All Forum Posts by: John Blackman

When I left Seattle 5 years ago starter houses were still $400/sqft which is a very high bar to entry unless you go to Federal Way, Renton, or Marysville which is probably close to there now.  It's the very reason I moved to Texas where pricing is about half, so you can two two projects for every one you would do in Seattle.

I am not current on the market there, but there is a lot of money up there and a strong housing demand as places like Starbucks, Microsoft, Google, and Amazon continue to hire.

Also keep in mind historical reviews are only done once per month and you have to get on the docket in time for the review, so you're likely looking at 6 weeks to get past a 'no issue' review with historic.

I have seen demo companies move forward as long as they have the permit.  The permit is never in the vendor's name.  Mistakes sometimes get made and people don't check the paperwork they should.  It happens.  You can still get a building permit without applying for the demo, but if you are realistically going to build the thing, you're going to have to get the demo done so it's still a blockers, but the paper can be pushed in parallel.

Keep in mind each deal has a certain amount of overhead.  If you are doing 100, that is going to take a lot of time.  Maybe you're killing it on each deal and making mega bucks, but more likely those are going to be skinnier deals.  Each market is different, but I try to make each deal I do pass a certain profitability bar because I know how much work each deal is going to be.  

Pay attention to the 80/20 rule.  80% of your profit is likely to come from 20% of your deals.  So instead of doing 100, do 50, but make sure you get those 20 you really care about.  You will only make 80% as much but do half the work to get it.

Ugh, I wish there were.  Unfortunately you need to use something that your accountant can work into their process so I am currently shackled to QuickBooks Pro.  If you get some other good suggestions, I would love to hear them as well.  I have the same problem.

@Ken T. I only use one GC per job.  Two will create way too much chaos.  However I do hire multiple GCs to manage multiple jobs which no one should mind.  It keeps you from having a single point of failure and keeps your GC honest because you know what the other GC you hired is charging you for work.  They should both be within 5-10% of each other in terms of pricing and if they diverge, then there is a learning opportunity to be had.

If you hire a GC that is upset because you don't use him exclusively, I would move on.

Referrals are the best way to get good GCs, but that still doesn't guarantee success.  Ultimately you will have to spend money on a GC and take on some risk.  We have been through 8 GCs to get to 3 good ones.  Each of them started with a good presentation and recommendations but ultimately took too long or cost too much.  So you may get singed along your path to finding reliable contractors that will work for you.

Also, get at least 2.  Life happens and GCs get other things going on in their lives.  Never have just one of anything.

Area of the foundation.  It is typically on the lower end of that spectrum for a flat slab.  But it can go up to the higher end if you have 20' piers through loose soil.

Sewer taps are usually our most expensive piece of land development.

$3,000 - TAP Plan created by Civil engineer for City of Austin

$1,500 - $15,000 - Tap fees imposed by City of Austin.  That is not a typeo

$1,500 - Soil test

$600 - Survey

$1,400 - Foundation engineering

The cost of the foundation depends very much on the size, slope of lot, and soil type.  It can be anywhere from $12/sqft to 18/sqft depending on if it is pier and beam or slab and how deep the piers are or how deep the slab is (slopes = more concrete).

The basic list you need to be concerned with is as follows:

1) Full survey (tree, topo, title)

2) Soil test

3) Tree removal if necessary

4) Utility hook ups - varies greatly by municipality, you will need water, waste water, telco and electric.

5) Check for utility easements.  These can kill a project and in many cases explain why an infill lot isn't being developed

6) Check CC&Rs to ensure that the neighborhood plan doesn't have any restrictions that apply to your project

7) Check the Plat to ensure there are not special restrictions listed on it - These can be a gotcha as they aren't in the CC&Rs, but may still be enforceable

Now you are ready to design which sets up a new list

1) Foundation design - hire an engineer, soils and slope will impact the cost

2) Retaining walls if you have a slope

3) Water retention or drainage - If the lot is large enough you may need a water management plan on how to handle storm drain flow, check with your municipality

I may have left something out, and I am always learning, but this is my basic list.

That particular thread is documenting a project that doesn't have a spiral staircase and is crowd funded.  The one with the stair case is a private deal, but I'll be happy to share photos when the stair cases are in.  Right now all I have is an empty place where they will go.