Will Variance be Approved-How can I know BEFORE I BUY A PROPERTY?

[Trevor Deeter]

I've never done new construction, or applied to have a variance changed (am I even saying this right?) 

I know in my area (Philly), it can be a real pain to get a variance to change a SFH into a multi, for instance.

How does one go about finding out ahead of time if it's likely they can use a property in a different way than how it is currently zoned? Like, do land developers have to buy the land first, and gamble essentially since they can never know for sure if they'll be able to even build on that land until they apply for it to be zoned that way? Or, in Philly, we have old run-down warehouses being bought up and repurposed into loft apartments. How do these guys know ahead of time before they just throw money into buying it that they'll actually be able to change the use?

I'm imagining nightmare scenarios where I buy a SFH to turn multi, or raw land to develop, only to find out that I cannot get the variances/zoning needed to move forward. Being stuck with unusuable property is the opposite of what I'm going for!

Thanks for teh feedback BP