Downsizing a house

[ultrarunner]

Or… how many square feet would you have to add to the new house to solve the problem assuming you want to keep the old house as-is?

Can you bump out a room?

 

[Deflexor]

Quicksandfarmer

Correct on all counts except we have occupied the new house. I have three months to get into compliance, half of that time gone because of the move even though it was next door and a multitude of details involved like having to hook up the water at the well myself because the contractor stated he wasn't allowed to do that (permits extra expense etc.) though they did run the trench and water line up to the well. The original owner (I am the second owner of this property) did a lot of stuff without permits and not to code, it has been a nightmare correcting just the electrical problems. I'm surprised this place didn't burn down a long time ago, i.e. 110 circuit to an outbuilding legged off of a 220 circuit with exposed splices.

Ultrarunner

That would be a very large add on to the new house involving permits, expense, and time which I don't have. I'm just looking for someone who may have had experience with this sort of thing.

My wife doesn't want to "gut" the place and wants the cabinets left in place. Gutting it seems like the fastest way to do this despite what she wants. The deeper I get into the bones of the house I have this fear of finding it not worth salvaging and I need to throw a match into it.

 

[bcp]

There is a normal-looking house around here, well-kept on the outside, but upon close examination, there is no floor and it is used as a horse barn.

After speaking with the county officials I have been told that I can keep the upper level as storage if I remove cooking, cleaning/bathing, and bedrooms.

What's the difference between a bedroom and a storage room?

Bruce

 

[quicksandfarmer]

What's the difference between a bedroom and a storage room?

That's where you really need to talk to the inspector, because the answer is whatever he says it is. There isn't any universal definition of what makes a bedroom.

 

[goeduck]

There isn't any universal definition of what makes a bedroom.

A closet is going to tilt it to a bedroom in the eyes of many reviewers. There are many stand alone armoire options.

 

[farm boy00]

Dont take my advise for anything legal but heres my thoughts.

Gut all of the plumbing. If you can access the plumbing underneath the floor do it. Get rid of all of the electrical that would not be needed for a few lights and a few outlets.

You may even want to just gut the whole upper floor so it is just a big one room storage area. Get rid of all of the unnecessary walls and other things. That way they will see it is not a livable area.

Remember, my advise is not any legal advice just personal opinion of what I would do.

 

[zmountaineer]

At my last house in the city we had a detached garage with an apartment above it. We did not rent the apartment out and it was nothing but storage. I called the code compliance office about it bc we were being assessed as if it were a legal dwelling and since it wasn’t our primary residence it was taxed double. We were paying as much for our garage in taxes as we were our house we were living in. I asked what I could do to make this non-livable and make it part of my property to be taxed as a whole. He said to remove the bathroom. The bathroom was the sole criteria our city had for making it a livable structure.

 

[prof fate]

accidental fire...collapse during a storm...

When I was young we lived ohio on a property with 2 rental units. We bought it and lived in one and wanted to demolish the other. the town refused in every way possible - loss of tax revenue I suppose was their underlying reasoning.

Where I live now grandfathering is common (pa). And building codes are now pretty much nationwide - and as long as you do NOTHING to the property, you're OK. As soon as you do anything that requires a permit most everything you touch has to be brought up to current code. In PA it was county by county what they had for code till about 5 years ago, now we follow the national code - so MUCH has been done wiht no permits, no code concerns, etc.

IN otehr words, buyer beware.

And one's insurance company can always step and in create issues..must have a railing, new roof (both in mycase) or new wiring (friend had some knob an dtube in an old house).

Not sure what the definition of a dwelling is..I mean, can you call it a shed, chicken coop, etc?

Each area is so different..someone here wanted a barn on a lot - they bought 2 lots that abutted, and were told no, had to have a home on it. They could 'un-subdivide'..which they did, then the town told them no again - they passed a new law that no outbuilding can have a footprint larger than the house...which annoys me as I wanted a barn. Now the house can be as big as you want...but that cranks up the taxes and forces a re-assessment.

So..remove struction till it falls down...or there's a fire while you're working on it...who cares about teh insurance, just sweep up the mess.