All Forum Posts by: William C.

@Kenneth Garrett were we supposed to go online a scroll through 100s of pages of code?    I tried that.  It's very easy to get lost.  

How do others handle it?  Their GC?  Themselves?  The architect?  Read through themselves.  Looking for ideas to learn for future along with learning from the past.

@Michael Shuell yes I'm sure that won't help.  The GC and I need to somehow convince the seller to allow us to keep going.  So unless someone is able to show me how this is the current owners fault, blame doesn't matter in keeping this deal together.  I'm responsible for everyone other than the owner.

Ugh Laurie Clark is for sure a shill account. 1 post. Standard testimonial from just another happy customer? And Micah Markowitz we get it. You work for them and get a referall for mentioning your post. But please go hijack another thread. This one is for F&D, and following the results of actual users. One mention of the competition was enough for people to be able to check out both companies and decide for themselves. Lastly, when Jay talks I listen. The 2 veterans on this board are telling it like it is so take heed people. These things work if you can get in and get out. And if you know how to manage money. Using them for a down payment seem like the worst idea in ever heard, at least for a buy and hold, flips a different beast. Cash flow will not cover the mortgage, expenses, AND credit card payments, at least on most deals. Maybe title companies will start accepting CC and we can just buy up $10k houses by the handful. I really do with those the best of luck who are trying this method. Following along to see how some of these stories play out. I truly hope it's a gateway to the next HP as mentioned above.

I appreciate all the feedback. I really forgot to point out I'm well aware I need to take most of the blame. Whether the GC or architect were supposed to know or research the zoning laws, I should have confirmed they were doing so along the way. By far the most frustrating part was being dangled along through the process as we waited for this and waited for that, only to submit, have them ask for revisions and more info, then to submit again, and this time it was a different clerk and that's where the new list of 5 more items, including the dagger, the setback variance. So anyway blaming people won't create a solution, and that's why I'm here. We were on thin ice with the seller going into submission, so I'm expecting the worst. To be honest, we can easily weather the storm. Carrying costs are nominal. The agent in me fears the long term outlook of the market a bit, but aside from that, the real challenge is being able to show a seller with no experience in this business at all, that projects sometimes (read - always) take long than expected. I almost see it as an opportunity to do more deals, and be more profitable. We have had a large pile of cash sitting on the sidelines while we messed around with the plans, what id really like to see happen is everyone realize it's going to be a long, slow road to the finish line, and maybe early spring of next year will be our target sale date. But in the meantime we can pick up a deal or maybe even two on the small deals to fill the time between. Selling that side of it is another story. If the seller wants to walk, so be it. I'll pay the tuition and move onto my next year of schooling.

J Scott I'll have to take a look at the article. I should have mentioned it in the OP but I am 100% taking responsibility for being in this spot. It is definitely my fault. My question isn't really who's fault is it, rather, how do others out there tread these waters with GCs and townships....looking back, I should have been in the township building day 1, myself, GC or not asking questions. I assumed he would have it under control.

Architects, builders, GCs, investors, and anyone else who knows anything about applying for permits on a late scale renovation I need your help. OK so the title is a bit misleading since I am well aware, at least I think I am of who is responsible for pulling permits and following building codes for a project, BUT I'm in a tough spot and would love the wide ranging, and excellent advice from the community. I have more than one question, so I think the best way to approach this is to lay out the situation, and ask everyone what they would do in my position. I'm also looking for advice on how to avoid this situation in the future. There are no mistakes, only learning opportunist. Nor have I lost any money, yet, I am just paying for an education. So with that said.... I'm in the middle of our largest renovation yet and we are stuck at a crossroads with the township. The deal is structured as follows. I'm an agent, investor, property manager and project manager. For this deal, I am bringing my project management skills, managing the process, I brought all parties to the table, I am going to list the house when it is time, and I analyzed the comps to make sure there is profit to made on the back end of this thing, and I'm bringing half the capital for repairs, the owner/seller is bringing the other half. We are splitting the profit in the end. I partnered with the owner of the home. He has no experience flipping, but sees the potential of his property being fixed up. We brought on a GC to handle the construction and it's fairy large job. The GC is also sharing in the profits as well, rather than marking up materials and labor or a flat percentage of the job. The current structure is 1050 sq ft and needs a full rehab. Homes in the area are selling for 200-225$ a sq ft, and the size of the home makes it pretty undesirable so we decided to hire an architect to come up with plans for a second story addition over the exsisting house. This is where it gets tricky. Nearly every township in my area has different processes, guidelines, requirements, permits and codes. We tried to follow a plan that would not require any type of variance or "approval" from the township other than normals permits and inspections. The builder/GC is experienced, but not in this particular township. He made a few assumptions when working with the architect to come up with the plans and when everything was submitted for review, the township kicked it back and said we need a variance due to the current setback of the house from the road, adding the addition isn't grandfather in. Normally this wouldn't be a huge issue, but we started the process over 4 months ago. When we started, the builder assumed it would take a few weeks to get plans, a few more to get permits, and we would be done within another 6-8 weeks. So about 3 months start to finish. 4 months in, we need to wait Another months to attend a township hearing for the variance regarding the setback. We also have a list of about 5 other items we need to get for the township before they will even review our building application. The owner is not happy. We expected to sell in the "summer selling season" but it's not going to happen. He also brought us on because of our experience flipping houses, yet the back and fourth with the township is making it appear that myself and the builder don't have the project under control, and we having even started building yet. For the sake of round numbers, the house is worth $125k, which the seller will be paid at settlement. Renovation budget is $175k. Comps are selling for $400-$450k in under 7 days. In fact there were ZERO homes availabile in that price range when we started, because everyone that is listed sellers immediately. So now that you know the story..... Where did we go wrong with the township? Should I have met with them ahead of time to tell them what we were thinking and what we would need? Here's an example of being penny smart and pound foolish. We decided to go with the cheaper, out of town architect, rather than the twice as expensive, but in town architect who would have had a better understanding of what the township required. Is it on the architect, the GC, or myself as the project manager and realtor to get ahead of the building codes and make sure we will be able to complete the plans we were working on? The GC has been in the township building on 4 occasions speaking with the office members, gate keepers, code inspectors to prepare the applications. Each time they would send him inn his way with more information, but each time they would leave something out only to be discovered the next time he tried to submit. There has to be a better way. How do I convince the seller to hang on for the ride? All the out of pocket costs up until this point and until building are on myself, so he's just losing "time" "patience" and "confidence" that we can actually complete the job. Part of me wants to slap some paint on the walls and throw a kitchen and bath into a tiny little 3 bedroom house in a great neighbor and move on with a few thousand dollar profit at best. The other wants to wade through the BS so we can reap the benefits of the full blown development. This game isn't easy. And every project is different. My motto has been "if it were easy, the rewards wouldn't be so great, and everyone and their sister would be doing it" so the setbacks are to be expected to a certain extent. But the recent developments are going to mean more time And more money just to get through the planning stage, with many unknowns to follow as we execute on a $175k renovation. Advice, input and experiences would be greatly appreciated.

Is this for a refi? My advice is that you can't really affect any change on the outcome at this point, so just order the appraisal and hope for the best. The appraisers input so far is probably the best, but you have no idea, nor any control over how your appraiser will view it. Maybe pull some other comps in the area with similar situations that help value?

did you have home inspection?

Some good points made. Curious how you found the issue? Did you have a home inspection done prior to purchasing?

My loan is the same way. I couldn't figure out why my payment was about $10 more than all of the amort calcs I ran before I purchased. Can someone explain why this is? And how exactly it's possible they can sell a loan at X% interest rate when it's really X%+.55%?