Duplex for sale, zoned as R1. How big of a problem could that be?

[Derek Daun]

I'm in the process of putting in an offer on a Duplex in Sacramento. I check the county assessor online, and see that it's zoned R-1. What problems could I run into as a future owner? 

[Steve K.]

@Derek Daun , could be big. I don't know Sacramento, but in Denver, you run into 3 types of duplexes:

a) those that have always been in duplex zoning, and still are (i.e. R-2)

b) those that were lawfully built as a duplex in duplex zoning (50 or 100 years ago), but the City re-zoned 10 or 15 years ago and it's now in an R-1 zoned area. (your duplex would be "grandfathered" and all should be OK.) Or, it's conceivable, that previous owner was in R-1 and petitioned for an "exception".....in which case you'd also be grandfathered as a lawful duplex.

c) unlawful conversion of a single family home into an illegal duplex. These are a deal breaker. If your City works like mine, you could be issued a violation and be told to put it back to a SFH. In addition, since it was an unlawful conversion, a building permit would have been denied, had the previous owner sought one....so all of your renovations might be done "off the record" and not up to code.

So, dig deeper. Good luck.

PS: if you're financing, the title company and the appraiser are checking to see if you're a SFH or a Duplex....you might learn bad news in that step, too.