Diary of a project that will spring board my career

[Peter Tverdov]

So I decided I will start a thread about a project that is currently in its infancy. When the project is completed, the value of the property will essentially double (I have Leases already in place for when the project is finished that are 71% higher than my current rents) and it is going to allow me to have a reasonable opportunity to hit my 4-5 year real estate goal (more on that when the time is right) because my plan is to re-fi this fall out once completed and stabilized (basically BRRRR on a larger scale).

To start, it is a 2 family 5 bedroom student rental property that I have managed for a few years and bought off-market from the owner last summer. It was in good shape already but with the proper upgrades, I knew I could increase the rents further (obviously having to spend money to do so). While discussing my intent with the owner, he literally gave me the idea to build an addition and by talking to the proper people, long story short I decided I wanted to finish the basement and build an addition. 

Step 1 for me was hiring my team (attorney, architect, planner) and having a plan in place (proposal was to add driveway parking for 2 cars where none currently existed and add 3 bedrooms, laundry room and full bath between the two units).

Step 2 - It took 4 months from closing, but I received Zoning Board approval for C and D Variances along with other smaller variances. This approval really hit home for me, because along the way I came across one attorney who charged me $750 for a feasibility study, to determine if what I wanted to do was doable. His words, "no shot to get approved. I won't even take your money". After getting the approval (which was a 50/50 shot), this was a powerful lesson to my wife (and sister who came to watch) that you NEVER take no for an answer if you truly believe in something. 

Step 3 - Waterproof the basement. I had this person lined up for months but obviously didn't want to start work until I knew I was approved. I found a fantastic contractor to do this that I would highly recommend for all of NJ. The basement went from a wet one to looking bone dry after storms. He was finished in 4 days and the space looked great.

Step 4 - Get quotes and hire someone for the driveway work, sidewalk needed and landscaping. This was incredibly frustrating because I must have called 15-20 contractors and after having 6-10 come out to the job site with me to give me an estimate...I received a whopping 4 estimates. Mind blowing. Anyway, those folks are hired and their work will start spring time. I will submit permits for that this month, but no rush because they won't grant permits during winter time anyway.

Step 5 is where I currently am, hire a GC to do the work. Again, the proposal is to finish a 600+ sqft basement, add 2 bedrooms, walk-in closet, full bath, utility room, laundry room and Central Air. Second floor we will need to add a 250 sqft addition which will bump out the existing living room, add another bedroom and convert an existing pantry into a laundry room.

I plan to have the first hammer swung in March for about a week to do all the framing and rough plumbing, rough electric. Will sign a proposal this week with a contractor who has done work for me in the past and he will put in the permits next week. I am sure it will be stressful but looking forward to answering any questions people have and taking you through my journey! I will load pics when I can.