A lot will depend on where you live. Every city, county and state has different rules, regulations and restrictions. Learn what you can and cannot do on your own property where ever it may be. If you build a shop you will need to learn what you are allowed to construct such as square footage, height, setback and even appearance. Some municipalities are very strict about what you can and cannot do in a particular area. When I had my shop built the 1st restriction I faced is a county ordnance saying the secondary structure cannot be larger than the primary structure. I had to file for and was granted a variance with restrictions. I could not operate a commercial business, I could not do "heavy" repairs...whatever that means, I could not live in it meaning I could not have a shower/bath but I could have a commode. My building was built with permits and the plans were certified by a Calif. engineer to meet all the structure requirements for my area such as earthquake, wind, snow, rain and any other act of God that occurs in my area. My advice to you is if at all possible buy a property that has an existing structure that will meet your needs for now and in the future. In most cases what ever you buy it will not be big enough as you will most likely outgrow it. When I had my shop built the biggest hassle I had was with the county fire Marshall. He demanded a full commercial fire sprinkler system. I got him to back off that requirement as a Calif commercial system requires a 8" water main for supply and my street does not even have a 8" main so the system could not be supplied with enough volume to be effective and safe. There were other things he hassled me with such as access was not big enough to permit a fire truck, driveway had to have an all weather surface IOW no dirt, had to be hard packed gravel or better. I can go on but you get the idea.
