All Forum Posts by: Eric Teran

@Maurice Matthews what zone is your property located? That will tell you what you can do by right. Anything more and you will have to apply for a special exception or variance with the BZA (board of zoning appeals).

@Jeremy D. you want to look at RF (residential flats) or RA (residential apartments) zones. R-1 zone is for single-family housing and they only allow ADU. Each RF and RA zone will have different requirements. The most common is RF-1 which is zoned for two units by right. Any more and you need to go through BZA.

When an owner separates a single-family residence into a two-dwelling flat they are now a multi-family residence. However, they do not need to be converted to condos. If the owner ever wants to sell one of the units and keep one for themselves or sell both units separately then they have to follow the condo conversion process. Keep in mind if you decide to rent a unit before a condo conversion you then have to either wait for the unit to be vacant or file a form that informs the tenant because in DC tenants have rights. 

In regards to the ADU it can always stay an ADU but when you sell the house the ADU is sold with it. It is always part of the house and under the same title. An ADU allows one owner to own the lot/house and rent the ADU if desired. The ADU doesn't have to be converted back to the original space. The new owners can keep it as an ADU or convert it back to be used for the main house. An ADU can never be a separate dwelling unit. That is the big difference.

@Jeremy D. To add what @Andrew Spell mentioned if you want to separate a home into two units you need to find an RF-1 zoned lot which allows this by right. This is the most common zone to do this in DC. Other zones are along major streets where they allow higher density. If you want to add more than two units in a RF-1 zone you can go through the BZA (board of zoning appeal) and ask for three or more units and file for a special exception. This petition may be denied and takes around 4-6 months to complete.

There are a few big difference with an ADU and converting a single family house into two dwelling units. Here are a few.

1. ADU is under the same owner. If you sell the house the ADU is included.

2. ADU is on the same utilities as the main portion of the house.

3. An ADU can only be 35% of the main house. There is also a max SF but I don't remember it. I think it is 700 SF.

4. Two dwellings allow it to be legally separated into two distinct homes. Each homes requires their own utilities and fire proofing between units.

5. The new unit will need fire sprinklers. Unless you do a third story pop up which will then make the existing floors require fire spot Klerk as well.

6. Both units can be the same size.

7. The two dwellings can go through the process of a condo conversion and is expensive and a lengthy process. People do this so that they can rent out both units or even sell one or both. Most of my developer clients do this.

8. Creating two units is expensive and usually costs around $125k - $185k. There are many factors but this is what I see for my clients.

To easily find a property and their zoning information go to https://propertyquest.dc.gov/. Type in the address and you will get a lot of information.

If you want more in-depth information about a property you can go to https://scout.dcra.dc.gov/login

You can also find a list of vacant and blighted homes. Go to the DCRA website and search for it. They put out the list every quarter and you might be able to find some deals because those owners are paying an arm and leg in taxes once the property is classified with those distinctions. However, these homes require a lot of work. I walked through a blighted house last week and my foot fell through the floor.

Good luck.

@Nwakaego Onike to answer two more of your questions.

1. You can make the contractor remove something that they are billing you but don’t have proof it was done. If it wasn’t done then they have to pay to do it properly and fix any work that was damaged. If it was done then you have to pay the contractor to fix the area they removed to prove it was done correctly.

2. There are no real books or programs to help a beginner on pricing. Construction costs are very local. Here in DC in two neighborhoods separated by a river and five miles two clients received bids for areaway stairs within two weeks of each other. One was for $80k and the other for $35k. They were exactly the same thing. I drew up the plans. The only difference was the neighborhood. The best solution. Is to obtain at least three bids. Usually, at least two will be similar so it is better to choose one of them. If one is $50k lower than the other two then they are missing something. If one is $50k more than the other two then they are busy and don’t really need your work and don’t mind increasing a bid.

3. Staying within in your budget is accomplished before construction begins. I mean that everything should be picked out and specified in the plans for the contractor to provide an exact bid. Even doorstops. Everything. Of course surprises happen when doing a remodel like the electrical wires being chewed up by a rat and it all has to be replaced. However, items that can be seen should not have price increases.

@Eric Canning I’m an Airbnb superhost and we own four rentals. I think for the last few years Airbnb doesn’t allow what the other party left as their review until both have provided a review. I see two options.

1. Be honest. They will probably do the same. Of course you can add a follow up comment (it’s happened to me twice) were you can explain your side of the story. If I were to rent to these same guests I want to know how they treat other properties.

2. If you don’t want to do that then don’t leave a review because if both of the parties don’t leave a review then it doesn’t go public.

Learn from your mistakes and make it a better rental for the next guests. Remember to become a superhost you have to leave reviews. If you miss to many then you will not be considered. Good luck.

