All Forum Posts by: Arlen Chou

Curtis H. Definitely sounds like it is time to find a different framing guy. It's not that hard to get the permit or get it signed off. It's not even that hard to frame the walls. If he is any good he should stand by his work and be willing to put his name on the permit. Please post up before and after pics of the work when you are all done. I would love to see how the changes work out. Good luck on your project!

@Curtis H.as the owner of the property you should be able to act as the GC and pull what ever permits you need.  I am not a GC myself, but Cities require permits for the darnedest things.  I had to get a "kitchen remodel" permit just to replace the cabinets in my units: no walls moved, no electrical, no plumbing.  But the one thing to remember about this, as the GC of record you will be legally liable for the work done under your watch.

I believe that IF you tell the city, they will tell you that permits are required.  You will probably need a framing inspection and then your electrical and then your plumbing, etc.  Also, if you don't report it then the county records will not reflect the additional bathroom.  This may then lead to a problem or at least a question when you go to try and sell the property at a later time

Basically, if you tell them that you are converting a closet to a bathroom, I am pretty sure they will want you to get permits. They just don't show this on the TV DIY shows.

As for the actual demo itself, it is really not that hard, but are you sure it is not load bearing?  

Personally, I would go to the city with plans that I created either by hand or via software and bite the bullet.  It will cost you some coin, but in the end you have all the documents sorted out for resale.

Good luck!

All of the suggestions are great and I employ most of them. However what really changed 2014 for me was purchasing a trailer off craigslist. I currently do much of my remodeling on my own. Purchasing a trailer to haul trash, appliances, cabinets, etc has saved me a ton of time and money.

It depends on the size of the rooms and the use.  I have done this in the past with an older unit that I had owned a long time ago.  I bought a cheap self assemble"armoire" that I bought at Ikea.  You could also get the white melamine boards from HD used for closets and build a temporary closet against that wall.  I used the furniture route because it was movable and it was easily usable for other projects in the future.  I used sheets of foam that i cut down to fit the door and temporarily attached them to the door, I used painters tape.  I removed the door knob. Then I placed the furniture in front of the door and attached them to the wall with long sheet rock screws.  It sounds a little ghetto, but it looked fine and nobody could tell that a door was there.  Think Anne Frank hide away room...  I think that this might cost you a little more than $200, but at least you will be able to use the pieces again for a future project. Good luck with what every solution you choose!

Drew Clements it can be done, with lots of planning and educating. I have a company with offices in the US and a third in Asia. The company sounds bigger than it really is and my sales and margins have been flat for many years. I deal in a sunset technology in the semiconductor industry. I decided to focus my future in RE and not invest in further technology in my current business arena. To make the transition I did not want to go "cold turkey". I have customers and more importantly long term employees that count on me to keep business flowing. So I created a transition/expansion plan that moved me away from daily activities and placed greater reliance on my team. My organization is extremely flat, so I had to identify potential leaders and groom them to take over various aspects of my daily "job". Once those individuals were identified, and responsibilities were assigned, I "pretended" to be out of the office. I monitored projects and key team members through emails and from behind my desk. However, I instructed my team not to come to me unless it was "mission critical". I also passed my customers to my team and slowly removed myself from direct contact. Right now it is hard for you because you are actually trying to handle 3 different jobs on your own: ad exec, RE investor and general contractor. I know this because I did the same thing on 8 units over the past 12 months. I did everything from find the deal to installing kitchen cabinets, all while I was working with teams in different time zones and customer needs in my "day job". It does get better. I learned a ton about construction and permitting. I know exactly how long it should take to demo a kitchen and install cabinets and pretty much everything else. My knowledge level is light years ahead of where I was at the start of my project and my BS detector in dealing with contractors is extremely accurate. As a business owner I understand your reluctance in letting go of your existing company. Build your own knowledge in rehabbing and apply the business knowledge you gained in your existing company to your new RE future. I don't expect you want to be swinging a hammer forever, so once you gain the hands on experience and apply your business knowledge you will be just fine in RE. I may get chastised for what I am about to say next. RE is really no different than any other business. You deal with a product, clients, budgets, accounts payables, accounts receivable, taxes, etc. It is the industry specific knowledge and the application of good business practices that make any business successful. If you believe that to be true, as I do, then the issue of running your current company and the RE is just like a business executive overseeing various business units in a single company. Sorry for the long reply, but I hope it helps. Good luck with what ever you decide!

@Brian Gibbons, thank you for taking the time to share your story.

Hello @Katherine Nguyen and welcome to BP.  I am new on this forum but I think I can answer some of your direct questions.  I went through something similar over the past year and I found the process not that hard.  

