Question on First Househack

[Kristine A.]

Hi everyone - I've been lurking for a while and still haven't bought my first investment property. A home I'm interested in has been sitting on the market for a while and I think I know why: It's a 2-family with a possibly illegal 3rd basement apartment. Fully rented. I'd be interested in purchasing if: 1) I can owner-occupy both the first and second floor apartments (the footprint is small and I'd like to turn it into a single family space) 2) I can make sure the basement apartment is legally habitable. Can I even legally do this? It would involve moving the renters out of both apartments and verifying that the basement apartment is rent-able. I wouldn't mind keeping that tenant if the rent is reasonable but the owner won't show any lease agreements or proof of income/expenses. Thanks for your thoughts on this. K

[Antoine Martel]

I think you should be able to check with the city to verify that the 3rd unit is legal or not before buying the property. The owner should also be able to provide you leases and expenses. You'll need to verify what they say is true and if they're not passing that info over that isn't a good sign.