Since the seller hasn't differentiated this property's income from his other properties, and hasn't kept a detailed rent roll, I've asked to see copies of all current and previous leases to try to reconstruct some kind of occupancy timeline.

You are going to need to reconstruct the T12.

I just wouldn't want to own a building that is that old and has had that much reconstruction to convert to nine little units.

My concerns with the project are - the time to rezone and approve reconstruction- my ignorance in the process to rezone- the structure for the condo management after the sale- I saw, what seemed like, many start and fester or fail in the HR area a few years back so I am very cautious at this point.The numbers and the project look very solid even offering the investors 25% returns if I can finish it out and start selling in 10 months but I am not sure that is possible with the rezoning even though it is reducing the density in the area.Any feedback or insight is welcome,John

You might encounter that problem in Austin as well, especially given all of the reconstruction efforts that are going to be in progress for sometime in Texas and Florida and Puerto Rico.

Just wondering what what criteria you guys weigh the most when leveraging existing properties in order to buy more, reconstruct/refurbish, and maybe even build new (more units)  --  thanks again for the advice  --

The property I'm working on now was so badly damaged we actually had to tear some of it down (to dirt) and reconstruct it.So, that said, I would do the deal if it's fixable but I'd write the offer for them to fix it and you pay xxxx amount or you fix it and pay xxx amount.

Friends in Ithaca recently added an accessory dwelling unit when reconstructing the garage at their SFR in Ithaca and the process has taken well over a year navigating the city bureaucracy - with a couple of construction starts and stops because neighbors complained (spuriously) to the code office. 

You could speak with the Erie agent and have the reconstruction cost calculations looked at to make sure the properties are not over valued.You could also look at taking a higher deductible to pick up some savings.

In the event that the duplex got burned down, you will have to reconstruct a new building for industrial use.