Renovation for Rear House - Experiences?

I would leave the paperwork as a two family and use it as a one family if that is what you want use it as. There is no problem with “under using” a house, it would be a huge problem if you wanted to use a two family as a three.
The second kitchen just becomes a wet bar, or a laundry room, a scullery, a mud room.. a room with a kitchen sink! Make sure that you use plumbers & electricians that do everything to code… but to make it a legal one family you will run into objections/ demands that you cannot fulfill.

resident2

in General Discussion 8 years and 2 months ago

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janewillys

in General Discussion 8 years and 2 months ago

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We are looking to do a full townhouse renovation on a property that has a rear house. Has anyone had experience with this? We understand there are lots of DOB hurdles we will face. We’re just looking to prepare ourselves for that is to come and would love some insight.

CarmenR | 8 years and 2 months ago

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Is it a legal building?

We have a legal second building on our lot (its not a house, though) and when we wanted to some work on it, the DOB said we had to tear it down and rebuild it to current DOB standards. We didn’t want to do that because it’s larger and taller than is currently allowed so we opted to not mess with it for the time being.

mozeeatupu | 8 years and 2 months ago

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Does the back house have a BIN? A USPS address? Its own meters?
You can only rebuild in kind.

jimhillra | 8 years and 2 months ago

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We’ve looked at a couple of these over the years, and in all cases the existing conditions couldn’t be built today, as the distance between buildings makes it impossible for the interior facing windows to count for light and air. These things are not easily grandfathered, so in our experience it has been impossible to much with these properties.

On the other hand, if you have an unusually deep lot, you may be able to make it work. Is there room on your lot behind the rear building? How much room is between the buildings? How many stories?

resident2 | 8 years and 2 months ago

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If the rear “house” is a current legal residence you can continue to use it as such. You have the right to maintain it and do renovations, so long as you are not majorly altering it. IE: you can update an existing bathroom, you cannot move it to the other end of the house.
Look for an Architect that works in “Old Code” restorations/renovations.

janewillys

in General Discussion 8 years and 2 months ago

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The rear house is legal. There are 2 addresses and 2 BIN numbers. There are 26 feet between the front and rear house. The old DOB paperwork shows it as a 2 family, we’re looking to convert it to 1.

janewillys

in General Discussion 8 years and 2 months ago

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The rear house is legal. There are 2 addresses and 2 BIN numbers. There are 26 feet between the front and rear house. The old DOB paperwork shows it as a 2 family, we’re looking to convert it to 1.

mozeeatupu | 8 years and 2 months ago

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That’s what we’re about to undertake, except it’s a 1 family being renovated as a 1