I believe a local builder is obtaining plans and permits to build “one bedroom plus a loft” or “one bedroom plus an office” condos in order to meet parking requirements for the city. The units are then priced and marketed as two bedroom units. The units have two full bathrooms and the builder will add a closet to the 2nd bedroom upon request.
There are several aspects of this that I find distasteful:
1. it bothers me when business people are deceptive in the process of making a buck (and there is lots of room for deception in the real estate industry) – what does it say about our society when almost everyone is bending/breaking the rules in order to make money?
2. parking requirements exist for a reason – the neighbors of this property will suffer because more cars will be parking on the street
3. the buyer just paid 2 bedroom prices for a one bedroom condo – one bdrm condos have zero resale value (my personal opinion as an investor) – it doesn’t matter that the condo was sold as a 2 bdrm unit – as long as the tax roles describe it as a one bdrm unit, it IS a one bdrm unit – and the tax roles can’t be changed because the property doesn’t meet the parking codes to be a 2 bdrm unit
Has anyone else seen examples of this? Are the condos downtown providing enough parking for residents AND visitors?
There is a development in Hillcrest right north of washington. The developer turned all the 2 bedroom apts into large 1 bedroom condos albeit at a 2 bedroom price. The agent was right up front though that the reason for this was the parking situation. I saw one at an open house 2 months ago and most of them had sold.
I too feel that 1 bedroom condos are basically pointless, especially in a fairly low density area. Then again, someone is buying them.
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