The Impact of getting a Building permit in the City of Atlanta

[Robert Mitchell]

You have closed on your hard money loan and now it is time to get your rehab going......

I created a list to save you some time:  Please use the following building permit checklist if you are planning a rehab in City of Atlanta.

1. Pack a lot of Patience!  with a Capital.... P
2. Hire a Architect to provide drawings with a lot of details such as existing house elevations and floor plan, proposed elevations and new floor plan, roof, wood deck, addition, etc. Estimated cost for a 1500 SF house $1,500 or more depending on your details.

3. Order a boundary survey from a registered surveyor showing the existing house and if you are making changes such as adding to the existing structure you will need to provide the addition and or deck changes on the survey as well.  Estimated cost $550 or more

4. If you are rehabbing in a Historic District get ready to meet Permit Intake and Planning Intake Department and pay $10.00 for a Intake Fee/Review and wait 2-3 days for Planning review.  Provide four to five copies of drawings size 24"x 36" and 11 each Site Plan/ Boundary Survey. Please make sure the drawings are to scale. (Example 1/4"=1'-0")

5. After 2-3 days you will receive a call from Planning to pick up your drawings.  Once you pick up your drawings from Planning go back to the Permit Intake department for Zoning review and a possible approval.  (Please note: if you are changing windows, siding, porch posts, porch structure, and any other major exterior changes ...get ready to paid more money $100.00 and meet the UDC -Urban Design Commission in which they meet twice a month to review your exterior changes for an approval, non-approval or defer which means more waiting before you get to the finish line which is your building permit for your rehab

6. If you pass the Zoning department review you get to sit and wait for another Intake review only to leave your 10 copies of plans and survey for another 3-6 weeks turn around if you are lucky.... final processing/ typing and payment for your new shiny building permit.  It is not a one day process...just be ready to spend some time on this phase before you start construction/rehab on your future deals.

Please share your building permit  experience in City of ATL  ..............................................

[Mark Graffagnino]

Excellent post @Robert Mitchell  The City of Atlanta permits department is a full on ****-show.  Employees shuffle around like zombies.  If you've got the money, hire an expediter.  They recently cleaned house of a lot of the corrupt people and for now the wait times are worse than before.

I had one project in a historic district- remember that the historic district department has a different intake deadline than the regular permit department.  I got there 10 minutes after the cutoff, which I think was 2 hours earlier than permits, and could not get on the agenda for the next meeting.  Then when they finally had my meeting there were not enough board members to have a quorom so they cancelled it.  There were probably 15 people there to have their cases reviewed and they just cancelled it, no apologies, no nothing, just come back in two weeks.  

There is no accountability and very little competence in that entire building.  I will never do another rehab in the City of Atlanta.  You lose intelligence the longer you sit in that building.