Are parking spaces and garage boxes a good investment?
If the company that owns the lot is selling them it is doing so because it feels it will make more money doing so.  You need to read carefully what it is you are getting and what the guarantees are from the owner of the property and the parking structure.  I have heard from friends in Chicago that said there are people who will sell spaces they do not own as a scam.  There are also companies that declare bankruptcy and go out of business after signing long term leases for their spots.  They sell the lot to another company(which they have an interest in) and all the leases that they sold are now void so they can resell the spots.  Because of this if I were going to invest in a parking space, I would make sure: The company making the offer is reputable and solvent Check for plans for major construction/demolition nearby that would impact your short and long term prospects for rent. Full time Rental would Recoup my investment in less than 5 years.  Preferably 3 years.  The risk on this is too high for me with out that kind of return. 15 years ago I bought a beach condo in Miami for $400,000 and two extra parking spaces for $3000 each. Today the condo is worth 600,000 but the rent barely covers mortgage repairs and property taxes. Most of The old people in the building have since died and are now replaced with families with at least two cars and spots are in short supply. I turned down offers of 25,000 for each parking space. I have the spaces rented out for $200 per month no maintenance for an 80% annual return on my purchase price and the value went has gone up over $700%. And no realtors commissions if i decide to sell the spaces. "No no no no!!!!  Do not spend 25k on a damn slab of concrete when you don't even own the land! You are not ""truly"" the owner unless you legally own the land. I don't care what country your talking about. If you like I'll come over to your place, mix and pour some concrete on the floor, and you can pay me 5 euro. Deal? Buy the smallest parcel of land you can find. Own the land. Pour some concrete on it and viola!!!" "In Italy (even with taxes that are more than 50% on income) owning garages is generally a good business, as you said: ""making money while you sleep"", because of no maintainance. Moreover garages made by real concrete (and not wood like in US) are still new after 50 years, you just repaint them once every 20 years and you change the metal door gate once every 30 years. After 20 years you can be sure the price of the garage will be higher than what you paied it (at least for the effect of the inflation, after 20 years concrete and labour work will cost more than today). The only important thing before buying it is to make sure it is in an area where people are eager to rent it. This is very common in Italian cities' downtown because they were built in dark ages when cars did not exists, hence there are really few available parkings."
AAAA Quality Garage Door Co. offers high quality garage door repair services at affordable prices. Our experienced technicians are fully equipped and capable of repairing any brand garage door or opener, whether residential or commercial. Whether you're looking for a full fledged garage door repair service, or just want a tune up on your residential garage, our expert professionals are just a phone call away! Here in Denver, the local Kroger chain went into grocery pickup in a big way about 18 months ago. They carved off part of the retail space at the front of select stores and installed coolers &amp; storage lockers for holding orders placed online, and also grabbed a couple of close-in parking spots and put in hard-wired call boxes on yellow stanchions so people could drive up and announce they were ready to have someone wheel out their groceries. About three months ago they quietly removed all the visible equipment, although I think the storage areas remain. I'm just not sure how profitable it was for them. Make sure that you have the smallest house in the neighborhood.  Then hopefully anyone with nefarious intent ill go elsewhere.   Don't have anything visible from the street that is expensive.  This includes cars (park the BMW in the windowless garage), fancy grills, pools, bikes, etc.   For maximum effect, put a broken down car in front of the house.  Preferably something 20-30 years old and up on blocks, like an old pickup truck.  A couch on the front porch and a old tub in the yard (unmowed) will complete the effect. Here in Denver, which is clearly in the midst of an economic boom, the city's premiere shopping center (Cherry Creek Mall) is struggling despite the presence of high-end shops like Nieman Marcus and Restoration Hardware, among many others. The adjacent business district (Cherry Creek North) is awash in new high-rises, office buildings and stand-alone retail stores, but the city council is in the pocket of developers so they've approved all this growth while eliminating the need to provide adequate parking. Since so many non-shoppers were leaving their cars in mall garages all day long, mall officials instituted paid parking. Now, you can park for free if you're staying for less than an hour, but beginning with the 61st minute you're being charged. This has had a detrimental effect on many of the smaller stores in the mall, most of which relied on strolling visitors for a large share of their business. With the limited free parking, people are running their planned errands and then getting the hell out of there before the hour is up. It seems like a pretty stupid way to run a business, especially since several suburban malls have the same stores and unlimited parking. "This is the best tl;dr I could make, [original](http://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/transportation/100000-per-parking-space-costs-soar-for-sound-transits-kent-park-and-ride-garage/) reduced by 93%. (I'm a bot) ***** &gt; The agency says cost estimates have soared to $65 million, compared to the previous $35 million, to add as many as 550 spaces by 2023 at the Sounder train station in Kent, which already has one big garage.  &gt; Staff will present options and answer questions from 4-7 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 19, at the station, 23 A St. S.W. Sumner Station: Sound Transit will build a garage, sidewalks and lighting, adding a net 505 stalls by 2021, for $52 million.  &gt; Sound Transit says 51 percent of riders drive to Kent Station, but the 12 percent &amp;quot;Walk&amp;quot; share includes many who park off-site.   ***** [**Extended Summary**](http://np.reddit.com/r/autotldr/comments/70d07p/100000_per_parking_space_costs_soar_for_sound/) | [FAQ](http://np.reddit.com/r/autotldr/comments/31b9fm/faq_autotldr_bot/ ""Version 1.65, ~210651 tl;drs so far."") | [Feedback](http://np.reddit.com/message/compose?to=%23autotldr ""PM's and comments are monitored, constructive feedback is welcome."") | *Top* *keywords*: **park**^#1 **station**^#2 **garage**^#3 **Sound**^#4 **Kent**^#5" "What are the options available for safe, short-term parking of funds? Savings accounts are the go-to option for safely depositing funds in a way that they remain accessible in the short-term. There are many options available, and any recommendations on a specific account from a specific institution depend greatly on the current state of banks. As you're in the US, If you choose to save funds in a savings account, it's important that you verify that the account (or accounts) you use are FDIC insured. Also be aware that the insurance limit is $250,000, so for larger volumes of money you may need to either break up your savings into multiple accounts, or consult a Accredited Investment Fiduciary (AIF) rather than random strangers on the internet. I received an inheritance check... Money is a token we exchange for favors from other people. As their last act, someone decided to give you a portion of their unused favors. You should feel honored that they held you in such esteem. I have no debt at all and aside from a few deferred expenses You're wise to bring up debt. As a general answer not geared toward your specific circumstances: Paying down debt is a good choice, if you have any. Investment accounts have an unknown interest rate, whereas reducing debt is guaranteed to earn you the interest rate that you would have otherwise paid. Creating new debt is a bad choice. It's common for people who receive large windfalls to spend so much that they put themselves in financial trouble. Lottery winners tend to go bankrupt. The best way to double your money is to fold it in half and put it back in your pocket. I am not at all savvy about finances... The vast majority of people are not savvy about finances. It's a good sign that you acknowledge your inability and are willing to defer to others. ...and have had a few bad experiences when trying to hire someone to help me Find an AIF, preferably one from a largish investment firm. You don't want to be their most important client. You just want them to treat you with courtesy and give you simple, and sound investment advice. Don't be afraid to shop around a bit. I am interested in options for safe, short ""parking"" of these funds until I figure out what I want to do.  Apart from savings accounts, some money market accounts and mutual funds may be appropriate for parking funds before investing elsewhere. They come with their own tradeoffs and are quite likely higher risk than you're willing to take while you're just deciding what to do with the funds. My personal recommendation* for your specific circumstances at this specific time is to put your money in an Aspiration Summit Account purely because it has 1% APY (which is the highest interest rate I'm currently aware of) and is FDIC insured. I am not affiliated with Aspiration. I would then suggest talking to someone at Vanguard or Fidelity about your investment options. Be clear about your expectations and don't be afraid to simply walk away if you don't like the advice you receive. I am not affiliated with Vanguard or Fidelity. * I am not a lawyer, fiduciary, or even a person with a degree in finances. For all you know I'm a dog on the internet." "You're hearing alot of talk about housing (and by implication property) not being an investment today because on the downside of a market, the conventional wisdom is to be negative about buying things that have lost value. Just as it was dumb to listen to your coworker about hot .Com IPOs in 1999, it's dumb to listen to the real estate naysayers now. Here's another question along a similar vein: Were stocks a good investment in the spring of 2009?  The conventional wisdom said: ""No, stocks are scary! Buy T-Bills or Gold Bullion!"". The people who made money said: ""Wait a second, Goldman Sachs is down like 75%? IBM is down like 30%, are they going anywhere? Time to buy."" The wrong house is a poor investment in any economy. Buying a house in Detriot in 1970 was not a good move. Buying a house that needs $50k in work, not a good move. Buying a condo with a bankrupt HOA in Florida is not a good idea. But a good house that is well cared for is a great investment.  I'm living in a house right now that is 80 years old, well maintained and affordable on a single income. A similar home a few blocks away sold in May for the same price as we paid in 2006. I'm paying about 20% less than I would for an apartment, and we'll think about moving in 2016 or 2017, by which time I'll probably have put $30-50k into the house. (Roof, kitchen, exterior painting, minor renovation)" For so little use, you are probably better off not owning a car. Car ownership has high fixed costs and unexpected ones like repairs. Difficult parking makes it worse. If you do buy a car, you probably shouldn't buy a new $20k one. A used car will depreciate much less. Be aware that if you own a car, you will end up using it much more than you thought. That may be good or bad. When you already paid the fixed costs, using it feels almost free, so you will start driving where you used to bike to take public transport. Then you will notice that parking in the center is annoying, so you will start shopping at big stores out of town.