Should I turn my duplex into a single family house?

Question

I purchased a 1904 house, and the house is zone as a duplex, the second unit is the attic, so it is way smaller then the rest of the house.  the house has 4300 square feet

The house is located in a $1,000.000 plus price, and very prestige avenue, what should I do?

Lucy Iburg · Answer

Thank you , we decided to turn it into a single family home

Jaquetta T Ragland · Answer

@Lucy Iburg I would base my decision on my long term goal. Do you want to sell it or keep it as a rental? If the latter...is there anyway you can expand the space?

Lucy Iburg · Answer

Thank you

Sandy Sawyer · Answer

Among the questions you need to answer are...What is the demand for a duplex in the area? Are there rentals that sit on the market a long time? How long do you plan to own this? Are you buying it for cash flow or appreciation? If it's the latter, keep in mind that your buyer is going to likely be another investor looking for a bargain. Look at this as a very slow flip. Run your numbers for both scenarios from start to finish and see what your total profit is and compare with how much cash you had to invest to arrive at your return on cash invested and divide by how many years owned. Does this duplex need major repairs anyways? If so, maybe it's time to consider since you're doing rehab anyways. I would only consider it if that were the case. Hope this helps!

Lauren Davis · Answer

My husband and I purchased a duplex that was converted into a single family. We intended on converting it back into a duplex once closed. When we got the house assessed for ARV we requested one for a single family and the other for a duplex. It would cost more to covert back to a duplex and the ARV didn't support the renovation for converting back to a duplex. We could make minor repairs, leave it as a single unit and demand a higher rent for the extra bedrooms (would have been a 2/1 for both units if a duplex but a 4/2 for single family). My suggestion since there isn't enough information about your property and situation then ask for ARV for both options. That way you would be able to figure out the best long term and short term bang for your buck. Hope this helps. If you would like you can message me and I can give you the details of ours.

Lucy Iburg · Answer

Ok , thanks

Benjamin Seibert · Answer

@Lucy Iburg to give an in-depth personal response I would need more information. It just depends on your goals for the property - do you want to rent or sell it? Then compare the numbers (duplex vs. SFH) and see which makes better sense.