Need advice about my inherited home-Washington, DC

[Linda Miller]

I inherited my home of 60yrs and it is a total gut to the studs/$200,000 job. I have a contractor but need an architect who will do what I want, not what they want done to my asset.  

I live there in a beautiful habitable portion, English basement, which is new. I have someplace to move to during construction phase. It is my primary residence.

I know I need to consult with acct but does anyone in DC know tax implications in converting to a 2unit rental. I know I will be low balled by developers and it is a $1,000,000 shell in 20016, on prime street.with lots of development now.

I started demoing upstairs myself, wondering if I should keep going...

Thanks in advance.

[Eric Teran]

@Linda Miller

I am a DC Architect and do a few of these types of projects every year. When I meet with clients they usually have an idea of what they want. However, the final permit set is never what was originally envisioned. This happens for various reasons such as the budget, the zoning code, structural implications and so forth. I usually give a client 2-3 options. One is more or less what the client wants and another is where I think areas could be improved.

Depending how big the project is you will need an Architect and maybe a structural engineer, and MEP engineer. It sounds like you want to add an ADU so you will need two electrical meters, the floor between the units will need to be fire rated, verify existing water meter/service is the correct size, lot occupancy and a few more items that need to be well thought out.

I would be happy to continue the conversation if you need more guidance.

Good Luck.