Property in Brooklyn purchased as a TWO Family but is a Legal ONE

[Howard C]

I have an issue with a property that I own in Brooklyn that just came to light when I decided to sell.  I purchased the house as a TWO family, as was stated in the contract, but now finding out that I can't get a Letter of No Objection (LNO) for a TWO family.  My attorney basically screwed up during the purchase and never requested a LNO for me back then and since the house was build prior to 1938 a C of O is not required.  I am now forced to sell the house as a single family, which is setup as a TWO, but this will certainly yield a lower price since a TWO family would be worth more in my area.  Additionally, I don't want to go through the process of obtaining permits and applying for a new C of O since the the work that was done prior to converting it to a TWO family was most likely not done legally (eg. no permits were pulled) and certain work would have to be changed with the new building code.  What would you do if you were in my shoes?

[Mala S.]

I would try to legalize it if we were you. It may end up being a very simple thing to do. You should get an architect to advise you on what it would entail. You stand to lose 100-200k! Unless you are in a big rush to sell, why wouldn’t you spend a little time and money to save 100-200k?
Btw, dob hired many more staff lately so processing times are much faster than they used to be. I don’t do this type of work but if you need a referral for an architect who does pm me.