Single Family used as Duplex

[Kevin Shuler]

HI There,

I know it's been covered a few times, but I wanted to start a new thread as it's kinda unique.

I'm shopping a property in Aurora, CO zoned R1. The entire area is zoned R1. It was converted some time ago to separate apartments, basement and main floor. Not separate meters, landlord paid utilities. 

I'm considering picking it up and renovating the apartments one at a time, and either renting long term or short term (airbnb) based on market rent when completed. No structural changes, plumbing, electrical, etc foreseen, just cosmetic updates at this point. 

2 main questions.

- Is there anything wrong with continuing as it has been for the foreseeable future? 

- As long as it's not marketed as a Mutlifamily, when I go to sell, is there any legal downside or potential issues with this arrangement? 

As far as I can tell, it's a home with a separate 'in law' suite in the basement. 

Thoughts?
Thanks!

[Darius Hollis]

@Kevin Shuler  I'm not a lawyer and this cannot be construed for legal advice, but based on what I know about zoning, if there is not a variance allowing the property to function as a duplex, then you could run into trouble renting it out because if you rent out the units individually and have troubles with either tenant, you will not be able to legally evict them.  If you really want to purchase the property and use it as a duplex then I would recommend you try to get a variance from the zoning board. It may be a headache in the short term, but it could save you trouble in the future.