All Forum Posts by: Joseph R.

We do a lot of work in flood zones and from what I've heard regarding "stilts"(we call them pilings) is you're looking at 20-30k extra over a traditional slab with a crawl space....Most of our footings are within a couple feet of sea level so we've never needed pilings but if you're indeed that deep you defintiely can't pour a footing on top of muck.....The other concern is flood insurance - the lower your first floor elevation the higher the flood insurance - I'd imagine if your first floor is under 10' the insurance would be astronomical.....your best bet is to talk to an engineer, get a survey, and go from there.

 how would you order something and not know the price? I don't get it. 

if the GC really isn't doing his job then don't pay him - its as simple as that. Assuming you didn't pay him 100% of the project then you're still highly leveraged and he should straighten up and get moving. If he's fully paid on the project then you've made a big mistake.

By option do you mean contingency? We've bought properties in our area for new construction contingent upon getting variances/wetlands approval/etc....Our latest project was a potential teardown that we tied up for 4 months with a contingency concerning getting development approval given there are tidal wetlands on both sides of the property....You can definitely create a ton of value when you're able to rezone/subdivide/create building lots/etc but some of these processes can be very drawn out or near impossible to do - you're best bet is to do some investigative work and see what's feasible in your area.

its crazy hearing some of the wait times to get a shovel in the ground! In CT its only a couple weeks provided there are no issues at hand

Hey Ken - can you tell us more about the crowdfunding? Are these donations or do you give them something in return?

Hey guys - what's the most effective way to contact homeowners of run down properties? Is calling much more effective then sending out letters? I'm trying to find a knockdown for new construction in a very popular market - I've sent out letters in the past with some success but never called owners - is this a better way to do it? Thanks guys.

Thanks for the responses guys.....its been on the MLS since February and I definitely agree that the listing/property needs an overhaul.......I think at this point its best to hand this over to a professional and see if they can unload it.....Hopefully with a cleaned up listing and a local realtor we can move this and move on to the next one :)

 Hey JScott - I meant to get back to this thread a while ago but got sidetracked - anyways here's the listing

http://www.zillow.com/homedetails/1561-Quinnipiac-...

I definitely think the pictures/description need some updating but do you think this is a major detriment to our sale? I think in a competitive market this is a must but given we're new construction and there's no other inventory in the area, I don't see it holding us back.....at this point we really want to unload it so we can move on so we're contemplating either getting a realtor to take it on, lowering the price, or both.....I think the main draw of a realtor is to be a great salesman and sell someone on the property who's not fully committed, but at the same time I'm not sure how effective they're going to be......lowering the price is another option but if we drop it to 259 do you think that will change anything? I feel like this is a unique product for the area and if people are truly interested they are going to make an offer regardless if its 10,000 cheaper.....looking forward to hearing your feedback....BTW, I've been following your new construction project on twoplustwo and have really enjoyed it - keep up the good work :)

thanks Jay - think I'll run that buy him later.