Should I remodel as a duplex or SFH?

[Jay Roney]

I'm looking for suggestions/thoughts from the seasoned investors/flippers in the group.

I'm getting ready to acquire a property that is zoned residential, but according to the township is classified as multifamily. It's a two story home, approximately 1470 SF, with a garage attached via a breezeway and has a kitchen, two bedrooms, a full bath and a "sitting area" on each floor. There's a 2nd floor door to the outside as well as a separate interior staircase from the 1st floor space, but it's not currently set up with a "proper" exterior separate entrance to the 2nd floor living space. It also has a basement and the aforementioned 2-car garage with a loft area above. The property sits in a mostly residential area on a large lot (0.8 acres) in between a church and an apartment complex in an area that's mixed with subdivisions, SFH's and duplexes. I'm likely going to want to upgrade some of the mechanicals, including the electric panel (it's fuses) and furnace, possibly the HW heater as well.

My question is, what would you do in terms of remodeling the space? Would you keep it as a duplex and separate the utilities as much as possible or would you revert it to SFH? My intention is to flip it once completed.