All Forum Posts by: Kinley Puzey

I'm very interested in real estate development and would like to know more about it and in the future pursuit a few projects.

I have quite a bit of experience working on the design side for both commercial and residential developments. But as I've never been on the developer side I lack the financial and practical know-how to determine what makes a good project as well as how to fund a project. I also feel that understanding this side would help aid me in being a better architect.

My future hope is to be able to both design and develop my own projects. I imagine starting small with either a fix and flip or small spec. home and then move into multifamily homes as funds increase. I've done a great deal of study and reading on the subject but would like to see it first hand before throwing my hat in the ring. I would love to work a long side an experience investor to better understand how things work from a developers stand point.

At this point I don't have the financial capacity to fund a project but I feel I could bring value to a team through my services. I would be willing to offer my architectural and or 3D modeling services in exchange for being a more in depth part of a project. This way I can better understand the process for myself.

If you or someone you know would be willing to take me under their wing in exchange for architectural services or 3D modeling send me a DM. Thanks

Sound right to me. I would also check to see if you if you can build multiple homes on the same lot. If that is what you are planning on doing. You may need to subdivide the lot. Either way check into the zoning on the lot as well as get with your local building department to determine if it is even possible. If you end up needing to subdivide the lot, then you will need to get a civil engineer involved before the architect.

@Brit Foshee I agree with @Milan Mehta. You need to start with an experienced multifamily design team. An experienced architect will set up a team of engineers to design an efficient building, that meets code, and meets city and lot requirements.

One of the hardest things about large commercial/multifamily projects is keeping your construction costs in line throughout the process. I would highly recommend that if you go the design/bid/build approach you hire a cost estimator to keep a tab on your budget as you go.

Another approach would be to go with a design/build approach where you have a contractor on board from the start who can give you realistic construction costs as you go. An architect will have a general idea of costs but a contractor or estimator is more in tune with where actual pricing will be.

Architectural fees typically range between 6-10 percent of the construction budget. It depends on size and scope of the project as well as what engineering is required. Most likely the architect would have structural, electrical, and mechanical engineering included in his fee. Civil and Geo-Technical engineering is done by the owner and consults with the architectural team. Because the client usually handles the civil engineer contract I'm not 100% sure on how they figure their prices. I would guess they would be anywhere from 2k-10k depending on whats required. Surveying in my area is usually around 2k-3k.

There's a lot of factors that play into it. What kind of project is it? New construction? Remodel? Addition? Single family, Multifamily, commercial? How many s.f? How big is the lot? 

If it's single family you can usually get away without a lot of engineering, civil, mechanical, electrical. If its multifamily or commercial usually you need the whole team.

@Ann Alleman Welcome to the BP neighborhood!

Architectural fees typically range between 6-10 percent of the construction budget. It depends on size and scope of the project as well as what engineering is required. Most likely the architect would have structural, electrical, and mechanical engineering included in his fee for this type of project. Civil and Geo-Technical engineering is done by the owner and consults with the architectural team. 

@Marian Smith that does sound a little high but depending on what services included it could be that much. I'm not in the area but I did recently bid on a project in Texas and have done a bit of work down there in the past. The numbers below would be my best guess at where things would be based off a recent project I bid down that direction. It depends on the city on what engineering is required and if an engineer or architect is required. You may be able to get away without some of the following.

• Civil Engineering-Drainage/Utilities/Tank $10,000-$12,000
• Site Survey $3,000
• Geo-technical/Soils Engineering $3,000
• Mechanical/HVAC $3,000-$4,000
• Electrical Engineering $2,000
• Structural Engineering $4,000
• Architectural $15,000-$20,000
• Landscape Design $5,000

It adds up quick. 

I know a lot of metal building are done down there. They are definitely a cheaper alternative but not the most attractive option. Some areas you may not be able to build a metal building based off of zoning requirements. I would recommend getting prices from other groups to compare pricing.

Hope that helps. Good Luck

@Kevin Siedlecki  and @Jay Dewberry Thanks for your responses I appreciate your insights.

To answer a few questions and give you a bit more info; we've lived here for 6 years. It's a 1960's home. We bought it for $220,000. We obtained a HELOC last year on it. We currently still owe $185,000 on the HELOC. As Jay mentioned, If we sold we could get about $60k from the equity in the home.

• yearly property taxes are $1560/year
• Our old mortgage and what we continue to dump into the HELOC every month is a little over $1200/month. Obviously with the HELOC we don't need to pay that much but we are currently putting in as much as possible in hopes of paying it off as fast as possible.
• Water and sewer are $420/year
• Insurance is about $600/year

Ok... so I've been reading posts on BP for the last few months and am interested in creating passive income. We are at a point where we are considering moving for personal/family related reasons. We are wondering if it would be best to sell this home or use this home as our first rental. We currently have a HELOC on this home and assume that we will need to get a mortgage on the next home. I would love any advice you may have.

Specs:

• Single family home 5 bed/3 bath, .25 acres in a suburban neighborhood. There are other homes that are being rented in the area. Looking at other similar homes the rent goes for around $1800 - $2000/month.
• Estimated home worth $240,000 - $250,000
• HELOC payoff is $185,000
• $27,000 in available equity

Any advice is welcome. Thanks!

Tiny homes are intriguing for a lot of people but it seems, as you've mentioned the majority of people wouldn't be interested in living in a tiny home for long periods of time. It also may be a fad so vacation rental may be the best way to capitalize on it.

As a designer there are a lot of possibilities and would be a fun project to take on. There are a few design issues that I can see you will need to work through. 

Definitely brush up on local building and zoning codes. They can have a great impact on this type of project. 

Just because its a small home you would still need a building permit as it would classify as a dwelling. There may be some red tape that you will have to work through depending on it's classification and if it's a mobile or stationary home.

Cities often have a minimum size requirement for a dwelling and will not allow some tiny homes to be built in their jurisdiction because of this.

The following sites have some good resources. 

http://thetinylife.com/tiny-house-building-codes/

http://tinyhousecommunity.com/faq.htm

I can imagine obtaining insurance on something like this could be problematic.