The county record said three units, the building had four, and a zoning letter is what closed it

Here is a case that shows exactly what a zoning verification letter does for a unit count mismatch. A fourplex, two up two down, $585k, in a first ring suburb where current zoning permits two units per lot. The building predates the zoning by about forty years. The county property record shows three units. The fourth is a basement unit with its own entrance, its own meter, and a tenant in place nine years. Anyone who has spent time on lot questions should be nervous about that mismatch, so the right first move, before spending money on anything else, is ordering a zoning verification letter from the municipality. That process and what the letter actually says vary a lot by city, so ask what form yours issues before assuming it will help. In this case the letter comes back in 19 days confirming the four unit use as legal nonconforming, with the condition that if the use lapses for more than twelve consecutive months the nonconforming status goes with it. That condition is the whole risk of the building, and the exact window is something a buyer would never know without the letter. What nearly kills it is insurance. The first carrier will not bind four units when the assessor shows three, and the lender's appraiser wants the discrepancy resolved before delivering the report. Two closing extensions, 14 days total, and a seller one week from walking. Rents at close: 1,100, 1,100, 1,250 for the larger upper, 1,300 for the basement unit, which is oddly the nicest. Taxes 7,400. Insurance 4,900 with the second carrier. The thing to keep: a 400 dollar letter reorders the entire deal. The buyer now knows the twelve month clock, which means never letting all four sit empty through a long renovation, and has something to hand the next appraiser or buyer.