Rental Property Investor · Salem, NH · Member since 2016 · 460 posts · 276 votes
The unit I am living in is a 1 BR/1 BA on the second floor of the building...the door to the attic is right outside my entrance and goes up to a big open area that USED to be 2 additional bedrooms, however, it has been vacant for years as there was a fire in the 80's.
My handyman took a look and agreed that he could definitely add the 2 bedrooms, no problems...
I know egress windows will be a major factor and I am also looking into the heating and electric to make sure it is linked to my unit's heater/panel.
Making sure you have the permits and that the building is up to code, otherwise when you plan to sell a new buyer may have to tear out the old work to meet their financing terms. Also it is not clear if the 2 additional bedrooms are an additional unit but if they are make sure that the zoning allows for multiple units on the property.
@Aaron K. Hi Aaron, thanks for the reply...to clarify...adding the 2 BR's would make my 1BR unit a 3 BR unit...I figured this was a much easier route rather than starting from scratch and adding another unit that included a kitchen, bathroom, etc.
Ok, you might also want a structural engineer to take a look if the space has been uninhabited for 30 or so years especially if there was fire damage. Also I'm assuming that you own the attic space and it is not counted as common space of the building like a foundation or the land the building sits on probably is.