Two houses on a single PIN

[William Truszkowski]

I have found a property for sale that has two houses on a single tax identification number. The first house was built in 2000 and the second house was built in 2013. Both houses have separate utilities, separate wells and separate septic systems. The second house was built with a zoning variance and is considered an ancillary use structure as it was initially constructed for an in law. Without the zoning variance, the current owner would not have been able to construct the second home. I would like to divide the tax parcel by doing a minor subdivision, however, the zoning department has told me it can’t be done as the second home was never intended to be a stand-alone residence on its own parcel when it was initially constructed. To further complicate things, the health department in the county requires a 1 acre minimum parcel size for a new septic system. If the septic system on either house ever went out, then it is questionable whether the future owner of the property with the faulty septic system would be able to get a new septic system installed. I have considered hiring a zoning attorney to see if he could figure out a way to get the parcel rezoned to create two separate PINs and have been told this would need to be approved by the planning/zoning commission. If I can’t get two separate tax IDs then no one will be willing to purchase the houses individually since there is no guarantee the owner of the other house will pay his portion of the property taxes even if the tax bill were some how split proportionately. There is approximately $100,000 riding on this arbitrage opportunity so I’m open to suggestions. Thanks for your help!