2 months for addition permits in Dallas!

[Milind Shastri]

Hey guys, 

We just acquired a flip project in Dallas. An architect told us that the city of Dallas is backlogged by 8 weeks for approving addition permits. I understand, we as a city, have though a lot recently but this is a waste of time! God alone knows how long we'd have to wait for an inspection.

Any one experienced with this and found a way to navigate better through this permit process? I really wish we can start work before the plan gets approved. 

Thanks,

Mil

[Nicholas Field]

6 months where I am. 

[Greg Dickerson]

Originally posted by @Milind Shastri:

Hey guys, 

We just acquired a flip project in Dallas. An architect told us that the city of Dallas is backlogged by 8 weeks for approving addition permits. I understand, we as a city, have though a lot recently but this is a waste of time! God alone knows how long we'd have to wait for an inspection.

Any one experienced with this and found a way to navigate better through this permit process? I really wish we can start work before the plan gets approved. 

Thanks,

Mil

Thats pretty fast for most areas depending on what you're doing. Things are how they are right now do to Covid but the best way to get attention is to be polite, empathize with their situation as they take a lot of heat from people daily, check in regularly and take a box or two of doughnuts when you drop off the application and let them know how much you appreciate their hard work. You'll be surprised how far this can go in some permit offices.

[Nik Moushon]

8 weeks is not that bad of a turn around, especially in covid era. Its been that way since last year for most of America. Texas might not have seen this since you guys didnt have serious covid spread until the summer but for the rest of us this is the norm now. Sorry to say but...get us to it. It might get a little better as your cities get more use to the new procedures but I doubt it would drop below 6 weeks. A normal turn around time is 4 weeks (pre-covid)...who knows what the new normal is going to be. 

And expect the same kind of delays for materials and labor to. Start adjusting your schedule and pre-paring now or you will get screwed over later when it all is "unexpected". And prices just keep going higher and higher. My lumber prices have increased at least 15-20% in just the last 4 months. So seeing a noticeable price increase from wood at the beginning of every week is scary when you aren't expecting it. So expect it.

[Alex Grosvenor]

I just had a conversation with an investor today about how Dallas has hired a third party company to help with the permitting process they are so far behind. 8 weeks is about normal right now with Covid. 

It may seem like a waste of time, but trust me if they catch you working when you shouldn't be they will shut the operation down for a lot longer than that and be a real pain in the a**. 

No way around it unless you have a friend that works with permitting. 

[Evan Polaski]

@Milind Shastri, it makes me thankful my market is only about 3-4 weeks, but given COVID, winter storm, demand, etc that doesn't surprise me.  

And as Alex mentioned, between the cost of getting caught, and also a lot of buyers in my area becoming wise to checking if permits were pulled, it is well worth the piece of mind, and the law...

[Milind Shastri]

@Nicholas Field, @Greg Dickerson, @Nik Moushon, @Alex Grosvenor, and @Evan Polaski thank you all for your inputs! 

Helps me set some expectations for this project & another project I'm just about getting started in McKinney, TX. Excellent suggestion, Greg; we are all human and I completely agree that genuine human connections go a long way.

[Steven McPherson]

I've worked in the permitting departments in Irving and Mansfield.  I've heard from tons of other contractors how slow the city of Dallas is.  It took less than an hour to get a permit for a residential addition or remodel permit in Irving and less than a week in Mansfield.  The smaller the city or town, the more efficient the permit process it seems.

[Milind Shastri]

Originally posted by @Steven McPherson:

I've worked in the permitting departments in Irving and Mansfield.  I've heard from tons of other contractors how slow the city of Dallas is.  It took less than an hour to get a permit for a residential addition or remodel permit in Irving and less than a week in Mansfield.  The smaller the city or town, the more efficient the permit process it seems.

 Thank you @steven. That's helpful to recalibrate future projects. I'm pretty sure investors will pay extra to put their applications on a fast track and the city could always use the extra revenue; just putting it out there in the internet universe 😉

[Kerry Noble Jr]

we started a rehab right before corona hit in Feb..........started without permits which i dont advise......but permits took a few months.......like 3....or 4 smh.......see if they offer an expediting service for that....