Garage to Apartment - Need Help! (Hempstead, Nassau: attorney, house, inspector)

[KStarfish82]

Hi, I'm new to this site, but am in desperate need of help.

The Situation:

My fiance bought a house in 2006. The house is located in the Town of Hempstead jurisdiction. He purchased a house that has one house, and a garage that was converted to a studio apartment.

When they purchased the house, my fiance's father, turned down the right to any C.O.....a very dumb move, I know.

Well we want to sell.

There are two open permits on the house. The first we are not sure of because the microfilm got lost at the Town Hall. The other is of the garage. The original blue prints indicate a garage, with a toilet and a garage door.

Currently, there is no garage door, it has baseboard heating, gas stove, fridge, counter tops, bathroom/sink/shower, and two closets. Even though it is still similar to the drawings, things have been changed to create a living space.

The Nassau Assessor's office says the it is a dwelling because someone can live there and taxes it as a dwelling. However, the Town sees the permit as a garage. An inspector would mean that he could get fined.

The original permits date back to the 40s.

So the questions are:

Is it possible to legalize it as an apartment? How would you do this?

If we wanted to convert it to a garage, how would we do this?

This place is located in Bay Park....originally built in 1926.

Each building is located on an individual property....so could they be separated and sold separately?

We need help and advice.

Thanks in advance!

[KStarfish82]

Bump

[OhBeeHave]

I would suggest you get an attorney. There are a few grey areas here and two different government entities interpreting this structure differently. That alone could cause enough grief for a homeowner.