Zoning for an ADU in Linden?

Question

Hello! My fiance and I are looking at a deal in East Linden. The house is a 3/2 and has an ADU with a kitchen, and bathroom. It looks like the ADU has not been properly zoned to be considered it's own unit, so according to the tax assessors report the property is a 3-bed SFH. Obviously, the difference in rental income between a 3-bed SFH vs a 4-bed SFH will make a big difference on this deal. It would be even better if we could get it zoned to rent out the house as a 3/2 and separately rent out the ADU as a 1/1.

If anyone that sees this has done something like this in Columbus, we would love to get any info on how the process went, how much did the permits and inspections cost, etc.

Also, if anyone knows whether or not we could even rent out an ADU through sec-8 that would also be helpful, as we will definitely consider using sec-8 to rent out the property if it can get us higher rents.

We are going to be contacting the city's zoning dept right away to verify with them that this would even be allowed at this address, and to try and get a rough estimate of how much permits etc will cost us. Any insight at all here would be so much appreciated!

Ed W. · Answer

@Robert Ellis

@Savannah Walbert

I hate to agree with Mr. Ellis :) but I've seen extra living units (units that exceed the zoning) ordered to be torn down and in over 30 years of investing in the Columbus market I've NEVER seen them tolerated. They may go unnoticed for years - even decades - but when they are discovered, the ending has always been inevitable.  I don't know if today's climate of the city recognizing a need for more housing might make some sort of small difference (something you'd have to discuss with them) but, other than that, this is an accident waiting to happen.

Robert Ellis · Answer

you won't be able to pull a permit. when someone lives in it and it doesn't have HVAC, plumbing, or electrical right and it burns down like another garage I tore down and someone lost their life in linden you'll get hit with a lawsuit. good luck. you'll also be the first person I've ever seen to get a second adu built in linden. I never want to be the first to do anything. garbage deal let it go. you are talking about council variance, constructing or renovating a structure, you won't be able to get a permit. not advice but not to by the deal and not to look at the adu as anything but garbage anyone who says any differently should look at a zoning map and show me why and how an ADU makes any financial sense. you are only getting yourself into a very poor situation. tear it down and move on.

Najma Osman · Answer

Hi @Savannah Walbert,

I came across a deal similar to this in Obetz, Oh. My buyer was not able to obtain financing on it. Since it is not zoned properly, every lender I talked to said underwriting would not approve the loan. Unless you're paying cash, something to consider. And even if you are paying cash, you may have difficulty selling down the line if you're not able to rezone.

Phong Bui · Answer

Yeah, im not arguing for or against the business case. Simply providing information pertaining to legalities.

Robert Ellis · Answer

linden is far from adu's making any sense. adu's are cost prohibitive from the beginning. we are talking $200+ per sq ft to build. the idea to build is to have equity. you can't build an ADU in linden and get the numbers to work on new construction at the lending of 75% after built value max thresholds. you'll be bringing money to the table over the minimum for what, to change the game? just crazy to even consider an ADU in linden it's the silliest thing I've ever heard of

Phong Bui · Answer

Savannah, other comments are right, albeit probably hard to sift through verbiage for the relevant comments related to your question.

ADU in Linden might be on the horizon. Check out these links:

Here, here, and here

But these aren't helpful as you are looking at options for unpermitted work, so don't expect leniency in not only approval for something the city is merely trying out, but also something that was already completed without any permit approvals whatsoever.

My advice is to skip this deal. Juice is not worth the squeeze.

Robert Ellis · Answer

ADUs or carriage houses are well supported in adjacent downtown neighborhoods but no one is building and selling new construction homes the comparable will be very limited. the appraisal will be difficult. it's just a lot. I'd do them in 43203, 43205, 43206, 43207, 43222, 43223, 43201, 43202, 43214 and maybe a few others I may be missing but this isn't the place for them.

Savannah Walbert · Answer

Thanks for the reply! I may not have been clear enough: the ADU is already built, we will just need to do cosmetic fixes (literally painting and rebuilding the shower just because it is super old). The ADU isn't zoned to be there though, so I am wondering how much headache it is going to be to get it permitted and to get the lot re-zoned properly. If you have any advice that'd be great!!

Robert Ellis · Answer

yes we have done that. I'd never do it in linden. Most ADUs are ground up and are cost prohibitive. you need to contract dwelling units under 1000 sq ft at $250 per square foot to make the numbers work as a builder in columbus. the cost of an adu and rezoning I'd pass on this one. I'd build on an infill lot closer to downtown. you can get land within the downtown markets and construct multifamily properties through the same process and higher units and better floorplans. we just passed our first triplex in central ohio and are breaking ground in 3 weeks.

Zoning for an ADU in Linden?

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