How to deal with the dictatorship

Question

I am new to RE investing following my family’s strategy of building properties myself (no contractors) and holding. I was super exited to get started but I’m already sick of dealing with the dictatorship at the city. As of now I have 6 houses planned to build, property bought and all blueprints done. I have done all the drawing myself and has all been approved by inspector. I have been involved in all facets of home building before and I am very proficient and capable of doing every part. So I go to

Turn in my permit application and the lady tells me I must use an electrical and a mechanical(HVAC) contractor to install all of the electrical and HVAC. Since when does the government have the right to FORCE me to pay someone else when I am completely capable and able to do just as well as any contractor could. So please someone tell me, is it even lawful for the city to force you to pay someone to do work that you can easily and adeptly do yourself? If it is, this is no longer a free country. Also, has anyone ever found a way around this?

Thank you for your time

,Tanner

Howard Handler · Answer

Some municipalities are worse than others -- so it's important to consider how difficult that municipality is to work with when entering a market. That said, I used to work as a real estate lobbyist -- one thing I've learned over my years, is that building departments often make up rules along the way and often are inconsistent in their rules (one inspector says this, another says that) -- if something sounds absurd, politely let them know you want to better understand the policy, and ask them to point out where its been adopted by the village board/city council -- sometimes you'll discover that the building department staff just made up the rule without any authority to do so.

Samuel Pavlovcik · Answer

@Tanner Johnson While the rules can vary greatly among different jurisdictions, many villages/cities will require the primary contractors (HVAC, Electrical, Plumber) to be Licensed to do the work. All tho, frequently an Owner can "Self-perform" any work they want, but the property needs to be their primary residence. The City wants to ensure the work is done safely and per building codes, and even tho they will come out to do inspections, they even realize that they typically do not catch everything, nor are they fully responsible to; which means it is still the full responsibility of the owner to ensure the work is done safely. They require contractors and do not allow owners to self perform if it is not owner occupied/primary residence because they want the contractors to be insured as well to make sure someone is there to cover the liability if something were to happen.

Account Closed · Answer

It's not some conspiracy... Insurance companies, tenants and homebuyers benefit from electrical inspections. Plus any city with dense housing will have additional concerns over fires starting.

Electrical is a big deal. I'm no so concerned with some random handyman doing trim or drywall, but not tightening a screw the right way can actually burn down a house and kill the occupants. I would guess HVAC is similar since carbon monoxide and natural gas are involved.

And yeah the inspectors can be capricious bullying A-holes. Not saying the system is great, but just that it's not some ridiculous conspiracy.

Tanner Johnson · Answer

@Nicky Reader I know electrical is a big deal. That’s why I only trust myself to do it because I know I do it right. It’s going to be my house for a long time and I wouldn’t do it if I knew I couldn’t do it safely and to code. My job would look just as good or better than the electricians. Same for HVAC. These are going to be my tenants in my house and the only one I trust with their safety is me. I would never put anyone in danger due to ignorance or negligence and these people know that. Their safety is not the priority of the city, lining the pockets of the people who lobby to force capable homeowners to hire them is.

Tanner Johnson · Answer

@Samuel Pavlovcik I’m not sure that the city’s interest is things being done safely and properly. I can make everything completely compliant with the code just like a contractor can. It’s all about the money and people you know here. The only reason they require this BS is because the people with the licenses lobbied them to. I can not stand the government forcing me to hire someone for something I can do safely and efficiently myself.  It’s not right.

Nick C. · Answer

I wish I could answer your question more directly, but I'm not familiar with your municipality. All I can tell you is that although it's extremely frustrating dealing with building departments and permitting there's no getting around them, even though it feels like dealing with the gestapo a times.

As difficult as it may be, your best bet in dealing with them is to be friendly and humble, and leave out the "this isn't a free country" part. They've heard it all before, and are generally apathetic to any pleading or reasoning. If someone told me the building department was manned by callous cyborgs pretending to be human I would not be surprised.

How to deal with the dictatorship

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