All Forum Posts by: Jared W Smith

Quote from @Cecil Miller:

Where can I find an engineer to stop my plans for 14 x 24 pavilion I built plenty is for years but now that I want to build on my own they want me to have them stamped

Look for a local Engineer by googling ["city/county location" structural engineer]. As mentioned, above they will need to review the plans and possibly complete their own drawings before stamping.   

Quote from @Mike Garrett:

@Sean Walton, not necessarily true. In Washington, an architect can stamp plans prepared by another individual if they have been reviewed by and approved by the stamping architect. The stamping architect is taking legal responsibility for the work (just like a local partner for an "out-of-state" design firm), and most architects charge handsomely to review and stamp plans. However, many jurisdictions do not require "stamped" plans for SFH.

As the owner, ask your "architect" for ownership of the plans. Also get the CAD file on a drive and find a "Licensed Architect". If all you need is a stamped set, hopefully you can find someone who is willing to take the responsibility. Do make sure that they need an architects stamp and not an engineers (most small projects an architects stamp is fine- but an engineer can be less expensive).

Semantics. @Sean Walton has the premise correct. Technically yes any architect or engineer can review another person's work and stamp it. Should they, probably not but behind closed doors that happens. It is illegal in most states. What you are describing is a fully thought out partnership or pre-arranged circumstance. That is not what is occurring in this thread. If the jurisdiction requires an Architect, just get one and make sure they're licensed.   

If we want to get technical, there is no such thing as an "Architect" separate from a "Licensed Architect". They are one and the same. @Michael Davis in fact hired an unlicensed designer and found out he couldn't get the drawing stamped since he/she wasn't a licensed architect. He thought the work around with Land Surveyor would work except a Land Surveyor won't take any liability for a proposed built structure. Outside their expertise. 

I don't know what drawings were generated by the designer, better to bite bullet and have a local licensed architect do it the right way. Personally, I would end up re-drawing and/or creating new drawings anyway. The price is not going to be discounted due to the designer's ineptness sadly. In future, find out the permit requirements from the AHJ (Authority having Jurisdiction). It's almost always on the forms or on the building dept. website.    
 

Quote from @Stuart Udis:

Speak with an architect as there's more to the permitting/conversion than merely receiving  the zoning permit. Specifically will this property require a secondary form of egress and if so, can the architect provide this in building permit  plans and does the change of use trigger the need for an NFPA 13R sprinkler system? If so, new service to the building would more than likely be required independent of the existing domestic water line. An architect will be able to answer those questions and perhaps be able to identify other physical and economic obstacles that won't arise when merely approaching this through the lens of whether you can obtain a zoning permit. My examples just happen to be two items  that kill many of these conversions after the zoning permit is issued so best to verify what obstacles if any exist early on.

Yes to all this Stuart said. Conversions get very technical and can trigger specific requirements based on various property circumstances. @Mary Umoh

Start with an Architect familiar with this type of work to discuss feasibility and what you do not know that they do. Less surprises during the project will save you lots of stress and hassle. 

Quote from @Donato Callahan:

Quote from @Jared W Smith:

Hello All! 

I am researching a market to jump in and purchase some rental properties for buy and hold out of state. This is likely to be an area I would like to stay in long term and build a portfolio.

I did the @Dave Meyer live pro workshop to find a market and have the following insight. (This is in the Southeast part of the country.)

Market Fundamentals

Population Growth: 1.8%
Median Household Income: $77,573
Wage/Income Growth: 7.3%
Unemployment Rate: 4.2%

Job Growth: 2.7% (slight decline last 2 yrs)
Home Ownership Rate: 59%
Median Age:  35

Employers are stables between Health, Tech., National Retailers & Shipping Companies, local schools and Banking

Crime is 1.06 Violent Crimes & 9.82 for Property Crimes

Schools are on average 6/7 out of 10. 

Landlord Friendly state and locale. 

Housing Market Conditions

Median Sale Price: $395k
• YoY Price Growth: 8.7%
• 5-Year Price Growth: 50%
Housing Inventory: Less than 7,000- low (Below pre-pandemic levels)
Property Tax Rate: 0.42
Average Insurance: $1,680

Median Rent: $1,895 (single-family house)
• YoY Rent Growth: 1%
• 5-Year Rent Growth: ???
Rent-to-Income Ratio: 29% 
Rent-to-Price Ratio: 0.48 

Looking at single family and possibly duplexes. Would like multi-family (3-4 units) but not many in this locale. As I expected this is a very different market than where I live (in NY). I feel pretty good about this market as the market data shows it being solid. I am even more comfortable having several family members in the area which I visited annually throughout my childhood/adolescents and every couple years now as an adult. This gives me some boots on the ground. I don't want to perseverate too much and allow analysis paralysis to prevent me from jumping in. Having family there and a pretty good market, time to pull the trigger. 

