All Forum Posts by: Eric Teran

@Christopher B. I am not sure if it needs anything different or extra. It did get to zero this winter in DC and the minisplits heated up the house to 70 just fine. Maybe you might have to buy a better brand if it is going be working harder in the winter to be on the safe side. I do know some minisplits systems will either only cool or heat. However, if you pay a little more like I did each room can do what it wants. So one room can heat and another can cool at the same time even if they are on the same condenser unit. 

@Maurice D. I went to Airbnb and there is a lot of info on this thread, Best Integrated Smart Lock.

@Maurice D. I am looking at the the Pin Genie and the UL3 BT. I also looked at the August smart lock but it didn't seem that you could give users passcodes to enter themselves at anytime of the day. The August is the sleekest looking but more expensive. It also seems that you have to buy 2 or 3 pieces to have the entire kit. I guess it depends how you are going use it. 

My rental is in South America and I live in the States so I need something that always works remotely. I'll keep researching. Hopefully someone on BP can share their experience because I searched and didn't find anything. 

I installed a mini split system in my house in Alexandria, VA. It was new construction but can easily be done in a remodel if they know what they are doing. Overall I like it. For example, right now my wife and kids are out of the country so I am only using 2 (bedroom and office) minisplits out of the 6 that we have. Actually I only have one on at a time. If I go into the other rooms it feels a little warm but it is bearable for a short time. If I go watch TV then I turn that minisplit on while I am there. So yes you save money only having certain units on. Other advantages are that they are quieter, less dust, occupy less space, if one breaks down it doesn’t affect the entire house and every room can be at its own temperature. The two drawbacks. The wall units are noticeable at first. After a year I don’t even notice them. The second is that They cost a little more. It depends what manufacturer you use. Daikon is the best but most expensive. I went with LG which was less but not the cheapest. Last point, if your ducts in a typical HVAC is not sealed properly you will be wasting lots of money and efficiency. Sometimes you can’t just replace the unit but have to repair the duct work. Hope that helps. Contact me if you want more info. I have lots of links comparing the two.

Terri Parrilla are you looking in the DC area?There is a lot you need to know. By right most of the DC properties allow 2 units on a lot no matter how small. If you want more then you have to verify the zone it is located in. Also, if you want more than 2 units then each unit is required to have 900 SF of lot area. For example if you want 4 units then the lot has to be at least 3,600 SF. That does not mean each unit has to be 900 SF. In fact it could be bigger. Another possibility is a special exception. It is not a difficult process but does add 4-6 months for the permit process. The bad thing is that the city can deny a special exception. I am going through this process with a project in DC and I hope they approve it. As you can see there is a lot going on and this is just scratching the surface. If you want send me the address of the empty lot and I can tell you pretty quickly what you can build by right.

As an architect I have tried this twice for new homes on vacant lots for construction loans. Once in California about 10 years ago and once in Virginia 3 years ago. Both times I was told no and between the two I called over 40 banks. Big and small they all said they only cover construction costs. Soft cost are on the owner. They would not count my fee as equity or a percentage of any down payment. Same goes with all the other consultant fees to get a permit. Their response was that a permit has no value to them. If the project doesn’t get built the bank is left holding a set of plans with no owner. Who knows what the new owner will want to do? Actually before you get a loan all banks require you to have a permit for a construction loan. Especially on vacant land. A few banks said I could be reimbursed if my construction cost were under the LTV. For example if my LTV was 80% and my construction cost was only at 70% they said I could ask for more to cover soft cost and be part of the first bank disbursement. Both my experiences had construction cost that were the full LTV so I did not get any reimbursement. There are lots of different loans out there, lots of forms of construction and relationships always help so I would ask. It hasn’t worked for me so far but I still ask every time I speak to a new bank. It doesn’t hurt to ask.

Ryan Solstice I built a modular home and it is definitely worth it. I also wrote a BP blog post that you can read here, https://www.biggerpockets.com/blogs/9522/68289-i-love-modular-construction-and-so-should-you.

Matthew Wolfe I think you are getting ahead of yourself to ask for a RFP. There is no information for a Contractor to provide a bid. I would recommend hiring an Architect to do a feasibility study first. This will tell you exactly what you can build and get any zoning questions answered (very easy to find out). However this is just a start and the final design may drastically change if there are any city or neighborhood meetings. From there you can have the architect provide a schematic design with materials shown. Once you have this you can bring in the builders. Of course this will be a preliminary bid as there are still too many outstanding items. Another option is to have the architect do what I stated above but bring in a Contractor to provide cost estimates from the beginning. Most likely You will have to pay for these at first. Once it is time to bid on the project you let the Contractor bid on the job as well as a few others. The majority of big projects (millions of dollars) are done this way. One more option that is done all over the world but not really in the USA is too hold a competition. One of the requirements might be that only design build firms may enter. You will have to give other parameters as well, for example, budget, desired SF, aesthetics and so on. Regardless of the method used above asking for a RFP at this stage of the game won’t do you any favors. Feel free to PM me with any questions. Good luck.

You can’t truly tell unless you make a few holes in the ceiling. Get a hammer and have fun. See which way the joist run. Take a photo and share. A few tips if load bearing: 1. Don’t hire an architect for this (full disclosure I am an Architect). Hire a structural engineer. You can find one and pay per hour. Read tip #2 why you need a structural engineer and not an architect or contractor. 2. You can easily install a header across. However if you do you are now changing how the loads transfer from the roof to the foundation. You will need a post at both ends. These post will have a tremendous amount of weight on them going to the foundation. The structural engineer will tell you if you need to make your footings bigger and what size header you will need. This can add a lot of costs. 3. You also have to notify the city if it is load bearing. They will require plans and give you a permit. Another cost but you can sketch out the plans and the engineer can provide the calculations. Good luck!

@Aaron Farr and @Chris M. I don't know of any in the PNW. You will have to call a lot of places and see if they can do what you want. A few things to ask:

1. Most modular companies only like to deal with 11'-10, 13'-10 and 15'-10" modular widths. 15'-10" will cost more as they need a car in front of them with an oversize sign on them. Ask the company if they will do custom widths. Out of the 30 I called out here in the Mid-Atlantic only two of them said they would. 

2. Check out their website and look for the standard packages. The problem with modular is that they have lots of ugly base packages. Usually they will also have an upgrade package but it is still not that great. Of course you can do this on site as well but the key to saving money and time is getting as much of it done in the factory as possible!

3. Will they work with you to get a custom product. For example, I used Excel Homes and I wanted a free standing tub. They didn't have the one I wanted but they could get one pretty similar so we went with that. Same goes for the tile. They used Daltile so they told us pick anything from Daltile even if it is not in their packages and they should be able to get it. 

4. Usually each modular company has their team that they send to the site to set the house. However, they require you to go through a General Contractor. That GC already has an agreement with said modular company to do any of their work in their area. Sometimes a modular company might have two GC in the same area but not likely. That is a draw back if you like the modular company but no the GC. Of course the GC doesn't have to do the entire project and they might work with you for them to only do portions of the projects and then you can have your own GC do finishes. 

If I think of anything else I'll let this post know. 

Good Luck.