All Forum Posts by: Jeffrey Stasz

I started my career in Hudson NY. It's an okay market but can be a little tough. I think Hudson and Catskill are probably the best opportunities. I'd try and stay downtown and close to the AMTRAK. 

If you need contractors PM me. 

Hey all. 

Let's plan to meet at the Warehouse at 6:00 on Thursday March 15. 

@Russ Scheider @Jay Hinrichs 

@Troy Gandee feel free to shoot this out to the broader community. 

If any of you want a tour of the projects I am currently working on, ping me and we can set something up. 

@Troy Gandee yes sir. Will scoot over there today and see what the deal is. 

@Jay Hinrichs and @Troy Gandee do you think there would be interest in doing a downtown cocktail evening? I know the guys at Monarch Wine Shop downtown and I'm a member at Redux...I'm sure one of them would let us set up. 

We could bring plans for our latest projects and talk about trends, finishes etc. @Jay Hinrichs don't want to schedule your limited time, but might be a good opportunity to meet up with a broader mix of the downtown folks all at once. 

What do you all think? 

At that price point you will almost certainly have to run your own crews. Hiring and managing sub contractors directly. BUT you will still need to find a GC to sign off on the work and pull the permits. 

I am a contractor and for what you're describing it will be really hard. The folks who will do what you described have mostly moved up in the price range as it much easier to make a living. If you're doing reno's at 200k and above it will be much easier to find good people. 

@Nasar Elarabi congrats on your first build. I bet you learned A LOT! Interesting decision to not case the windows. Was that ascetic or financial. 

@Jay Hinrichs I'm building a super modern downtown...It's on! Swing by next time you're in town. 

If you're in FL then people build in Flood Zone all the time. What is the number after your AE? The way to flip in flood zone is to lift the house. The AE number provides your base elevation. So an AE 13 would need to have a finished floor 14' above sea level. Depending on the current elevation of the house that could mean you need to lift the house 6" or 15'

Coastal communities are accustomed to flood zones so it should not be a problem. However, if you're out in the panhandle and everything for the next 100 miles is flood zone X then it will be a problem. 

Unless you are a GC buying materials yourself is not a good idea. GC's get better pricing on materials and know what is going to work and not going to work. They also remember to get all of the little things that you will forget (eg. Wire Weld Framing Nails and Sawzall Blades). When labor is running you 1,500/day even minor stoppages are costly and if you insist on buying the materials you should expect to pay for any stoppage. 

Truth is, at your job size it is hard to get super consistent and good contractors.  

I charge on a cost plus model which could work well for you. Cost Plus is where you agree to pay the cost to build plus a service fee. Some people charge a percentage as a fee but I prefer to set a fixed number. I think it aligns everyone's incentives better.  

Basic structure is this:

Costs are hard costs and associated overhead. These are calculated and invoiced monthly. 

Professional Fee is a separate line item and paid out over mile stones eg. foundation, framing, etc. 

I usually take 25% of my professional fee when the contract is signed. BUT, I don't start billing costs until a month after we have started. 

Like I said, it's really hard with smaller projects to get good contractors and the better ones are going to charge you for the estimate. 

 QuickBooks for Contractors 2015 is the book you want. I think it's chapter 7 that you will want to study. 

There is a specific computer program that does this calc for you. I think it's part of the auto cad suite but not sure. For zoning purposes you usually need to hire a planner.