, but not everywhere. The local council decides which uses are allowed in that area, and the unit has to meet technical requirements: ceiling heights, natural light and ventilation in the bedrooms, wiring and plumbing. Condominium rules may also restrict it. If you'd like to know what's allowed for yours, call us.
There's no single figure that applies to everyone. The cost has three parts: design and permits, which is the small part; the building work, which is the big part and depends on how far the unit is from being a habitable home; and the fees the council charges when the new use is worth more than the old one. But the figure that really matters is what the finished unit will be worth.
It depends on the zoning even more than on the building. In industrial zones, residential use is usually not allowed. Where it is allowed, the cost of the work decides.
Yes. The question isn't whether it can, but how much is left afterwards. Selling a property owned by a company has different tax consequences from a sale between private individuals, and they depend on the property's history within the company. Your accountant works that out. We add the other figure: what the property is worth today and what it would be worth with a different use. If you'd like the figures, call us.
Yes. The Preliminary Feasibility Study is free, with no conditions and no commitment. If you then want an in-depth study, we'll give you a quote and you decide. If we see no realistic option at all, we won't write the document: we'll tell you on the phone and won't waste your time. The preliminary study also helps us decide whether it makes sense to work together. We only get paid later, and only if you decide to go ahead. You receive the quote together with the first document, before you decide anything.
No. We don't handle property sales and we earn no commission when your property is sold. We look at the property, work out what it costs and what it could earn, and tell you in writing what can be done with it and who you'd need to do it. Then we work alongside the professionals involved: surveyors, architects, valuers, accountants and, where needed, estate agents.
We answer the phone ourselves. If we're out on a site visit, we'll call you back the same day.
Monday to Friday, 9am to 6pm Italian time. Outside those hours, message us on WhatsApp and we'll call you back the next working day.
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