All Forum Posts by: Alex Lee

@Bruce Woodruff Agreed! Most additions of that size never get built. They get dreamt about, planned, priced, then never built. It's $300/SF and up in my area. This OP should be looking for a house that meets his needs, not a house that will need a 1200 SF addition built on it.

You don't have a choice in whether or not to pull permits (as was suggested in a prior post). And  remodeling about 50% of a dwelling will definitely require a permit....

With prices running around $200SF, you are talking about $300k per project, probably more.....is that what you're expecting?

If you follow all the rules a building permit will not be denied arbitrarily. Also, municipalities offer a way to ask for permission to vary from a zoning ordinance, called a variance. Variances are granted pretty routinely in my area, but the burden of proof falls on the property owner to justify why granting the variance won't negatively impact the neighbors/community. (Some towns also have an Architectural Review Board that reviews the plans to help insure that no one builds some monstrosity that detracts from the visual beauty of the neighborhood, or something.)

There are two sets of rules. 1 is the local zoning ordinance which will control things like yard setbacks (stay 5 feet from your side lot line, for example,) maximum lot coverage. Every town, every city writes their own zoning ordinances, so you have to research the applicable town. 2 is the building code. Almost every state uses some version of the Uniform Building Code/Residential Code. The code is interpreted and enforced, usually by a local building inspector. Interpretations and enforcement will vary from town to town. A licensed professional (architect or professional engineer) will usually be needed to prepare the plans for a project of this size.

@Alex Lee, it depends on the lot size and more importantly, the County/City ordinances. As noted above, adding 1,300 square feet to an existing structure is not an easy project. Completing the task without pulling necessary permits is asking for trouble in my opinion. If the County/City catches on (most likely from a neighbor complaining), they'll issue a stop-work notice. What County are you thinking of buying in? 

Do you plan to do this under the table ? If you are adding 1300 sqft of livable house to your 1700 sqft you better make sure your contractor team knows what they are doing. If you add 1300 sqft without permit... this will be an issue when you sell / refinance later because this is not registered.

If you plan to do it with permits then the contractor will take care of it to pass the inspections. 1300 would most likely also require an engineer or architect. This is a massive project and shouldn't be done not according to codes. 

If you plan to do with permits and do it yourself then you need to know the codes and need to have a license in most state. 

 Savannah definitely has potential. I'm no expert, but my guess would be price/rent ratios aren't great due to the hype and the fact that it's still a pretty small city. 

Gwinnett is definitely a place where price/rent isn't great right now. It's a very desirable place to live, so retail investors have driven prices too high. Marietta is a little better. 

What kind of deal are you looking for? Feel free to reach out in DMs