All Forum Posts by: Vahe Ohannessian

@Katrina Razavi To add to my previous post, an in-law suite may be legal in certain zones, but with restrictions. So it's possible that the existence of the in-law suite is ok from a zoning standpoint, but it may be violating certain restrictions. The idea with in-law suites is that the city does not want to make it difficult for families to have their parents live with them and have some privacy, but they don't want that suite to be able to be rented to an unrelated family, so they place restrictions in terms of kitchen size and appliances, etc.

@Katrina Razavi

Katrina, typically when I hear of an "illegal unit" it has to do with a zoning code violation, not a building code violation. In other words, the unit could be built perfectly in terms of meeting building codes for stair dimensions, egress window requirements, etc, but not be allowed by the zoning code: for example, a second rental unit in a single family zone (based on their zoning map) would be illegal with regard to zoning. There may also be building code violations, but find out from the city what exactly the violation is (building vs zoning), and what part of the code is being violated. You can hire an architect to do that but I think this first step should be easy enough for you to do yourself, then you can decide on your next step. If the violation is in fact a zoning violation, it could be very difficult or impossible to make legal (except by getting rid of the second unit!), unless the zoning ordinance has an avenue to apply for a variance.

I hope this helps.

@Eduardo Slesaransky If this property in Milford, MA is still available, please email me the details on it: [email protected].

Thanks.

@Erin Silva Also, in the future, you might consider doing the design and/or scope of work, bidding and awarding the contract before you close (after signing P&S), and you could have the contractor on the project the day after you close. That takes some risk, because of the time and money spent on design, but if you're confident that you're going to close, it saves you a lot of time. In the past I've done design work on projects that my investor/developer clients had not even closed on yet.

@Erin Silva, I think @Daniel Wright is right about contacting the building department and getting familiar with the process of obtaining permits. As an Architect I can tell you that 10 days may be fast to prepare biddable drawings for an addition, but if it's a small firm or sole proprietor architect doing the work, they can do it even faster. I'm not suggesting going back and pushing them, I'm just saying the time frame depends on many different factors, especially the work load for the architect. I would also suggest applying for a permit for the existing part of the house, call it "Phase I" - "as if you were not doing the addition", that way you can start demolition right away. Then you modify the permit once the architect's plans are ready, and apply for Phase II permit. In reality, Phase II would supersede and close out Phase I so you don't have two separate permits going. Let the building department know that's you plan, and they'll make recommendations. If they see you're doing your best to comply to their requirements, they'll help you out. Some jurisdictions will give you a permit on the spot (I'm referring to "Phase I without the addition", some will not, depending on the scope of work you put on the permit application. At a minimum, apply for a demolition permit and get started like others have suggested. The architect will find the exposed structure useful for his design of the addition as well while he's designing.

These are some of the things I've done to move projects along quickly. Keep us posted, and I wish you much success on your first flip - buckle your seatbelt!

Hi John,

First of all, thank you for your service!

I have never heard of this actually happening, though I have had someone approach me with the proposal, which I could not do and here's why: I'm going to assume you're want the house built for your needs, and especially with very little money down, there's no commitment from you that you're going to buy the house. That means both the builder and the builder's lender from whom they're getting a construction loan will need to feel absolutely confident that the house can be sold on the market for a good profit, otherwise the builder won't do the project and the lender won't lend on the project. So you have to look at it from their perspective. The builder is putting a substantial down payment for the land, and it would be especially risky for them if they customized for you and then your purchase fell through, and they can't sell - so they won't do it.

Having said that... have you looked into whether or not the VA will do construction loans instead of the standard mortgage for an existing home? That means the construction loan would be in your name, and you would be buying the land with a part of the loan, and the other part would go in increments to pay the builder as they complete each phase of construction (it's called "Construction Draws"). When it's all built, the loan converts from a construction loan to a conventional mortgage. I suggest you look into that.

Best of luck!

Ally, if you're in an R-2 district, zoning will only allow 2 units in the dwelling, and there's typically no avenue to turn it into a legal 3-unit building (re-zoning is possible but that's for sophisticated developers). What you can possibly do, depending on the jurisdiction, is have an "in-law suite" as part of the main dwelling (the in-law suite being half the basement as an accessory to the main house upstairs, and the other half of the basement would be the second unit, assuming you meet the egress and other code requirements. In the Greater Boston area, in-law suites vary town to town, but they're usually limited to 30%-35% of the main house in square footage, or 900 to 1200 s.f., whichever is smaller.

As to the water issues, you can get a lot of technical information for free on www.BuildingScience.com. This organization is recognized nationally for their expertise on everything related to the science that goes into building construction. Here's an article called "Understanding Basement":

https://buildingscience.com/documents/digests/bsd-...

You can also do a keyword search on their site for similar articles.

I suggest finding a local architect and pay them a fee to do a "feasibility" for the zoning/in-law suite question so you know what you're allowed to do.

Good luck!

Welcome Mario!

As an architect and builder, I'm on my path to the point where being an architect and being an investor/developer do not have to be mutually exclusive! In the meantime, enjoy both your day job as an architect and your night "job" as an investor - and it will be exciting when they merge!

Damian, I'm in a similar situation where a 2-family is being converted to condos while there's only one water meter. I've looked everywhere for a solution and this is the best I found - it's a sub-metering system that can be installed so that you know who is using how much, and you can monitor remotely: http://www.ekmmetering.com/remote-water-and-or-gas...

You'll have to find someone savvy enough to install it, but the system is a few hundred bucks, well worth the investment to avoid the headaches.

I haven't installed the water sub-meter yet so I can't say how easy or difficult the process is but it looks promising.

Good luck.

I'm an Architect and Builder based out of Watertown, MA. I specialize in healthy, energy efficient homes. I have designed and built several dozen projects from New Construction to whole-house remodels to deep energy retrofits to additions and kitchen and bath remodels.

I'm the Owner/President of Boston Architects and Builders, Inc. Our office credentials include: Licensed Architect, Construction Supervisor License, Real Estate Salespersons, Certified Passive House Consultant (www.PHIUS.org); Home Improvement Contractor License, etc.

I'm looking forward to connecting with like-minded investors/developers in this community.