Variances and Illegal Splits

[Karen Ellis]

We are considering making an offer on a bank owned property in Michigan, but there are potential issues. The lot is approximately 8 inches short of the minimum lot width requirements. In addition, the edge of the home is several inches from the lot line, which violates the 10’ side setback requirements. Lastly, we are concerned that it may be deemed an illegal split. The previous owner purchased the lot several years ago, bought 10’ from the neighbor, (which eliminated the 2 zoning violations) and built a house. He defaulted on his mortgage. The mortgage company mistakenly only foreclosed on the original lot and not the additional 10 feet. When the dust settled on all the law suits, two lots emerged. The bank owns the lot with the house and the original owner owns the 10 feet. The original owner is not interested in selling the 10 feet. The zoning administrator at the township says the only way to determine whether it is an illegal split is to get a legal opinion, which they won’t spend the money for until the property is sold. Then there are the variance issues. Since the house already exists and we don’t want to do any more building, what are the chances we could lose this property, occupancy could be denied, inability to resell etc. after we bought it?
Anyone have some ideas?