Completing a Rehab during the Coronavirus- Covid-19 Outbreak

[Trey Williams]

Completing a Rehab during the Coronavirus Outbreak

This originally was going to be a blog post but I decided to post it in the forum to have more people view. Thank you.

Let me first start off by saying that this rehab has been a challenge thus far and the Coronavirus Is just another challenge to overcome on our way to the finish line.

Ok with that being said. What challenges are there with completing a rehab during the Coronavirus?

1. 1. shortages: Are crews available in your area to complete the work on your project that is needed? At the moment some states have enacted stay-at-home orders which have prevented construction in those states. If this is the case your project is completely shut down until the emergency orders are lifted.
   1. If labor for your project is coming from nearby states that have a stay-at-home order this may affect them
      
2. 2.Material shortage: In my area of Maryland a lot of construction owners and projects purchase materials from Pennsylvania which is currently under a stay-at-home border. this prevents some construction activities from occurring. Construction Crews can work in Maryland from Pennsylvania but construction sites in Pennsylvania work has ceased.
3. 3.Permit Office: In some jurisdictions permit offices are operating in an abbreviated manner, either closing offices, accepting permits only online, conducting inspections through video and or photographs from on site. It is all up to the discretion of the permit office and the actual inspector conducting the inspection.
4. 4.Fire Marshal office closed: In some jurisdictions the local and state fire marshal office is closed which prevents rehab projects from obtaining their Use & Occupancy permit which allows the property to be rented in the jurisdictions its located. If the fire marshal is closed and cannot issue the Final Use and Occupancy permits. Properties that have completed the rehab process cannot be rented
5. PPE On Site: In the state of Maryland our governor has mandated all all construction workers must wear a mask and sites must have hand sanitizer available to all persons.

I wanted to keep this short and sweet but I hope this list will give you insight into what is going on in the construction world and what you can expect if you start a project during the coronavirus outbreak. Thank you and leave your comments below.

[John Warren]

@Trey Williams we are seeing a lot of the same hurdles here in Chicago when it comes to doing construction. The local permit offices are hit or miss, and one of the main towns where I invest here in Berwyn has actually closed down the town hall. We are still able to pull permits as "after the fact", so there are work arounds. I am also seeing some issues with final inspections, but fortunately I am not nearing the end of any projects and the only client of mine doing a big project is in the very early stages.