Condo Conversions in Albany, CA

Albany is a city of modest bungalows on a compact grid, and its multi-unit stock is limited — mostly duplexes and a scattering of small apartment buildings along the main corridors. We scope conversion work here accordingly: the realistic Albany project is a two-to-four-unit building, which under the Subdivision Map Act proceeds by parcel map rather than tract map, paired with a condominium plan under the Davis-Stirling Common Interest Development Act. The plan defines each unit’s boundaries, the common area, and exclusive-use areas — and on Albany’s small lots, exclusive-use assignments for yards, driveways, and parking are often the part owners care about most, because there is so little land to divide. Both documents record with the Alameda County Recorder following review by the Alameda County Surveyor’s office.

Small lots concentrate the stakes. Albany parcels commonly run narrow, with setbacks where inches matter and buildings placed tight to the lines; a conversion map inherits every one of those boundary questions, because the map must be built on a resolved boundary survey. If a garage eave crosses the line or a shared driveway straddles it, the map and the condominium plan’s exclusive-use designations need to reflect that reality. Under Business and Professions Code §8771 we also preserve any survey monuments our work relies on, which on Albany’s old grid are often the original block corners. Inside the building, our Trimble terrestrial laser scanner captures both units, shared spaces, and the exterior in a single visit — in a 1920s bungalow duplex whose walls have drifted from square, drafting the unit boundaries from a survey-grade point cloud is what keeps the recorded plan honest.

As with every East Bay city, Albany regulates conversion of existing units under its own local rules, and those rules — not the state framework — usually determine feasibility. Confirm the current ordinance with the city first; the mapping package follows. Where the boundary itself is the open question, see monument preservation.