Vending Machines

[MIPS]

While the idea has serious merit unfortunately the Pacific Northwest is in the midst of a property crisis. Chinese nationals investing in properties overseas to hide assets in markets propped up by others paying tens of thousands above asking, creating massive bubbles. The result is that even renting a 500 square foot residential suite is about $1500 per month with commercial suites starting at $2500. I'll leave the discussion at that as it can get pretty ugly.
If I owned property then sure but for now I simply cannot think of trying that.

[Tim R.]

Originally Posted by MIPS

While the idea has serious merit unfortunately the Pacific Northwest is in the midst of a property crisis. Chinese nationals investing in properties overseas to hide assets in markets propped up by others paying tens of thousands above asking, creating massive bubbles. The result is that even renting a 500 square foot residential suite is about $1500 per month with commercial suites starting at $2500. I'll leave the discussion at that as it can get pretty ugly.
If I owned property then sure but for now I simply cannot think of trying that.

That seems to be a global issue. Foreign investors buy property in a country, and in the process jack up the prices and force out the people living there. I've seen this with my own eyes in London, where property is bought up by investors, then left vacant and often allowed to decay.

Back to the vending machines - from what I gather, there's usually just an agreement with the building owner to park your machine on their property in exchange for a portion of the proceeds. So you might be able to avoid the whole rent mess completely if you're lucky.