They used to be places where you might grab a Coke or a quart of milk. However in some property pockets of North America, corner shops that have actually sat vacant are turning out to be prime realty not for owners however for homeowners disappointed by excessively costly housing markets. This story and 2 others– one in Phoenix, and another in the San Francisco Bay Location– share how clever owners used pluck and determination to turn disused mom-and-pops into dream homes that, dollar for dollar, beat out anything they could have discovered doomscrolling on Zillow.