All Forum Posts by: Bruce Harney

Update - it took me 2 years to get it done but I ended up buying vacant lot on the intracoastal and about .25 mile from the beach and built elevated house at cost of $90 total sf and $170 heated sf.  It took me a while to find a good deal on a lot, finish the plans and find a builder but the property value is easily $200k more than my total cost.

Aaron, yes please send me contact info.  Thanks!

I am considering buying land with house on it, scraping it and building new in Madeira Beach or Redington Beach area (outside of Tampa).  I've talked to a few builders and general cost has been in the $175 - $200 psf range.  In order for this to be feasible for me it has to be under $140 psf.  Anyone know any good builders who can do this or have suggestions on how to proceed?  I've thought about trying to hire all the subcontractors and overseeing it myself but that would be a major project.  I've overseen renovations but never new construction and I work a full time job so not sure if I have the time.

I realize the cost psf varies greatly depending on finishes and this being in a flood zone requires the structure to be elevated and pilings every 10 feet that go 20-30 feet deep.  If it's not realistic to build about a 2,500 sf elevated house with high quality finishes for under $140 psf then I'll move on to plan B.

Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated.

I wanted to provide an update to this post. I closed on the property in August, 2013 and the lender(local bank) allowed the funds($25,000 seller credit) to be escrowed to complete the siding work after close. The property is a duplex about 30 steps to the beach and 1/2 hour from downtown Tampa. We live in one unit and rent the other as a vacation rental and almost make enough to cover PITI. We are refinancing now and the property appraised for $150,000 more than we paid for it so this turned out to be a great investment. Thank you everyone for all your suggestions and input!

Kevin, thanks for the suggestion. That will be my Plan C. I found another lender willing to escrow the funds today and the seller has agreed to extend the closing date so I think it's all going to work out.

Yes, I've compared the property to recent sales and I realize that by itself, the current value compared to the bubble value is about as useful as comparing the relative bubble/current value of a property in California to a bubble/current value in a Florida submarket. In general, the values in this submarket are much greater than 50% of bubble values.

From the feedback above hml is out - too expensive. My current lender is now asking "management" if they'll escrow the funds. In the meantime I'm going to see if I can find another lender. The problem is I'm under contract and running out of time.

I know you're not supposed to get emotionally involved but I don't want to lose this deal. It's an "A" location and buying at less than 50% of what previous owner paid. They bought during the bubble years but besides the siding there's nothing else that needs to be done.

I appreciate everyone's input.

Thanks for the input guys!

The seller has the means to complete the repairs prior to close, but they refuse to do it. Looks like I just need to find a lender who's willing to escrow the funds and allow the repairs after the close.

Does anyone have any thoughts on using a hard money lender to close the deal and then refinance when the repairs are complete? I've never used a hard money lender before.

I'm trying to buy a duplex and the seller is giving me a credit at close to replace the siding of the building. The lender is stating the repairs need to be completed prior to close but the seller does not want to do this. They want the lender to escrow the funds to repair the siding and distribute to contractor when work is complete after the sale.

My question: is it normal for a lender to escrow the funds and allow the work to be completed after the close?