Question regarding changing hallway configuration

[Luka Jozic]

Hi everyone,

I am looking for my second deal in Cleveland and looked at a duplex today that had a strange layout in the upstairs unit. Since I saw it over facetime I didn't get a picture or video of it so Im hoping I can explain what it was. So for the upstairs unit the door was at the back of the house separated from the downstairs unit. When you open the door, there is a staircase and at the top of the staircase there is like a little hallway area maybe (12x4 ft) with 3 doors. Note that there is no door at the top of the staircase to reach this little hallway area, the front door to the apartment is at the bottom of the stairs. The first door goes to the bathroom, second one to kitchen, third to living room. Technically the hallway is inside the apartment because the front door is at the bottom at the stairs, but it doesn't feel like it is. It feels like the hallway is still outside the apartment. This is obviously not an ideal setup and would be better if at the top of the stairs, there was a front door and then make that hallway to feel more like inside the apartment and not outside. I hope this makes sense.

If so, my question is simply is it worth converting it in such a way and how much could it possibly be? I know its hard without a picture but Im hoping I can get rough estimates just to know if its worth it. This would mean new flooring in the hallway and paint walls, ceiling, and doors (possibly removing the doors to kitchen and living room). It would also mean putting up a new wall that so that when you come up the stairs, you don't see into the hallway area. And then of course putting a new front door at the top of the stairs. Basically make the hallway be part of the inside of the apartment instead of the current awkward configuration. 

Another question is, would this require any type of permits, and if so how does that work in Cleveland and what does it cost?