All Forum Posts by: Josh Cuthbertson

This one is rough. As stated above, you need to hound your realtor about this. I can't speak directly to the laws in this state, but getting a permit (generally) would look like this.

1. Hiring someone to do as-built drawings of the property.

2. Contacting/hiring an architect to bring the existing property up to code.

3. Submit drawings for permit.

The issue might be as simple as the city needing to have drawings on file for the project to show the existing electrical, mechanical, and structural systems. OR it could be much more complex in that some of said systems are not up to current code and need to be revised.

1. Contact a demolition company and get cost to clear land.

2. While waiting for them, contact a local GC and designer / architect. Both should be able to give you a cost of services, as well as a general cost per sf number for new builds.

3. Permit fees. I don't know how BC works, but the local building dept. should have a form to estimate cost of impact fees, permit fees, etc. etc.

That should get you started.

Likewise. If you need help on the permit / design end, we do lots of residences in CA.

Sounds like a great opportunity!

Nothing is better than meeting lenders. Don't be afraid to go to them and ask. Most of the ones we know call their other lender friends to find out who has the ability to loan on a project like this. Since it needs to be quick, see if you can get your feet on the ground and start opening some doors!

I can speak to the designers side of things. Although I wouldn't handle it this way, he's probably correct. Remember, architecture and design is a service business, not a product business. There isn't really a way to tell exactly what will be necessary when providing a price. What if your plan check process requires 4 resubmittals but he only quoted you for one? What then? 

I can't imagine he wouldn't give you his hourly rate, or some semblance of how he charges. By the hour or fixed fee. If he can't get to within at least 10% of what he's going to charge, you might want to find someone else. He might not know what he's doing or is scared the cost will scare you away. There are a ton of reasons.

Drafters typically charge by the hour, or by the SF. Architects are about the same but spend more time on the details / code analysis etc. etc. In our area, residential design, including structural, energy calcs, and other consultants typically land between 7% - 10% of the cost of construction.

If you don't need structural it'll be less. Maybe 4% - 6% of the construction cost. Each project is different and each project requires different things. For example in CA, you don't need a designer or architect to do homes or duplexes. Sometimes just a structural engineer. In other instances you don't even need either one.

PM me if you'd like to know more and discuss in more detail. I'd be happy to take a look.

This is called a fixed price bid. He is taking all of the bids he gets, and either marking up each one, or marking up the total. Contractors do either/or depending on how much they want to make. Our firm would NEVER do a project without seeing a line item breakdown. Ever. If he doesn't want to give that to you, he is either hiding his markup, or estimating on the high end to make sure he doesn't need to ask you for more money later. Heck, without seeing the breakdown, he could just be guessing on the high end and worrying about it later.

Get competitive bids, ask for their breakdowns, and ask what their profit and overhead will be. All reasonable questions. If he can't take an hour to break them down for you, that is a huge red flag, at least it would be for me. 

Very nice! I wanted to see if having the property appraised during construction would hurt the value. Looks like they way they did it, that it did not. Great to hear! Thanks so much for following up.

Brett, one option is get the property in escrow then bring in a general contractor and building inspector to give you an exact quote. If its within your expectations close escrow. If not, just cancel within your contingency period and you're done.

That would tell you exactly what you need.

Our principal architect is licensed in NY state. Although we are based in CA, we work in the boroughs on a variety of projects. Shoot me a PM with your project details. I'd be happy to take a look.

Depending on the project, we might be able to send over some contact details for some local people.

That link doesn't work, can you repost it?