How do I confirm # of Units on a property

Question

Hello all, I'm interested in a property that is advertised on the MLS as a 2-family in NJ.  The basement is finished with a kitchen and separate entrance, which indicates to me a possible 3rd unit.  I called the town who indicated property needed to be of a certain square footage and provide parking for 7 to be approved as a 3-family.  I just got back my OPRA request where I requested the property tax record.  On it is indicated a 3-family.  Can anybody advise who I need to confirm this with?  The property does not have parking for 7 cars, but I wonder if property can be grandfathered-in!  Any advice on next steps appreciated.

Chris Masons · Answer

Mike,

In alot of NJ towns basement rentals are frowned upon by the down due to egress issues, ceiling height and a variety of other issues.

Soudns to me like you have a legal 2 family with another apartment in the basement. One option is to try and rent the first floor to a larger extended family and you would rent basement and first floor as 1 unit and get somewhere in between what you could rent them seperately for and what first floor would rent for...

Where I have properties there are yearly inspsections that take place as there are so many "illegal basement apartments that are rented out.  It is ok to have a stove,kitcen, closets down there but when the town sees a bed they freak out.

Hope this helps,

Chris

Bill Fennelly · Answer

Don't hang your hat on the Assessors Office, totally different entity than the Building Department, pull the jacket or file from the Building Dept to find out what the property "legally" is or isn't in this case...given the fact that it is a basement unit I would suspect that it is an illegal unit...the question I have for you is this (and the same you should ask the seller)...if a fire was to start in the kitchen of the basement unit, would the insurance company pay off for the repairs, if illegal no...more importantly, if that same fire kills someone in an illegal apartment that you had rented you may end up in a legal shit storm and possible jail time...a few years back in my area a fire in an illegal apartment killed two people and the slumlords are still in jail to this day...the answer is at The Building Dept...just my opinion !

Roy N. · Answer

Remove the stove in the basement kitchen and ask for a reassessment.

Michael Krassos · Answer

Could really use your help here.  So I checked with the Zoning department today whose response was that it is zoned as a 2-family, but in their records as a 3-family for "Tax Purposes because it has a third kitchen in the basement".  My take on this is it is advertized and used as a 2-family, the town has likely not officially allowed it to be used as a 3-family, yet they are charging taxes as if it were a 3-family.  This seems wrong to me!!  Advice please, how do I address?I would love to use this as a 3-family but don't want to run into issues - not sure how it would become an issue however given my inexperience with this matter.

Roy N. · Answer

Michael,

If the municipal/tax records list it as a triplex, then you should be clear to operate it as a triplex.  It would be rare for a zoning change to strip a property of a previously legal status - though around here there have been instances where the "grandfathering" status has only persisted for the current owner and the property had to comply with the new zoning when it next changed hands.

I would check with the planning department to confirm whether the properties status as a triplex still stands and whether it pre-dates the parking requirement.  I would also check to see if a variance exits for the property.

Now if the basement unit is not rent-ready or the bedroom(s) does(do) not have egress windows, the owner may be selling it as a duplex.   Another possibility is whoever entered the listing on MLS made an error.

Bill Gulley · Answer

Try the electric utility company, they will generally tell you the number of meters as well as average billing or even seasonal. You need to know this anyway to estimate tenant's costs and rents. If it doesn't have a separate meter for a unit it may not be a legal unit, or I'd not be interested anyway paying utility bills for tenants. :)

How do I confirm # of Units on a property

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