Pays to speak up - Posted by John Merchant
Posted by John Merchant on September 05, 2006 at 20:54:39:
Good for you & your lawyer for pulling this off…never know what you can do until you try.
I’ve had a similar situation occur in last few days where I’ve seen a sudden softening of the other side:
I’m trying to buy a little multiplex (4 plex now, but read on) in a small WA city, but the City Planning Dept has been threatening the Seller with all kinds of horrible things if he doesn’t “convert back to the legally permitted SFR”…although the 4plex was such long before he bought it*, and may have predated the City’s zoning for SFR and therefore be a “pre-existing, non-conforming” but legal use of the property. Grandfathered, you see?
Seems the little house has been an operating 4 plex for many, many years, to the consternation of the City because of its minority tenants’ propensity for fighting in the middle of the night, having too many people, too much tequila, too many cars, too much police activity, etc., etc.
And when I started this deal this was all seemingly a big surprise to the S (yeah, right!).
Well the S is of the same race as his tenants, and those folk seem to be a racial majority now in the little town so as I was mulling over my seemingly few options, I had a little (big for me) brainstorm.
I found out the name & fax number of the City Attorney and I sent him a letter asking him to mediate this squabble so we could try to get by with no lawsuit involving the City. But allowing me to buy the little house and continue operating as a 4 plex.
And I mentioned in my fax letter to the lawyer that I certainly would not (nice guy that I am ;)think of suing the City, BUT since the S was a member of the racial minority/majority and that if his racial support group got wind of this deal they might gleefully jump in to file a suit for him against the City and probably make it a big, big deal, class action type, etc., etc.
Well seems those were really inspired words because just a couple of days ago I got a call from the Community Relations Director in that little City who wants to have a group sit-down meeting to see if we can’t settle this peacefully…and he got a call from the City lawyer referencing my comment about how the City might like to avoid such a lawsuit.
So I’d always recommend such an effort seeing what you’ve just pulled off and my own little efforts seemingly being noticed.
*this little house has 4 elec. meters, 4 outside doors,4 kitchens, 4 baths, etc…it really is a 4 plex albeit one of the smallest you can imagine…the little house can’t be more than 2200’. But a real cash-cow (vaca de oro, I suppose that would be ;)as the thing grosses about $1400 per month.