Zoning and Permits

[Cody Campbell]

Newbie here: I came across a piece of property that has a 3b/1b house on it. On the same piece of property is a 4b/2b detached apartment. It's been on the market for over a year and the asking price was 79,900. I took a look and asked a bunch of questions and found out the seller wants a new place and wants to put 25k down and still owes 15k on the house. So I put in a cash offer of 40k not thinking they would take it...but they did. This is my first REI transaction. The property is only 1/2 mile from a university and would be great for students. The problem I am having is there was an addition to the house they may or may not have been permitted. The realtor is telling me it is zoned for "church" I guess a parsonage, but the seller is working on getting it zoned for residential. Also if I split the two dwelling I would need zoning for dual-dwelling. I didn't know any of this prior to the offer, but still feel it's a steal with potential monthly income of 1500-1800/month. Question Where do I find zoning and permit histories of a property?