All Forum Posts by: Nicole S.

I currently own a single family rental in a single family zone right in the heart of the city of Seattle. The home is old, built in 1919 with original plumbing, wiring and two major floor to ceiling cracks in the foundation. The lot is 6,250 SF and the home is 2,320 SF.  I own it free and clear and I make a pathetic $1,200/month (compared to what I could get if the home weren't in such bad shape). 

The home is not worth rehabbing, I plan to demolish and re-construct. I plan to re-construct another three story, single family home with an attached ADU. I would place one tenant in the top two floors, one in the basement and one in the ADU.

MY QUESTION: the city would probably view this as a triplex which the land is not zoned for. I have been researching and planning this tear down for near a decade and just hired the architect. He tells me re-zoning in Seattle is a nightmare and now with the new rental registration ordinance, the city can inspect and if they do, my non-conforming triplex could  be discovered. Of course for the build the city would get one set of plans and we would operate from another set of plans, not finishing the two additional "units" until after a certificate of occupancy and inspection has been performed. 

Reading posts on here about folks buying non-conforming property suggest that there are appraisal, resale and insurance consequences involved. 

Have I answered my own question here? Do I risk this and build it anyway? It will look like a typical single family from the exterior. Or, do I build a regular single family home and rent it to ONE renter? Seems like such a waste of space and land. 

When was the last time the vent was cleaned from dryer to termination? 

If the dryer is ten years or older, I replace. 

I see you are in Minnesota but In Washington state, a lease that is longer than 12 months needs to be notarized. The state's landlord-tenant act provides protections that allow the lease to be terminated regardless of term if it's for the sale of a property or if you need to move a family member into the rental. I assure my tenants that want a long term lease that it will be renewed for another 12 year term annually, therefore if they honor the terms of the lease, they can stay as long as they want. You should also be advised that in Washington State, if we are speaking of a condominium unit, you never want the lease to turn to month to month, then the eviction laws change, making it more difficult to evict a tenant on a month to month lease. I don't see any reason to avoid a long term lease so long as it doesn't lock you into the same rental rate for three years. You may choose to keep the rent the same but my rule of thumb as a landlord is to keep my options open while not risking the loss of a good tenant. I had a tenant who wanted the same thing, she has been with me for three years now with one rental increase and we just renew the lease every year. No big deal.