u/BlueDragon1813

Don’t really know how to word it, but if I plug a plug in between the holes, I save a space to pu another plug, but is it safe?? The video is much more clear 😅

So tonight I had an argument with someone about a property.

The property being discussed is my father’s property, which consists of a duplex and a separate, independent annex of approximately 400 square feet. This land situated in a crowded city (think Vancouver, Toronto, Montreal, etc (we’re Canadian) ). The annex benefits from grandfathered rights and currently generates rental income. I presented an other property as comparison to the actual property to illustrate my point. The comparison property is purely hypothetical: it is identical in every respect (the same lot, same duplex, same location, and same characteristics) except that it does not have the annex. Instead, the area occupied by the annex would simply be lawn or vacant space.

The other party argues that they would not even consider purchasing my father’s property because the annex does not comply with current regulations, cannot be insured, and could potentially be lost in the future (they cited potential loss to a fire). In their view, the hypothetical property without the annex would be preferable despite having one less rentable unit.

My position is that if both properties were listed for the same price, many buyers would likely find my father’s property more attractive. The annex is a separate, self-contained building that generates rental income, providing an immediate financial benefit to the owner. Even if the structure is non-conforming and uninsurable, it remains legally usable under its grandfathered status and continues to produce revenue.

To illustrate the point, imagine that a buyer purchases my father’s property and the annex is destroyed by fire six months later. At that moment, the property would effectively become equivalent to the hypothetical property without the annex (not counting the expenses linked to the removal of the remains of the annex, were there to be a fire). However, until that event occurs, the owner receives income from the annex that the owner of the hypothetical property would never have received. For this reason, I believe many buyers would view the annex as an asset rather than a liability and would prefer a duplex with an additional income-producing building over an otherwise identical duplex without one. Who would be right in this situation? Thanks for the read!