Phila Triplex vs Duplex Appraisal

[Nyelle Johnson]

Hello BP I have a property that's zoned as a triplex the previous owner roomed it as a open concept but technically u can't room in Philadelphia. I want to BRRRR it once rehab is complete however the layout for a triplex makes the second floor extremely tight and nearly unlivable as I need to cut out the hall from the 2nd floor space to get to the third floor. I'm thinking make it two bi-level units basement and first floor unit #1 then 2nd and 3rd floor unit #2. How would this effect the appraisal value? Also from my understanding I would not need to re-zone bc u can't go down from triplex to duplex u can't go up from duplex to triplex.

[Aaron Schump]

@Nyelle Johnson

Hi Nyelle. I second @Nadia Jarrett's recommendation to reach out to an architect familiar with the local zoning. That being said, typically you can do fewer dwelling units than what the zoning sets as a maximum. So if your building is in a three or multi-family residential zone, you should be able to move to a duplex without much issue.  Trying to go the other direction is quite a headache. 

As for value, you'll really need to dig into the numbers comparing the two layouts and how they relate to rents. But if the third unit would be almost unlivalbe I would imagine the rental income /cash flow would be less than ideal.