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Thread: Possibly purchasing my late friend's turn key darkroom / studio....

  1. #1

    Possibly purchasing my late friend's turn key darkroom / studio....

    Hello,

    A few weeks ago a friend of mine who was a retired physician and an avid photographer employing traditional & alt process sadly passed away at age 74 due to cancer. Among his estate he left behind what I consider to be one the nicest darkrooms I have ever seen. He purchased the 680 sq. foot space in a business park in our extremely expensive resort town for about $345,000 in 2005. He then proceeded to outfit it with all the best equipment, LPL4450 XLG, Jobo Autolab 800, ATL 1000, brand new 30” deep Leedall sinks, etc. The ventilation and climate control system is incredibly functional although not surprising for a man who held 29 patents. He was so OCD about dust in our hard to dust proof region that he kept all his LF lenses in ziplock bags in his photo backpack.

    So the total tab on the darkroom and renovation to the commercial space was close to 100K in addition to what he paid for the property. Basically I have been struggling in my tiny 15 sq. foot closet darkroom in that it is just not cutting it on several levels, proper ventilation being one of them. I was asked if I could be hired to help catalog and value the darkroom end of the estate but it has dawned on me I might try to get an SBA or other type of loan and buy it outright, selling items I don’t use or need and having a proper darkroom to both create my own work and hold workshops.

    The family is willing to work with me, I am no longer part of the cataloging and valuation process so I am starting to work towards buying it at my wife’s insistence to at least try. What I am wondering is that since I am pretty much the ideal person to buy this, what leeway might I expect if were to make an offer for all of it turnkey? If I were not the party to buy the property, it would have to be completely gutted and brought to a point that it could sell in a generic sense. The darkroom and camera equipment would be dealt with in a manner consistent with how estate sales would usually go. So the process of selling it to the general public might take a lot more work, hands in the pot of the sale of the property / equipment.

    I also feel like my friend’s hard work and vision would be put to good use in eventually becoming a place of learning in passing forward the art of the darkroom. I am sure as heck not going to be able to low ball them and to be honest, I would not be surprised if the sale price on this all inclusive tipped the scales at a bit over half a million, a huge investment for my wife and I considering we don’t own any other real estate.


    This is niche inquiry and one heck of a long shot, but man…I have to try.

    Any insights on this would be appreciated.

  2. #2

    Re: Possibly purchasing my late friend's turn key darkroom / studio....

    A couple more views of the studio / darkroom space, showing the ventilation ducting on the ceiling, etc...

    Attachment 139338Attachment 139339Attachment 139340

  3. #3
    John Olsen
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    Jan 2012
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    Madison, WI
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    Re: Possibly purchasing my late friend's turn key darkroom / studio....

    Any fair offer on this deluxe facility will be unrecoverable in future income. It's simply too good for the real world. It may break your heart but don't try to buy it.

  4. #4

    Re: Possibly purchasing my late friend's turn key darkroom / studio....

    Quote Originally Posted by John Olsen View Post
    Any fair offer on this deluxe facility will be unrecoverable in future income. It's simply too good for the real world. It may break your heart but don't try to buy it.
    I'm not sure I follow you, this is for my business as a photographer, a profession I have been doing full time since 1990. The need for a professional level darkroom has been on my radar for nearly ten years, it will help me diversify revenue streams.

    Are you saying that I can not earn additional income from the output this will allow me to produce?

  5. #5
    jp's Avatar
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    Re: Possibly purchasing my late friend's turn key darkroom / studio....

    A lowball offer is just right. But I understand not wanting to do a lowball offer because you're close to everybody, etc... The equipment is not currently valuable, even though it's nice. An example is the ventilation, which is probably more labor than materials to setup. Big enlargers don't sell for much because they are tough to ship and not much demand.

  6. #6

    Re: Possibly purchasing my late friend's turn key darkroom / studio....

    Quote Originally Posted by jp View Post
    A lowball offer is just right. But I understand not wanting to do a lowball offer because you're close to everybody, etc... The equipment is not currently valuable, even though it's nice. An example is the ventilation, which is probably more labor than materials to setup. Big enlargers don't sell for much because they are tough to ship and not much demand.
    I tend to agree and I don't think in this case a low ball offer is really low ball. I think they know this too that is why they are very open to working with me. I am cautiously optimistic.

    There are several angles of financing this I am approaching this from as well so we'll see.

  7. #7

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    Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada
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    Re: Possibly purchasing my late friend's turn key darkroom / studio....

    I don't want to agree with John but he's right.

    Unless you get paid an insane wage, and have somehow guaranteed your income. You may have to give something up in the future.

    What I would do if I was in your shoes is buy a house more suited to my needs. Then buy the darkroom equipment separately.

  8. #8
    Peter De Smidt's Avatar
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    Fond du Lac, WI, USA
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    Re: Possibly purchasing my late friend's turn key darkroom / studio....

    I hope that it works out, both for the family and for you!
    “You often feel tired, not because you've done too much, but because you've done too little of what sparks a light in you.”
    ― Alexander Den Heijer, Nothing You Don't Already Know

  9. #9

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    Re: Possibly purchasing my late friend's turn key darkroom / studio....

    Kodachrome25

    That darkroom & studio is indeed a dream come true. It could also be a noose around your neck !

    Be sure to think like a businessman and do not let your emotions guide you... difficult as that might be. Turning the investment you'd have to make into a profitable venture could be a nightmare. Ask those run workshops what it takes and calculate what you might expect to earn after expenses. You would need a really solid business plan which might require a lifestyle change and more effort than you really want to undertake. Remember your friend who owned that studio had deep pockets from his professional work.

    Most likely The space itself has increased significantly in value over the years. The estate will look to maximize the sale value on the real property, and that will happen once realtors get involved. Here in the East, people would think nothing of buying such a unit, gutting the darkroom and rebuilding

    IMHO, best if you could work out a bulk purchase of the equipment. Perhaps the family would consider something on that order since you were a friend. Evaluate equipment values carefully based on the depressed market for analog eqpt. in case you go that direction.

    Good luck in whatever you decide.
    I know just enough to be dangerous !

  10. #10

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    Re: Possibly purchasing my late friend's turn key darkroom / studio....

    Are you talking about buying the real estate or just the darkroom contents and leasing the space? Looks like a great space to work in especially if coming from 15 sq feet! If you want to buy the real estate as well it just has to appreciate enough to make it worthwhile in the long term. If your income is sufficient to warrant the payments, why not? I'm assuming that the price of commercial real estate is going to go up in the future and your risk of getting your money back plus appreciation is anticipated. If you're not looking for an investment and just want darkroom space, I believe you could rent space and build a darkroom for considerably less. I would love to own that space, sadly it would take a winning lottery ticket for me to buy it

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