All Forum Posts by: Karen Margrave

The world is rapidly changing. Whatever you take in college you want to be sure it has future value. There are many tracks you can take, depending on your interests, that will support your real estate endeavors. Project management is extremely useful in whatever you do in life. Real Estate, Finance. Business Administration. Planning, etc. Many times what you do for a paycheck supports your other ventures. Education can open doors that others can't get through. It's not that you have to have a degree, but knowledge is important. There are so many professions related to real estate, real estate development, and construction. Good luck!

Is there any new construction being done in the area where the land is? If so, who are the GCs that are building? What Realtors are active in the neighborhood? Ask them if they have any GC referrals. Do you have any Builder Services organizations? Sometimes you can submit your plans and have them bid. When getting bids, make sure you are comparing apples to apples. Have all bid the same quality of finishes, etc. CHECK LICENSING AND REFERENCES. Go see any homes they've built, don't just rely on photos, as anyone can post photos of anything online. Look at the permit history with the Building Dept and verify they were actually contractor.  Good luck! 

You didn't say what the building use is for. General contractors bid on plans. They can't bid what they don't know.  If the architect designed a project, and did it based on stick construction, that's what they'll bid. If on the other hand it's designed using metal studs, they'll bid that. If it's a steel building with open span and large iron beams, they'll bid that. However; not all generals are able to do all types of construction, therefore; you'd need to know beforehand which design you are going to go with in order to find the best qualified general. Nailing boards takes different labor than screwing in screws. Installing large steel beams and infrastructure to support them is much different than other types of construction, and you'd want a company that specializes in steel buildings.

Probably the first step is to find an architect that has experience with designing the various types of construction, show them your plans, and ask them what it would take to design with other materials, the pros and cons of each, and go from there. 

If you're sure of your numbers, get the seller to do a joint venture with you, form a partnership to take title to the property, you put up the money and do work for rehab, and you split net proceeds upon sale. Make sure everything is in writing, and who pays for and does what, is spelled out clearly. Have a lawyer draw it up.

As the poster above mentioned, with septics, leach lines are the determining factor, and it's usually based on number of bedrooms. One half acre isn't very big, but, with some of the non conventional systems, they deal with that. Talk to the local authority that permits septics. Get the names of people that design septic systems, and see what they can do on your parcel. But before anything, find out what the zoning density is. 

I am a longtime Redding resident, with experience as Realtor, General Contractor and developer, in Redding,( and Shasta County) in addition to being a moderator on BP since 2009! I'd be happy to discuss the area, properties, opportunities for real estate in our area.  For years we built spec new construction, but it doesn't make sense right now. 

For Real Estate Investors, I'd be happy to discuss the very unique set of circumstances happening here, which has put tremendous demand on our housing inventory, which I don't see it lessening, but getting tighter, and room rentals, ADU's etc. are bringing in top dollar. However; in our area ADUs are not allowed for STR, but must be over 30 days, which works for many of the medical professionals coming in. 

I think we can safely blame the Feds. They're the ones that have run up the cost of everything, and mismanaged the economy, hence inflation is skyrocketing, and now they have to pull the plug, and the fastest way to do that is raise rates so high that people will stop buying real estate. They already messed up the construction industry. Now their goal of 2,000,000 people becoming unemployed might just be doable. 

Manufactured and Modular housing has been around for a long time. There's no great cost savings using it, and time wise, it makes no sense at all. Much of the costs involved with building are in the environmental regulations, supply chain issues, price of diesel is huge, permit fees, costs of installing infrastructure, etc. General contractors are well aware of manufactured and modular construction, in addition to other types of construction. Unfortunately, none of them offer any great savings. 

I'm an agent and a contractor. CA is a huge state with a variety of regions. San Diego and southern CA coastal areas are in a class by themselves. When the crash happened back in mid 2000s our entire family (we're contractors, agents) moved from Redding, to So Cal.  Not knowing the area, we knew that the coastal areas would be least risk. We ended up doing 3 spec builds, 2 in San Clemente, and one in Capistrano Beach (Dana Point) So Cal is expensive for a reason. Perfect weather, broad based economy, recreation, medical care, amusement parks, and the ocean! Properties appreciate, so you're not getting the cash flow other places get, but you're gaining value.

 The most important thing is to KNOW the area where you are investing. Research actual comps. Don't use Zestimates, as they don't take into consideration the size of the lot, location (neighborhoods and area matter) are there updates, what finishes were used, how old is the roof, are all systems in good shape or need replaced. Looking at numbers online gives you very little real information. 

EXPERIENCED investors, that have rehabbed in an area, knows the process, costs involved in permits, materials costs, what subs will charge, etc. can take on riskier projects, NEWBIES should steer clear of RISKY properties. If on the surface it looks risky, once you delve into them, they can be nightmares, and eat up all your money. ADVICE to new investor/rehabbers: Be sure to get inspections, check licenses of contractors. 

In construction there's a saying "MEASURE TWICE, CUT ONCE" 

I'm always amazed the Fed thinks the solution to inflation is to wipe out construction, and thus real estate, specifically because they are the broadest based area of employment in the country, and feed into every business segment, in every town. Why not find ways to increase production, lowering costs to build and live, while employing more people? We definitely don't get the best and brightest by electing the best fund raisers.

Why not have the conversion done while you're living in the house, and then rent it all at once? It may be that there's a family that would like to rent the entire property, should they have in laws, or college student, etc.