Buy & Hold Property built on a "double" lot. What do I do?

Question

I've owned a rental property in the Kirkwood/East Lake neighborhood of Atlanta for over 10 years. The 100 year old 3/2 house is built on a "double lot", which gives it a nice size yard for intown living and a nice feature for prospective tenants.

I'm happy with the cash flow I've realized over the last 10 years, but I wonder if I'm leaving something on the table.  It seems like I should be doing something with the other half of my lot!

• Can I split the lot and sell half of the lot that the house isn't occupying?
• Should I build another property on half the lot?
• Is there anything else I should consider doing?

I have an existing mortgage on the property so I'm not sure how that impacts my ability to "split" the lot/property.

Does anyone have experience splitting lots in Atlanta or Dekalb County? Any horror stories? Is this even feasible with a mortgage?

Thanks for your input and time!!

Michaela G. · Answer

it also depends where the house is sitting on the property. Does the extra lot have road frontage? The zoning in your area will tell you how much frontage and sqf are needed for a conforming lot.

Ryan Miller · Answer

I am in a similar situation w/ our 3 family in Delmar, NY sitting on a double lot. It was one of the most appealing aspects of the property. I was able to access the zoning map and it looks like a single family would be as big as we could go. If thats the case, I may think about storage units....although thats outside of my wheel house. If I can split, I would build as many units as allowed. Interested to hear how you guys make out. Best of luck!

Taber Roberts · Answer

Thomas S. I really like your recommendation on multi unit.  This isn't something that I had considered, but might be the highest and best use for the property. Thanks!

Taber Roberts · Answer

@Michaela G. great points!

We are Dekalb Co and City of Atlanta. The lot dimensions are 241x65; but we have an alley that runs along the back of the lot so if the 65 is too narrow (and we couldn't get a variance) maybe we could split it in 2 squares instead of 2 rectangles.

The house sits to the southwest corner of the lot, so  anyway you slice it the house is out of the way.

Thanks again for your input! Gives me more homework to do and more things to consider. Thanks!

Michaela G. · Answer

I think Kirkwood is Dekalb county, right? Check with the county. You might even find a zoning map online, if you search.

In FUlton country, if it's R4 (SFH) then they require a road frontage of 50'. If it's R4b, then it's 40' . I don't know Dekalb's requirements.

You'll also need to know what setbacks are required on the sides, to make sure that you have that distance from your house to the point where you're thinking of splitting.

Taber Roberts · Answer

@Michaela G. thanks for the input! I believe the house is positioned in such a way that you could split the lot directly in half and build on the other half and still meet all zoning requirements but I will look into that specifically.

Thomas S. · Answer

Only the town buildings department can advise on the legal ability to split the lots.

What is the value of the building separate from the lot. Is there any new construction in the area, are old buildings being demolished to make way for multi unit apartments.

A double lot may be rezoned for a 4,6,8 unit modern complex that would far exceed the value of your present investment.

The real value may be in selling to a developer, in which case you do not want to rush into splitting the lot as the real value may be future development on the double as it is.

Paul C. · Answer

Good luck @Taber Roberts . We bought our first house in the "Parkview" neigborhood last summer and love it! I'll be following to hear what you decide, sounds interesting!

Andrew Postell · Answer

@Taber Roberts While the lot does have some value most of the value from the property comes from the home.  Based on your description it appears you have owned the home for a while and may have equity in the property.  If you don't have any equity in the property the lender could have a problem with it.  I would certainly consult a title company on the proper procedures at this point.  While I have done this on multiple occasions it has been several years.

Taber Roberts · Answer

@Andrew Postell thanks Andrew! I thought surely I'd have to refi my existing mortgage. Great to hear this might not be the case!

Just curious, why would my current lender be okay with releasing their interest in this portion of the property? Or would they still remain as the lien holder?

Buy & Hold Property built on a "double" lot. What do I do?

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