I'm looking to house hack a tri or quad plex in Louisville, KY, and a lot of the properties I am looking at are zoned for single or double family. They are currently being rented as quad plexes. Seems like if I purchase one of these, I am at risk to lose 2 cash flowing units. Is there something I am missing?
Are they "existing non-conforming" or "unpermitted"? What do the local codes say about a rebuild for an existing non-conforming parcel with a greater than 50% loss? You need to understand the answers to those questions, and then you can determine if it's worth the purchase or not.
Thank you for the reply, Matt! After talking with the zoning department, I determined that there is not an "existing non-conforming" application on file. The home was zoned for a max of 3 units in 2002, when the zoning in Old Louisville changed to the current zoning. The last zoning change before that was 1971. One of the apartments is a finished basement; so it is unlikely that the property was operating as a 4 unit asset prior to 1971. Therefore, it is unlikely that I would be able to get a non-conforming application approved, and definitely wouldn't be able to prove it.
The zoning department did admit that they were tracking the property as a 4 unit multi-family and had no intention on enforcing the current zoning as a lot of properties in Old Louisville fall into that category. They said the only way they would enforce it is if someone complained. Thoughts?