All Forum Posts by: Ryan Normand

^^ What they said.

Land development and building are two different line items, especially for large projects like an entire subdivision. Cost/sf usually excludes development costs. I.e. it assumes utilities connections are at the lot line and grading is done.

Do not underestimate development costs. Moving dirt around and burying a few pipes might sound simple, but it can easily add up to millions of dollars. In a subdivision, a good ballpark is $30-$40k per lot for development costs, but this varies GREATLY depending on market, terrain, location of utilities, etc.

I'm not a lawyer, but to me a four bedroom house with a septic issue is still a four bedroom house. IMO this is no different than any other building code violation that could have, and should have, been discovered during the home inspection prior to the purchase of the property. And like Chris said, I'm pretty sure you're required, or at least strongly encouraged, to get a septic inspection if you're buying a house like this. If you didn't get the inspection,  then I think this one's on you. If you did get the inspection, then your septic inspector sucks.

I know that a lot of states have disclosure laws about things like termite infestation, mold, asbestos, etc. Try looking into those. Maybe septic issues fall into that category, too, but I think it's a stretch. Even if they do, you would still need to prove that the previous owners knew about the problem and intentionally kept that information from you.

1) Check a City of Phoenix zoning map to make sure the parcel is actually zoned multifamily. There is a publicly available GIS map for free online. 

2) Check with the City of Phoenix Planning and Development division to see if there are any special limits to what you can do or special permits you need to pull since the home is in a historic district.

3) Have a contractor come out and look at it to assess the damage and give you an estimate for how much it will cost to repair.

Quote from @Seth Borman:. 

 The NEC doesn't care about zoning. A multiunit building can only have one service drop, that doesn't mean that it can't have more than one meter.

The city or utility might have their own spin on things, but it isn't coming from the electrical code.

Good point. I stand corrected. I've seen that before, but only on commercial buildings, which isn't really in my wheelhouse. Do you know if duplexes and triplexes are like that too?

What's throwing me off is that a lot of the older duplexes, triplexes, and quadplexes in my area have one service per meter. So a single building might have 4 service masts coming out of the roof. I assumed the only reason it was allowed had something to do with zoning, but maybe they were just grandfathered in. I'd be interested if someone has an answer to this.

The answer depends on the area. Run the numbers and compare cost to build vs. cost to buy and rehab. If your market is similar to AZ, I wouldn't use anything less than $150/sf for build cost. That's assuming a GC does it and uses low end, builder-grade finishes for everything. Also pay attention to things like grading and utilities. These can blow up your budget before you even hammer the first nail.

Personally, I like the idea and have been looking into doing something similar here in AZ. That said, I'm at an advantage because I can do a lot of the work myself... and even then most of the cheap lots I come across don't work when I run the numbers. You have to be very picky. Most of them are cheap for a reason. A few of them are diamonds in the rough.

You can also buy at-home asbestos test kits at the hardware store. That will probably be your most economical option, especially since this is already a DIY project. 

Some materials are more likely to contain asbestos than others. Strategize your reno so you're covering up these materials instead of demoing them. For example, if you think you have asbestos tiles, just seal them and then put LVP over top. If you absolutely have to demo a material that might have asbestos, then yes, test it. But like Marcus said, if the result is positive then you will need to either abate or disclose.

As Herb and Eunice said, you do not HAVE to pay. It depends on how badly you want to sell the house. Understand that the buyer might walk away if you don't get it corrected.

What you CANNOT do is turn around and sell the house to the next interested buyer without disclosing the termite infestation. Here in AZ and many other states, sellers are required to disclose any known history of termites. I would assume PA has similar laws. Now that you know about the problem, you can't just brush it under the rug.

No. It sounds like you are in an area that is zoned single family, and per NEC 230.2 you can only have one electrical service (i.e. meter) to your house. If you want 2 separate services/meters, usually the only legit way is to have it zoned multifamily so the city and utility companies formally recognize it as a duplex.

You may be able to install a sub panel. Check to make sure your current service has enough amperage to support whatever loads you plan on adding. Sub panels are pretty common for additions, garages, etc. Even with a sub panel, you're still only going to get one bill from the utility company. 

You may want to treat the second unit as an ADU instead of a true duplex. That will make your life a lot easier from a utilities and zoning perspective. Rezoning and separating all the utilities will be extremely costly and time consuming.

1. Don't do glass block.

2. It is not uncommon to have a window "in" the shower, but it's usually long and narrow and towards the top of the shower so it doesn't get drenched every time you shower. IMO this is the preferred solution because you still get some natural light and ventilation.

3. You can also close off the window completely, but be aware that building code requires bathrooms to have ventilation via either A) an operable window or B) an exhaust fan vented to the outside. In short, you may need to add an exhaust fan if you close off the window.

4) If you remodel your tile tub surround, you will have to demo it back to the studs. At this point it should be fairly easy to frame in a smaller window (see #2) or completely frame in the opening (see #3). Keep it the same width or narrower and keep the top of the window at the same level - that way you don't need to mess with the header. Repairing your exterior siding may be a challenge depending on what kind of siding you have.

I would pay more attention to whether or not they have good referrals than whether or not they are licensed. There are absolutely benefits of hiring a licensed contractor, and in some cases you MUST do it, but the license does not guarantee they are good or know what they are doing. It just means they jumped through the hoops and paid their dues to the govt.

Your city should have a list of what does and does not require a permit on their website. It varies from city to city so it's best to just check the list yourself. Generally speaking, the larger the project, the more important permitting and licensure are. This is especially true with exterior work (e.g. an addition, deck, etc.) where the inspector can literally see what you are doing from the street/alley. You can get away with more if it's only interior work, but you have to decide if you want to take that risk.