Murray Hill Jacksonville Rental Property

[Kurt Stein]

Hi, I recently found a gentlemen who is flipping his home in Murray Hill, in Jacksonville, and I've been in discussions to purchase the property from him when the renovation is complete. The garage behind the property was renovated into a 1 bedroom unit, equipped with a kitchen, bathroom, living room, etc, about 15 years ago, and he's been renting it out ever since. This brings up several questions & concerns. 

1. Do I need a rental/landlord license of any kind in order to rent out the main house or the small 1 bedroom apartment in the back? I've never lived in Murray Hill and was unsure. 

2. No permit was ever pulled when he was building/renovating the 1 bedroom unit in the back. What kind of implications does this have?

3. Can the square footage of the 1 bedroom unit be added to the total square footage of the property during the appraisal? If not, would I ever be able to do anything in order to sell the property counting that square footage? Would the fact that no permits were ever pulled have any impact on the appraisal?

Thanks,

Kurt

[Jack Bobeck]

@Kurt Stein When you have a professional inspector review the property, you can see how well the unpermitted work was done. You can always get a quote from a licensed contractor to fix/repair any issues, they can pull a "repairs" permit for some of the items, and this also allows for the cost to be rather low for the permit. 

See if you can get a quote for insurance on the property as well. See what the insurance person, sometimes they send an adjuster to review the property, says about the space. I'd want to make sure that the city knows that the space is heated and that you can get insurance for all heated space. You don't want to buy a property that cannot be insured. 

You do not need any rental/landlord license if you own and rent out the house, yourself. Its a great area and your unit should get rented soon. You really will not know about the space until you get the inspection done. Everything can be fixed for a cost.