Comments? Thoughts? Any tips or advice welcome. Thanks!   

 Jared, great things to look for. I made a quick video explaining my thoughts and comments to help you on your journey! 

https://www.loom.com/share/79170bf16882465e8fca26369a1fa1a7?...

Thanks for posting however your video is essentially an advertisement for Bright Investor doing exactly what I did to generate my findings.  

Quote from @Karin Recalde:

Yes, my agent sure didn’t help me. She actually told me it was a triplex. I’m just shocked they can advertise it in writing as a triplex and it’s not. Lesson learned. Working with the city to find a solution.

Unfortunately, most agents may not understand the legal property status nor actually know how to find out what it is. If they were to actually know and still list it, then that would be fraudulent. Most just don't know and don't bother to check. Looks better for them and gaining a sale and higher property value gives a larger commission. Trust but always verify. I hope it works out for you @Karin Recalde  

Quote from @Gino Barbaro:

@Jared W Smith

The words trust but verify ring very true with those stories. That's why the lady should have had her own representation telling her to check it out.

Gino

1000%!! 

Quote from @Gino Barbaro:

@Jared W Smith

You're putting it mildly. It's a cluster, with months of uncertainty, and in my case 10s of thousands of dollars, because we had to upgrade the septic to accommodate the fourth unit, as if it wasn't working already.

I believe you 100%. Time lost is the most annoying aspect with projects like this. You could lose months or years and still not resolve the problem or realize you cannot do what you wanted. 

I've had some nasty stories. One where the lady was promised by seller and seller's agent that it could be converted legally. She closed and hired me for the conversion process and found out the Zoning wouldn't allow it at all. Then I had another one where the buyer brought as is under the impression that legalizing would be easy and found out it was not ever allowed and a portion of the structure had to be demolished because it was built horribly and a hazard as built.  

ALWAYS verify the unit count and Certificate of Occupancy with the AHJ (Authority having Jurisdiction) BEFORE purchase. No offense to realtors but how a property is set up or length of time it has been rented for has no bearing on the legality of the property records on file if they differ. CO will always trump that. @Karin Recalde

I've had to legalize circumstances you and @Gino Barbaro have stated. It gets messy since the property value is greatly diminished based on the actual unit count. It's usually a tall order to legalize it up to the unit count you want. As Gino said, find a local Architect to take this on. All the best.  

Quote from @Michael Belz:

The SROs are located in Suffern NY

This is part of my coverage area. If you’re looking to retain professional services to get the feasibility and zoning/conversion processes figured out, please reach out. All the best 

Quote from @Michael Belz:

I’m currently under contract on a mixed-use property that is zoned for CB (Commercial Business). The ground floor is occupied by a commercial restaurant, and the upper floor is designated as SRO (Single Room Occupancy) under a pre-existing non-conforming use. Additionally, the property has a pre-existing designation as an Artist Dwelling.

I’m looking for insights on the following:

1. What defines an Artist Dwelling? – Is it simply an apartment with a studio, or is it a designation that requires a formal process, such as registering as an artist?
2. Is it possible to convert the SRO units into Artist Dwelling apartments? – I’m exploring whether I can remove the SRO designation and replace it with Artist Dwellings, but I’m unsure of the legal requirements or how this conversion works.

If anyone has clarity on the definition of Artist Dwellings or proven strategies for making this type of conversion, I would greatly appreciate your input.

Thanks in advance for any insights!

SROs once populated much of NYC and has since been phased out through renovation, demolition and updates to properties. It's not liked by most Building Departments because it puts substantially more occupants in a building and each with locked individual quarters and highly taken advantage by slumlords creating fire hazards. Therefore working with and renovating SROs are typically deeply complex project and a great extent of due diligence is needed before purchasing. In NYC, there's what is called a Letter of No Harassment which must be on record from tenants since often the owner wants to kick out inhabitants to renovate and boost rent and their profit. This is highly regulated. You're in for a long ride to get it renovated with the SROs and non-conformance issues.  
Is the property in NYC or Upstate?