@Nwakaego Onike there are a few things going on.

1. Someone will be at fault. Maybe the contractor sues you and then you sue the architect and the architect the structural engineer and a fun game is played if whose fault it is. Let’s start at the beginning.

2. The permit set of drawings is this first item to be studied. How detailed are they? In DC and Northern Virginia where I have most of my clients whenever we excavate a basement and are doing underpinning we are required to have a special inspection. Was this part of your permit requirements? Your architect should know. Was a structural engineer used or only an architect? We’re you in a contract with these professionals or did the contractor provide this service to you.

3. Did the contractor follow the plans. There are certain items that have to be followed but the means and method are on the contractor. Did he get the required inspections and pass them prior to the wall collapsing?

4. We all know about change orders and those are done when time or costs are over the agreed contract. The owner has to approved them before they move forward. However, there is also a Construction Change Directive which is used in these circumstances. A wall collapses and it has to be fixed ASAP. Who pays for it will be decided later. This is usually signed by both parties as well but the cost is not determined. I have never seen these document used on residential projects. I’ve only seen it when I worked at a big architecture firm but it exists and is a good form to follow. He may be claiming that the wall had to be fixed or else more damage may have happened. You are in your right to ask for all that documentation and he needs to provide it. Don’t pay anything until they do. Then you can maybe come to a compromise. If you come to a compromise you have to make them sign a notice saying that they have been paid and will not file a lien. I forgot what the actual name of the form is called.

5. A mechanics lien has to be filed within 90 days of the last day they provided labor or supplied materials. It may be different in your state and a sub and contractor have different lien notice requirements. Usually they also have to file a notice of intent to file a lien by a certain date. Any if these dates are missed and a lien is no longer valid. The contractor may not pay the subs and they may put a lien on the property as well. Try to find out when each sub and contractor provided these services so you can keep an eye on the calendar. I’ve also gone around my contractor and paid the subs directly when I found out they were not being paid. Of course this may go against your contract with the contractor so make sure it doesn’t.

6. It may be cheaper to compromise a price with the contractor than going through with lawyers and liens and so on. Take it as a learning experience. I hope this doesn’t happen but if you want to sell the house and it sits in a court battle for liners it may cost more.

7. With all that did it sounds like it was his error with his means and methods of doing constructions. His insurance should be footing the bill. Does he have insurance?

8. You can also contact the state board and file a compliant.

Stay calm, don’t be bullied, and definitely don’t pay the entire fee he is asking. Good luck.

@Dmitriy Nam I’m an Architect and I do a few of these every year in DC for my clients. There are a few requirements to make the bedroom legal and we can go over those. I’ll send you a PM.

@Susana M. I have used Jason Osser, http://ossercpa.com/ for the last three years since I started my architecture business. He has been great combining my business with my income from my rental portfolio. Three of those rentals are in South America and he had no issue figuring out the best strategy.

Good luck.

@Jason H. Going back to your question I have been extremely busy since June. April and May were a little bit scary when no one knew what to do. However, since everyone is now living at home full time I have had numerous clients who want more space or to make their spaces more functional. Those are the homeowners. They want an office, they want places for their kids to play, a more functional house, or just want a bigger house because they are now home more often. I am no longer advertising but I still get one or two contacts a week through word of mouth or even bigger pockets posts. Those posts are mainly about basements and modular projects but people are finding me which is nice.

Also, my developer clients which are about 50% of my clients either want to keep on investing or fix up their places to get a higher return. A few of them rent to section 8 tenants and understand the more rooms they have the higher rent they can get. This is in the DC metropolitan area and section 8 pays higher rent than a typical tenant. I also do a few daycares and they have new restrictions so I have had a few opportunities there as well.

This is definitely different than the 2008 recession for people with white collar jobs. They have not been affected and want to invest. Even I am finally building my detached garage to make it into an office. However, material prices have gone through the roof. Especially lumber. Lead times are also an issue.

It is an interesting time to be an architect.

@Patrick Sears It is in Maryland. I can't disclose the exact location until they are built. The house is almost 6,000 SF with a basement and 3 stories above grade. He is acting as the GC and actually builds a lot of the stuff himself. He is amazing. He once rented a bulldozer and graded the property one weekend because he just wanted to learn. He hopes this is the first of many. I don't remember exactly the numbers but altogether he will be making around $16,000 for 8 bedrooms and his expenses were around $10,000.  His rates are based on what the military gives the tenants for living expenses. I think his tenants are people that want to live off base that usually lives in a nearby extended stay type of residence. I don't know the exact specifics. However, they are older career military members. Since everything was new there will not be much needed for repair or any large expenses.