Deed Restriction

[Ron K.]

I am looking at purchasing a property that was built as a duplex. About 15 years ago the buyers opened a couple of walls to create a single family home. Both kitchens, stairs, front doors etc are still in place. The property is in a development so I checked the deed restriction to make sure multi-family homes were permitted. I did find one deed restriction that the title company thought was a gray area. It reads "Property shall be used only for residential purposes". I was hoping for opinions from the board on the meaning of the restriction and if it would prevent the house being used as a duplex.

Thanks

[J Scott]

I'm certainly not a lawyer or an expert on deed restrictions, but based on the how it's written, I can't imagine that anyone would interpret to mean that the property couldn't be used as a duplex (or any other type of residential dwelling, for that matter).

But again, that's a non-expert opinion...