1) The crack in the fire place really depends on many factors.  First is the crack on the inside or outside.  If it is large and on the inside you might have a carbon monoxide concern.  Also it might indicate a foundation issue or it might be that it is pulling away.  Or it could just be that the mortar is old and falling apart.  You should have somebody take a look at this more carefully as this might be an easy fix or an expensive one.

2) Hole in the ceiling is not that bad of an issue, just really messy.  Depending on the size and location, you and your husband might be able to tackle this on your own.  I had to 4 foot square are in a ceiling in my last place that I replaced on my own.  Just be careful when you are cutting the sheet rock out as there might be electrical wires above the area. You don't want to cut that!

3) Replacing windows is really up to you.  Going up to double pane is expensive, but it can be a DIY.

4) The garage is probably a termite buffet, so I would have somebody look at this.  Getting permits to rebuild might be difficult.  In some cities, the set back rules have changed, so if you knock down an existing structure you might not be able to put it back in the original location.

5) Outlets can be changed out fairly easily.  However, it depends on your ability to actually ground the outlet.  In some cases you can do this on your own, in other cases you will need a electrician.

Your question about "if this is too big of a project to handle", really depends on your DIY skills and your budget.  I did mine with a very tight budget and only basic skills.  However, I spent a lot of time learning how to do the DIY work.  There is a TON of good info on the web and people at the smaller specialty hardware stores are usually really good at spending the time to teach you new skills.

But I have to agree with @Bram Spiero, before you jump into designing  the remodel and evaluating your DIY skills you should really re-run the numbers on this potential project.  How many bedrooms and bathrooms are there in each unit?  What is the current rent vs. your target rent?  Lots of math to do before breaking out the tools.

I hope this helped and good luck!

You need to choose between a personal decision and a business decision.  I have a personal rule to keep business and personal emotions separate.  The rule that I apply is pronounced "pisser" but the achronem is "PSSR".  I don't talk to people about politics, salary, sex, or religion because all of those topics piss people off. You can never change a persons opinion on any of these topics, so there is no reason to go into depth with a business related person.  The only person I will talk to these things about would be a significant other.

With that being said, some how you came into the knowledge of this affair. I am not sure if you saw it, was told about it third hand or you were told all the details by the potential business partner.  I don't know if the potential business partner is a good friend or if he just considers himself a good friend.

You are the only one that knows the personal situation of all involved and the potential business. I believe it is clear, you just need to decide if this is a business decision or a personal decision and how it effects YOUR business and YOUR personal life.

That is my Dr Phil moment on this Saturday evening. Good luck on this one!

@David Harris the one thing that I forgot to point out in my buildings was that I did not have to do anything that was structurally critical.  I did have some dry rot but the wall was not load bearing.  

Like @Marcus Curtis stated, collect rent.  You need to get the two units that are vacant to a level where you can get some tenants in and get your cash flowing in the right direction.  Then you can step back and put a plan in place to reposition/upgrade.

David Harris the units I purchased were occupied. However, they were 40% to 60% under market rent when I bought them. They had decades worth of deferred maintenance. There were literal holes in the roof that lead to the sheet rock sagging in a couple of units. It's crazy to think that people were living in these units and paying rent in the middle of Silicon Valley. I did let the tenants know that rents would be normalized over time to come close to market. I raised rents by a small percentage on all of the units upon acquisition and then again 6 months later. The idea was to get the tenants used to the idea that rents would raise and also to stretch the pain out over a long period for them. These increases were done even though I had not done any upgrades/repairs yet. The belief was that a few small increases would not have as large of a psychological or bank roll effect on them. It also allowed them to prepare their personal spending habits for the increase in rents. The roofing was done by contractors. I also had some dedicated electrical lines and breakers put in for over the range microwaves. Besides those two contractors, I did everything on my own. Plumbing is not that hard, just dirty. Even cutting and installing copper is not that hard. I went to local plumbing store, non big box, and the guy there showed me how to solder the joints. I only had to buy the materials. Small shops are great! Sheet rock is not hard either, just dirty. Installing kitchen cabinets is very easy. I did all uppers and lowers on my own. I bought a pole off ebay that acts like a third hand to hold the cabinet in place as you screw everything together. Just make sure you take the time to measure everything carefully and use a long level to make sure everything is straight. Even cutting and installing granite can be done with hand tools! I did not know that until I did some research. Tile is not hard either if you go out and buy or rent a tile saw. Don't try it with a hand scribe type cheap tile cutter. The water cooled tile cutter is way faster and much easier. I did laminate floating floors in some of the units that I could not save with a sander and stain. Again not hard, just make sure you measure twice and cut once. Don't cut cost on safety equipment. I see guys on TV cutting and doing demo without gloves and safety glasses all the time. Makes me wonder how these guys made it on the show. With all the measuring and cutting I am really happy I paid attention in geometry class many moons ago in high school. Just be as professional with the renovation project as you would be with a project at your day job and you should be fine. -Arlen