Toronto Duplex conversion project inquiry

[Tony Li]

Hello everyone! 

I am very happy to join the forum, I am from Toronto and looking forward to learn more about real estate investment and grow together with you guys :)

I have a property in Toronto, given its zoning already allows for duplex, I am thinking about converting the existing property to a duplex. following is some basic info:

2 story semi detach, 

location: close to middle town,

purchase price: CAD 900000

 lot size 21*100, 

1500-2000 sqrt feet interior, 

3 rooms on second floor, 

6 feet high basement, 

3 separate entries(front door, back door, basement), 

1 detached garage in the yard but facing forward(not laneway), parking is in front of the house

already installed gas furnace,

property was built in 1910s

ARV based on nearby duplex: 1.2m+

there are several work involved in this project, including change service power to 200A, egress window for basement, open one window for main floor, separation wall to form two units, and create bathroom for main floor, separate meter if basement size is allowed.

another thing I am undecided is whether it is worth to underpin the basement to at least 8.5 inch or not, giving the basement is very small (about 400 sqrt feet)

I am only on the first stage of the project, where I just started to gather information and source for an architect and project construction team. Someone told me the building at this age can be very different internally and hard to deal with, thus I feel like there is something about this project requires way more than what I know 

I love to hear your opinion about this project, is there anything I need to pay extra attention to or any pitfall should I avoid. I am still looking for an architect and project construction team, anyone has any recommendations about this type of project please ?

Thanks everyone !

[Huong Luu]

If you message me, I will send you a GC contract and breakdown excel sheet that you can have your GC fill out so you are talking the same language as them. I would suggest you contact a few flippers and see who they use. One technique a flipper taught me was to include a delay clause in the contract and a decreasing incentive. Many contractors will not accept the work due to the penalty, so you need to be able to negotiate the time of when this comes into affect and the extra buffer for time and cost overrun, along with adding in extra funds for the incentive. It is better to pay the incentive and have the work done on time and good quality so you can make rent income over cutting the cost and then having the place empty for a longer period.  I have a contractor I use for my properties in Toronto, so would be happy to make the referral. 

You can also set your project up on milestones, so they get paid a percent at each step.