Zoning for Old Louisville Multifamily Properties

Zoning for Old Louisville Multifamily Properties

Member since 2022 · 1 post · 0 votes

Hi All, I recently came across an off market deal for a property in Old Louisville.  Per the TNZD zoning map, it is zoned as a 1-2 family property.  However, it is a 4,000 sq ft main house with a 700 sq ft carriage house. It is currently setup as 5 units, with 3 rented. I called the zoning office and they said it was in violation of the zoning type and there was no exemption in place.  But they also said if I was considering purchasing the property that they probably  wouldn't issue a citation because they don't really care and they screwed up the zoning back in 2002 when it was rezoned. The entire block and several nearby properties are in the same violation (assuming they also don't have exemptions). This would be my second property.  My questions are 1) Has anyone run into this issue in Old Louisville? 2) Has anyone gone through the process of rezoning to multifamily from 1-2 family? If so, how long did it take? 3) How would refinancing be affected for a property that has a zoning violation?   (I would use private money and would need to repay in less than a year likely.)

Forgive any incorrect terminology, thanks!

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  • Real Estate Agent · Louisville, KY · Member since 2014 · 257 posts · 172 votes
    3y

    @Nolan Winderl it doesn't really matter unless your lender has an issue with it. But if you're looking at the property on 1st st, that place is a disaster. 

  • Investor · Louisville, KY · Member since 2011 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes
    3y

    @Nolan Winderl, we've been investing in OL multifamily for a decade and what you describe is quite common. When the zoning was switched to TNZD, all multifamily properties were grandfathered in. However if a property sits vacant for a year or more, it loses it's grandfathered status and must conform to TNZD. We often come across properties that are misclassified on PVA as either SFR or duplex when they clearly have 3+ units and most likely never sat vacant for any extended time. This has never been an issue for financing and I've never seen or heard of anybody being cited by the city for it. The only way this might come into play is if you are completely vacating the building and doing a larger scale renovation.

    We ran into this issue many years ago where we purchased a triplex that was being used as maybe 6-8 boarding rooms. Our plan was to renovate it as a triplex, but we were forced to go back as SFR or duplex (the size was large enough to allow for that). While the end result was higher rents for us and lower renovation costs (one less kitchen), it achieved the exact opposite affect as the intentions of the zoning. Instead of having 3 nice 1BR apartments (and likely 3-5 tenants) we ended up with 6 bedrooms and a revolving door of college students. Good luck with the project and feel free to reach out if we can help at all!

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