@Kevin PoliteReverse mortgages need to be occupied - if it is not then most likely the borrowers are deceasedOn the one that burned down the lender may have just taken the insurance check and kept it and has no intention on rebuilding.

In fact, it burned down last year, and they are in the midst of the re-build.

So it ended up being not only and investment but I knew I wouldn't live in Manhattan the rest of my life so it was also my insurance policy for if I needed to move home and rebuild my realty business essentially from scratch.

My second question is when you go to buy a home to demolish it and build new, first do you need to buy the home with a mortgage and then get a construction loan to demo it and rebuild?

It is more common for the appraisers to come up with a value using two methods: income approach (based on the lease amounts or their opinion for market rent on vacant units) and cost approach (if you had to re-build the building from scratch).  

Though since it’s on a commercial lot there’s a fair chance it’s safe to rebuild.

@Valerie Smith It depends but refacing with veneers is cheaper if you’re just slapping paint on without sanding and replacing hardware or rebuilding damaged boxes it might be worth it.

Twice now I have been quoted a price based on a 30 minute discussion of property details only to have the rebuild cost go up 20% a month or two later after the inspection discovers 1 or 2 minor detail differences.

I am sure there are many people out there and on here who have insulated brick walls with no issue, but there are people who have spent big bucks rebuilding exterior walls after adding insulation to an old brick building, In queens you might be able to get away with it, but I never took the chance.

The existing 2018 permit has expired.3-5 was not disclosed to us and we're now considering backing out because we dont want to absorb the headache that will come with getting it up to code (likely requires demo + rebuild or turning it back into a garage).