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April 13, 2008
Changing the C of O from 2 to 3 family?
We own a 3-story Brownstone with a 2-family C of O. We currently have a tenant renting the 3rd floor apartment, and we live in the bottom duplex (parlor floor and street level). A lot of the duplex space is unused, and since we bought the building at market peak a few years ago, the mortgage is a bit of a stretch. Renting out the parlor floor would be ideal for us, but we are not sure about the Certificate of Occupancy issue. Does anyone have any thoughts on the legal issues & process of changing from 2-family to 3-family? Legally vs. not legally?
Comments
If you make the place a three family and don't legally change the C of O you may have trouble getting back rent from or evicting a non-paying tenant.
To change the C of O the legal way you'll need to hire an architect and expeditor. You may find them both at the same firm. My experience has been total costs, not including actual renovations, in the ballpark of $10K. Others on this forum thought one could find a better deal (say, $7.5K) but offered no specific references.
Posted by: guest at April 14, 2008 10:11 AM
We are in the process of changing our C of O (from 6 to 4 family) and I can tell you the city has a lot of requirements. It is not as simple as adding/removing a kitchen and bath. All electrical and plumbing must be up to code, the first floor apt must be handicap accessible and the list goes on. The cost of the architect is the least of your worries. I would not recommend renting out an "authorized" apt, just like the last poster said, it can cause issues when trying to evict tenants.
Posted by: guest at April 15, 2008 1:07 AM
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