Thanks Rick,I was under the impression that the city might ask to tear down the addition if the proper permits were not pulled. 

They could tell you if you need a permit to tear it down.  

I have a crew of people of all trades at discounted prices and the ability to get materials,permits  granite, cabinets @ wholesale.  

Another concern is Permits and Deliveries.

@Seth Larson,First guess time: the conversion(s) was(were) did not have permits issued.

And you'll need reserves in case you go over budget, and money to pay the monthly interest payment, the taxes, the insurance, the permits, the utilities, and the guy to shovel and plow if you are working in the winter.

Sid,Any addition that hasn't been "permitted", should not be counted in the overall sq ft of the building.

DBO meaning Downtown Commercial.I am thinking there is a lot of zoning, permitting, general paperwork and government/historic paperwork and permissions to be given on this. 

It sounds like the owner did the work and not pulled the PERMIT.

and how fast things are selling in your market. of course, there are other possible issues that can creep in - I saw an article today about huge permitting delays (a couple months in some cases!)