Illegal Triplex That’s Actually Legal

[Peter Zoltowski]

Hello. I can across a listing for a property that notes the property has been improperly converted into a triplex. In doing some research I came across an approved zoning variance from 1950 where the property was approved to be converted to 3 units. It appears that the city’s online records may be incorrect and that the seller is unaware that, at least in the past, the property was at one time a legal triplex. This seems to present an opportunity. Has anyone ever been in this situation? How likely is the local government to honor a 70 year old variance?