Splitting a Lot or Building on Lot while leased

[Allyson Prock]

We are very new to this. We just finished renovating our first rental house. It is a 4bed/2bath house on 2 acres...which may not seem like a lot but in our suburban/metro area 1/8 acre is common. We'd like to split the lot (whether formally or informally) so that we can build our dream home on the back acre. Can we do that while tenants are living there? We haven't chosen tenants or signed a lease yet. 

If we are upfront with people at our open house, can we tell them that, while we own the entire two acres, the rental house lease consists of one acre? 

It's very likely that we'd spend the next year working with architects, designers and engineers...so very little (if any) actual work would be going on at the property. Likely just brush/tree clearing and assessments. 

If we can't split the lot or build while a tenant is there, that's okay too. We would be okay signing a one-year lease with a tenant and then when their lease is up, we could occupy that rental house while we build our dream house.

Any advice is appreciated! Like I said, we are brand new to this so any info is helpful!