Is This A Good Idea

I was thinking about buying a house with a legal apartment on it. So I could rent out that part to help pay for the mortgage.

Has anyone done this?

If so how were the results?

Comments(2)

  • KyleGatton27th April, 2004

    If its a legal apartment then it may be considered mutifamily. So your mortgage, and insurance will be different than a single family house. Also the appraisal will reflect multi rates per square foot versus a single family, dependant on your area, that could be good or bad. Some areas here in Florida still consider that a single family, so you will have to check with your area to see if that is the case in your area. If one designation sells for a higher value per square foot versus what you bought it for, you may want to have it changed after you buy it to increase the value.


    Good Luck,
    Kyle

  • alexlev27th April, 2004

    If you're going to live in one of the units and rent out the other unit, you should pretty much be able to get the same sort of financing as you would for a SFH. I think it's a brilliant idea, and I take my hat off to anyone who is intelligent enough to do this. It's one of the few ways to turn your primary residence into a cash generating mechanism. Otherwise, your house is just a liability, not an asset.

    My wife and I considered doing the same thing after we came back from working in Russia. But after spending the last 10 years living in a 700 sq. ft. apartment, we have a bit of a hang-up about tight spaces, and are set on getting ourselves a spacious stand-alone house.

    Good luck.

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