I own a unit in a <10-unit apartment building which was built before 1981. Since before I became an owner, the apartment board has proactively engaged reconstruction firms to explore rebuilding the apartment, so there is some appetite for rebuilding the apartment.
I’m wondering if anyone has had experience with any of three things:
1. **Stoking the urgency in your apartment building board to actually commit to a rebuild.** Obviously rebuilds happen (there are two ongoing in our neighborhood currently), but I don’t understand the mechanics of getting the board onboard. Attendance at our board meetings is less than half, and moving temporarily for 2-3 years seems unpalatable to many, so I’m wondering what conditions actually get 80% of a board to vote for reconstruction.
2. **Doing a rebuild without the redevelopment company taking all the upside.** We were pitched by one of the big redevelopment companies and the terms seem so unfavorable it’s insane. Existing owner’s stake in the building and land is diluted to \~40%, and we would have to rebuy into the new development to keep a full apartment there. Is it feasible for us, the apartment owners, to handle the financing and general contractor management ourselves? Or at least run a bid process with multiple redevelopers to get more favorable terms?
3. **Merging properties with a neighbor.** The neighbor’s house is such that jointly redeveloping our properties would lead to a huge increase in floor-space utilization (容積率) compared to separate redevelopments. Someone in my apartment complex mentioned the neighbor wasn’t opposed to a redevelopment. Any ideas on how to manage that relationship would be appreciated.
I’m mainly motivated by the profit opportunity (nice neighborhood in Tokyo with lots of interest from local and international buyers) and not by the idea of having a nicer apartment at the end of it, but please disabuse me of this notion if it is overly optimistic to think I can come out of this with a profit. If anyone has been able to collaborate with their boards and neighbors to rebuild their multi-unit apartments without getting their eyes ripped out by the developer, I would love to hear your tips. Thank you!
by sun_machine