All Forum Posts by: Jared W Smith

Quote from @Chris Seveney:

Quote from @Tia Ricketts:

I am a fairly new (2.5 years) BRRR investor in the Pittsburgh Area and I've found myself in a tough situation where a property I bought at the sheriff sale (sight unseen …. I know 🫠) was condemned.
I just had a structural engineer and a professional builder come out and the general advice is to tear down the structure due to major foundation issues that will be costly to address.

I am now considering replacing the structure with a pre-fabricated SFH due to financial restraints. 
Has anyone used this option before? Any recommendations for companies that are easy to work with? Reasonable prices? Reasonable turnaround time for getting the pre fab onto the job site? 
I have so many questions!

 They typically do not save you a ton of money. You can save in time and have a better idea on schedule, but you still have to have site and foundation work done and at end of the day, its not a huge savings, just convenience.

Exactly what @Chris Seveney said is accurate. Cost comparison will be negligible. And depending on the project locale, having an experienced builder in the pre-fabricated space is crucial to the success of the project. All the best

-Jared W. Smith, RA - Principal Architect at Architect Owl PLLC (Licensed in NY & CT)
 

Quote from @Bob Stevens:

Quote from @Dennis Gallof:

Hi,

My father purchased this 2-family house (R5 Zone) back in 1976 in Astoria Queens, and just like many other landlords in NYC he rents out the cellar/basement.

I've been reading online the definition between a basement and cellar based on the link below, and I think my father's falls under a cellar. Even though the property slopes down and on the side of the building there are full size windows going all the way back, and then windows and separate entrance from the back. You can also access this apartment from the main entrance that has stairs going down to the apt; so it has a front and back entrance.

https://www.nyc.gov/site/hpd/services-and-information/basement-and-cellar.page

My father is getting older and he just doesn't want to deal with the house anymore, and will be passing it down to me. The house is paid off, and I'm trying to see what my best option is to do with it.

I would like to do a full gut renovation on all 3 apartments, but I would like to be able to see if it's possible to convert the cellar to be a legal apartment and get a CO that states "multi-dwelling" instead of "2-family".

Does anyone have any experience with this? Would reaching out to a real estate lawyer or architect be better to see if it's possible to convert to a legal apt?

I came across this article and it seems like there is a push for this and to make basement/cellar apartments legal but still hasn't happened. It looks like they launched a pilot program in 2019 but costing homeowners up to $1M to do the conversion.

https://citylimits.org/2023/03/13/in-new-yorks-fight-to-legalize-basement-apartments-what-about-cellars/

I don't want to end up selling the place because it is good cash flow and would be even better once I renovate all the apartments.

Thank you.

 Call the city and ask, 

This is NYC. Doesn't work like that. The clerks that answer the phones are not privy to Codes and what applies to your problem/issue. Additionally, they don't have the time or resources to research and investigate Owners calling with questions on legality of property/building renovations or proposed changes. In smaller jurisdictions, absolutely. 

Hello @Dennis Gallof

Thanks for posting. There are very specific requirements that must be completed for a legal cellar basement to be rented out. I have done it for some clients and for others sometimes it's not feasible or economical. It all depends on Code compliance at that particular building. It's a conversion process and is quite complex to design, formally file and obtain new CO. Just note- there are further restriction on creating a rental unit in a cellar for single family and 2-fam. So a thorough review of the lowest floor is a must. DM me if you'd looking for services on your best options and best steps forward.

-Jared W. Smith, RA - Principal Architect at Architect Owl PLLC (Licensed in NY & CT)
      

@Kevin King

Thanks for the clarification. So the problem is typically a half bath/powder room is adjacent to the living/dining room for access by guest. However by putting it in the back behind the kitchen, it's closer for guest who are in the living/dining room to just go to the main full bath. Therefore that half bath will rarely be used. Yes, its an extra bath for the occupants but not really realistic the way most people would want to use it. 

My recommendation would be to just make a full bath as an ensuite for bedroom #1. It's already at the back of the house. Then I feel it would be more bang for your buck. Also, yes rotate the stackable washer/dryer to the hallway not through kitchen. (OR another option is to add half bath in the upper right corner but this would be costly since all the plumbing is not nearby for running lines. However then this would be a true powder room.)  

