Put Through The Ringer In Michigan
Hi everyone, thanks for stopping in. I hope some of you can offer me some helpful advice. Here is my current situation - I am purchasing one brick building containing six apartments units. Kind of like row houses, I guess, or maybe condos. There are three porches in the front, and under each porch are two doors - one for each of two units. The entire building was in forclosure, but not all units were to be sold together. When I first found the property, two end units were being sold together, and it was advertised as a duplex. That kind of made sense if you looked at the building - three duplexs's joined together. A little odd, but no big deal. I have an accepted offer on those, and as I said before, they are being sold together as a duplex, in one sale (that is what the listing agent has told me). Now, you should know that each "set" of duplexes is being offered by a different agent. Stupid, don't ask me why, except that each set was repo'd by a different mortgage company. Ok, The second side-by-side set became available after the redemption period expired, and I already closed on them, but the seller (bank) insisted that there be two seperate sales, one for each unit. Come to find out that each seperate unit has it's own tax number - like a condo (I guess). Alright, here is where I need to get to my question. The building is comdemned, and I need to get a team inspection from the city. Team inspections around here go like this: $225 for the first unit of a multi-family dwelling, $95 for each additional unit. The city wants to charge me the "first unit" fee of $225 for each individual unit because they have different tax numbers, although it is just one building, and it will have just one owner. This seams awfully unfair to me, but I don't know how to fight it, or if I can fight it. If any of you can help, I would really appreciate it. I'm afraid that if the city gets my money, I'll never get it back, even if I should be able to have the inspecion legally as one six unit multi. I'm going to hold off until I close on the others, unless I learn my efforts are futile. If I haven't been clear, or you need more detail, please let me know. Thanks - Zach[ Edited by Zach on Date 09/04/2003 ]
Sorry I can't help you out with advise but where in Michigan are you looking at?
Ponti-crack, oops, I mean Pontiac. What about you? Zach
I owned a similar property in Ohio. It used to be two stores, a shoe store and a drug store. The drug store bought out the shoe store and knocked the wall out. When I bought it, I bought it as one unit, but it had two separate deeds. My attorney suggested that I petition the city to have the parcels combined (The opposite of a split, I guess). I resold the property before he had a chance, but it sounded like a simple operation to me. Ask your attorney about legally combining the properties and then get your inspection. If it'll cost you less than $650 to do it, it might be worth it.
HOWEVER, depending on what you intend to do with these properties, you may want to leave them separate. What are the chances of making condos out of them? They're already split into separate properties. Consider reselling them as individual units. I hate to give the city any more than I have to but you shouldn't step over dollars to pick up pennies.
What is the neighborhood like?
If this is a good neighborhood, a rehab with a lot of sizzle on it may make this a huge cash cow.
I just read kevin myers book on buy it, fix it, sell it, so that's what's stuck in my head.
Hope this helps.
Ronnie
That does help, and it's certainly something to think about. It never occured to me that I might be able to combine them all. Funny, I wonder if they were all combined in the first place, and then someone seperated them? The place was built in 1950, and from what I understand, it's had more than it's share of owners. I suppose just about anything might have happened to it over the years. As far as selling them as condos, though, I don't think this is the area for that. It's a nice, well kept street in a very run down city. Most of the people rent. Thanks, Ronnie. Anyone else? Zach