All Forum Posts by: Brian Amirian

All is well Rich. I hope the same for you and Alex!

Most of the neighborhood is single family side-by-side attached. My triplex is grandfathered in.

I did speak to a few attorneys thus far and the conversation usually gets me to an agreement that I can do the subdivision by right but ends there.

@Alex Uman

Thanks. I went through that and everything else I could get my hands on.

Again, the issue is that the existing property was built on the outer property line of the double lot (where the side yard should be), not the inner property line as in the diagrams.

Hi. I have a triplex in North East Philadelphia (Burholme) on a double lot zoned RSA-3. The existing triplex is detached and built along the outer edge of the property line -- probably long before the current zoning rules went into effect. I would like to subdivide and build on the lot that is now predominantly empty (used for parking). Since the existing property was not built to be an attached property, any new build would need to be detached.

The problem I see is that building a detached house in RSA-3 would require 8 feet of side yard on both sides. Considering the lot is 25’ wide, that would only leave me 9’ of width to build by right. It doesn't seem practical.

So.. I'm looking to see if there is a creative solution to this.

Can I build a ‘detached’ house along the property line without any windows on the property line side similar to how it would be if I were building two attached houses side-by-side on these lots? That would let me build a house 16’ wide. Arguably, one day if the triplex is demolished, an attached house adjacent to the one I build could replace it.

What about 9’ wide building with bump outs on the second and third floor? That might provide another 2-3’ on each side. But will zoning allow for that? I can't seem to find any good information on what's allowed with bump outs.

If not, is there a way for me to somehow ‘attach’ these houses and be in compliance with code? I’m thinking a breezeway or something like that.

Or… do I subdivide and then attempt to go the variance route? 

Of course, I am looking to avoid the expense for subdivision if I will be completely out-of-luck for developing the property.

Any help appreciated.

Thanks,

Brian

@Robin Bogin is this two beds or three?

@Santiago Marquez It seems high for 780 sq.ft. unless you’re North and West towards Mt Airy. I have a just rehabbed rehabbed 3BR/1 bath 1,300+ Sq.ft. for $1500,1 block East of Germantown on Herman.

@Dan Powers West of Germantown Ave and North towards Mt Airy the rents get better. East Germantown is typically lower, with block by clock differences. It’s getting better by the day though...

Their website traffic is not secure. You can't claim you pride yourself on "electronic innovation" and then not employ the most basic security measure of turning on SSL (https). I can't trust them just for that.

6:30am?

Thanks @Brandon L. 

You might be happy to know I already read your posts when you were helping other newbies!!

All great info. Thanks for helping out folks like myself. I think you're doing a great job of fostering a culture of inclusion and giving newbies confidence.

Thanks @George Blower!

Hi everyone. I'm originally from New York but relocated to the Philly suburbs 4 years ago. By day, I head up a business unit within an IT services company but over the past year, I've been looking to diversify and real estate investing has piqued my interest. For the past several months, I've been getting more serious, made a number of offers and am about to close on my first deal. Right now, my focus is on multi-family rental properties with my goal to build up a my portfolio as fast as I can. Despite that, I'm open to exploring other possibilites as I figure I may need to adapt to the market (as I am used to doing in IT services), and will never pass up a good opportunity to learn.

Thanks to everyone who I've already learned a ton from with your forum posts and podcasts. I look forward to being able to contribute back what I have received!

Brian