Addition to house and converting from 2 Family to 3 Family
Hi, We have a two family house now. We were thinking of extending the house and going up a floor. Eventually we want to live in the 2nd and 3rd floors, but for right now, we would like to use the additional floor that we will be build as a rental, for the next 5-10 years, to help cover the building expenses. Is this something that is worth it if we will be converting back into a 2 family later on? What are the extra expenses when building, for it to be up to code for a 3 family? And what expenses are there to turn it back into a 2 family house? Thanks!
andreat.lsr
in About Brooklyn 9 years and 6 months ago
6
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6 replies
arch111 | 9 years and 6 months ago
The real estate taxes for a 3 family are not excessive, they have a huge jump at the 4 family level. My 2-3 family conversion is being done by developers, we shall see how profitable it ends up being. First, the property was empty, second, we created 3 bedrooms, 2 baths per floor. That was a critical component to get the returns they envision and took new structural framing to achieve. A new CO is not a big deal once all the trades work is signed off. http://nyc-dob.com
dazednconfused2 | 9 years and 6 months ago
resident2 brings up a very good point. As an architect, I typically don’t get into the cost analysis of the rental, nor do we deal with the tax implications, but it’s certainly worth doing the math. It’s true the code differences between 2 and 3 families are significant, but it may not be that big a deal if planned correctly from the start. The biggest impact of converting a brownstone type building to multi-family will be the circulation and separation of dwelling units. Any other code upgrades would most likely be required when doing the enlargement regardless of the number of families. I would say that, if you’re intending to eventually use the house as a two family, then just make sure to plan the enlargement with that in mind. I will however add one major consideration relative to the Multiple Dwelling Law. According to the MDL, in most, if not all cases like this, it is explicitly forbidden to vertically enlarge a building and convert it to a multiple dwelling at the same time. It is also forbidden to vertically enlarge an existing multiple dwelling. It is feasible, but frowned upon, to do the enlargement as one job, and then convert to a multiple dwelling as a second application. That said, for what it’s worth, it is relatively easy to go from a multiple dwelling to a two family.
resident2 | 9 years and 6 months ago
As a practical matter, although all the Architects have said that you can do it, it is NOT in reality realistic. The amount of time and costs and lost rent to create a three family; bringing the whole building up to code (It is a lot more than just a sprinkler system!) to get a new certificate of occupancy as a multiple dwelling ( a two is NOT a multiple dwelling as per DOB) the head aches with DOB etc., and then the increase in Real Estate tax assessment due to the “Improvements” and reassessment for the 3 family use…. you could never get enough rent to justify the additional expense.
arch111 | 9 years and 6 months ago
We just completed a 2 to 3 conversion. You will need sprinklers. Our plan examiner would not allow a powder rm in the basement. http://nyc-dob.com
dazednconfused2 | 9 years and 6 months ago
Keep in mind that you will most likely have to add sprinklers when going from 2 to 3 families, and vice versa. It’s also likely that your 2 story is less than 25′ tall, and a third story would bring you over that. That will also trigger sprinklers.
architensions | 9 years and 6 months ago
Hi Adel, our office have done a couple of additions in Brooklyn. One recently completed. If you are converting up to 3 families is manageable, and not sure if it’s worth to converting it back to 2 family. You have to change the Certificate of occupancy back to 2 which is something doable but a bit long and costly especially on the expediting service point of you. As far as going up one floor , it all depends on structure, FAR, etc. We would be happy to further talk and show our work, Regards, We can be reached at architensions.com info@architensions.com 917-438-6831