-Jared W. Smith, RA - Principal Architect at Architect Owl PLLC (Licensed in NY & CT)

Your plans are missing information to assess, like where's the main entry and living room? Is that the area with the dotted lines? OR is what you've shown the whole place? Where does the hallway go then? 

I design and complete compact and super efficient plans on a regular basis. Based on the plans it looks like you're tying to limit the amount of renovation work but creating a pretty poor design overall. I may be missing some information that you aren't conveying in these drawings. If you're trying to increase value, neither of these options are ideal or efficient.   

I see two possible options but would need to better understand the whole house/unit first.

What is your Architect saying? What are their ideas? If he/she is halfway decent, then he'd have alternative options to make this work out better. 

-Jared W. Smith, RA - Principal Architect at Architect Owl PLLC (Licensed in NY & CT)
  

Quote from @Nicholas Mann:

Hey Jason,

I would start by talking with either the zoning board for that area or an architect.  Sometimes you can pull up the cities zoning map and see how its currently zoned.  As far as I know if its Commercial/Residential zoned or mixed use you can interchange the units, but either way it would have to be approved by the city so that might be a good place to start your research.

Best of Luck

I have to disagree. You do not want to re-zone the lot. Just because a site is zoned for commercial apartment houses, does not mean you MUST utilize the zone for that. It means that's the highest use allowed. There are plenty of apartment zoned areas with single family house in them. May not be much or on outskirts of larger buildings but there's no requirement to use lot for highest use. 

You can just complete the renovation, get permits and go about legally via local building dept., convert to 4 units. Then obtain a new Certificate of Occupancy as formal evidence of the unit count for your lending purpose. Re-zoning one lot is a tall order and would then restrict future development to the higher use and reduce the value of the lot if/when you go to sell. The City will probably not even allow a spot re-zone for this purpose. It's usually up-zoning not down-zoning.   

Think about your strategy like @Benjamin Aaker said. The renovation would need to occur before you take ownership to implement this strategy. So you have some logistics to work out. Most sellers aren't going to do this for your sake just to be able to buy it. 

-Jared W. Smith, RA - Principal Architect at Architect Owl PLLC (Licensed in NY & CT)
   

I'm going to have to agree with @Clinton Buchanan. 

I don't know many urban/inner city new construction residential projects where the Code doesn't require sprinklers for life safety. I say new construction because based on your description, the JHA is treating the project as new due to the scope, existing condition and no pre-existing nonconformance items remaining in place. Updating everything to current Codes.

Typically having two means of egress has a special relationship with the sprinklers and furthest distance from egress pathway.  

-Jared W. Smith, RA - Principal Architect at Architect Owl PLLC (Licensed in NY & CT)
 

Quote from @Melanie P.:

Quote from @Melpo Katsaros:

Quote from @John Warren:

@Melpo Katsaros which western suburb are you working in? I have gone through this process in Berwyn and Cicero quite a few times. There are so many nuances. You want to make sure you have someone who understands all the nuances of what the town wants. 

House is in Wheaton.  

 In that case start with an Architect and hopefully he can give you referrals to the other vendors. Here are the requirements:

https://www.wheaton.il.us/800/Basement-Remodeling

THIS. Get a local architect. As @John Warren stated, there are many nuances to basement egress requirements outside of the window. Best to see the bigger picture and plan for that. 

-Jared W. Smith, RA - Principal Architect at Architect Owl PLLC (Licensed in NY & CT)

Quote from @Jeffrey Stasz:

You need to find a GC who can recommend an architect and then work with the GC to get it built 

My advice exactly. Work closely with a GC to learn the basics. The more you're on-site and with GC, more you'll learn. However GC has to be fully on board with you shadowing him. Essentially, you could be his/her competition in future. 

-Jared W. Smith, RA - Principal Architect at Architect Owl PLLC (Licensed in NY & CT)
 

Quote from @Carini Rochester:

@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.

I actually just did this type of project. Had to double the size of the house. Full interior gut and about 1400 SF addition added. It was a small cap cod style house and childhood home of my clients. They only decided to do this since it was already in the family, paid off and would be a multi-generational home. Otherwise I agree, if looking for a new home, going through the hassle and task of adding such a large addition on a house just purchased seems contradictory. 

Westchester County, NY Approx. $450k in construction cost
Photos of project