i got a property in brooklyn, NY that has 2 houses on it.
each house has 2 apartments. so its a 4 family property.
in both houses the basements are now fully renovated. so i’m thinking about converting it to a 6 family property.
is this a good idea? i heard there’s rent control for 6 fam.
what are the benefits of converting, and what are the benefits of leaving it as a 4 fam?
and how does a conversion take place? who do i need to call?
thanks.
One thing you have to consider is how real estate is labelled. 4 units and less is considered RESIDENTIAL. Getting a loan on RESIDENTIAL property is a snap. Easy to do, etc. So a refi or for you to sell it will not be hard to accomplish.
Anything 5 Units and more is considered COMMERCIAL property. Lending criteria is 10 times more strict and it takes longer to process the loan. You won’t find a lender that will do a 100% LTV loan on a commercial property.
Have you thought about just making the units larger and allowing yourself to increase the rents on each unit?
thanks for the response. good points on commercial / residential thing. i didn’t know that one.
i was thinking since the basements were all dirty and empty before, and now that we actually created an environment for living down there… we put in walls, floor and ceiling, and rooms, and bathroom, kitchen… i was thinking if i convert to 6 family , the value of the property would jump up…
Check with the local government such as city or village for codes regarding legality of units. Such as each unit must have 2 entry/exit points from the building.
Then also check with the County on their zoning issues, etc.
Your tax base might also jump up as well.