All Forum Posts by: James Gray

I have been doing a small development utilizing the GIG available talent to lower costs whenever possible. I have seen minor savings on some artwork and hiring soils engineer for the project. I also have utilized the internet to save on the cost of the HOA Bylaws and Charter for the Planned Unit Development. For those documents I found several internet sites that provided free samples that just needed to be modified for my state and specific needs. I was required to create a Planned Unit Development (PUD) when I filed for approval with replat by the city. Since I am doing a very small 9 unit PUD. I am using very simple bylaws so I did not feel like I needed to hire an HOA expert to write these up. I am estimating cost saving since I did not get quotes getting these written. I suspect they would have cost several thousand. If someone has ever gotten a quote please let me know. I will have them reviewed by my attorney when it is time to build houses.

I did get quotes for the civil engineering effort. Local engineers quoted me from $70K to just under $90K ($75K average). The effort included a retaining wall design, grading plan, water/ sewer, underground utilities, pollution controls, drainage, quantity of materials and construction specifications. The engineering effort is being done for under $20k and it include all signatures and seals as required for city approval. So far the costs for local engineering talent vs GIG is nearly 400% higher. I realize there will likely be additional costs that may be required to the engineering effort due to changes but that would probably be the same for both the local talent vs GIG. I will update these cost when initial civil works are completed but so far utilizing talent from around the country is looking to be a substantial cost savings. I think the quality of the engineering is pretty good from the GIG engineers.

Summary of cost savings to date (estimated HOA local cost):

I think you may be correct on that. I live in Dallas and engineering is not nearly as expensive.

I have started working on a small development on Padre Island in Corpus Christi. I am going to use GIG resources to see how it can compare on cost vs traditional local talent. First thing I should say is I started with a talented local engineering group for the Planned Unit Development (PUD). The primary engineer had worked for the city and was now working for the larger firm. I thought using someone familiar with the zoning and development codes would be a plus. It turned out that he was biased towards the standard building codes and did not understand there were different standards for the "Island Overlay" zoning. As a result, it delayed the project a few months because he kept using the "standard" zoning rules, while the zoning in this area was much more towards high density and I had to keep showing him. I realize now I should have hired someone less familiar with the area, (a GIG engineer) since they would have used the proper setbacks and parking allowances per the Development Code for the vacation area and would not have cared about the normal zoning.

I did hire a remote engineer to do the soils report. The average bids I received locally was around $4K. I thought that was a bit steep for an area that was basically a sand bar with plenty of nearby developments. I located engineer on internet who drove from Houston and did the soil borings for under $900. I think this is when I realized the local engineers where really asking a premium and started down the GIG engineering path.

I am starting a small new single-family development in a tourist zone on Padre Island in Corpus Christi. I plan on utilizing GIG economy solutions for as many of the tasks as possible to understand the possible downside risks and upside cost savings. As background, I have spent many years working on construction for complex communication systems worldwide but I am new to residential developments so I will also be on a personal learning curve also. I realize some heavy civil work tasks need to be done locally but I have also already learned many tasks can utilize resources from around the world and the savings can be substantial. One simple example was getting a concept drawing generated. I received local artist quotes and internet services for quotes. I plan to use this image on printed materials, web page, social media and signage. I ended up using someone on Freelancer site who lived in Russia. This resulted in some minor rework due to communications issues but the deliverable was completed in less than a week and I saved $2,300 over local artists lowest bid. I will continue post any cost savings and discuss pitfalls as they may develop until the civil works and first house is completed.

This is North Padre Island adjacent to lake Padre on Granada Dr. I started work on development and I had lots re-plated for PUD, HOA approved and Charter completed. I seem to be unable to get quotes from local contractors. I have asked many to quote standard tasks such as a retaining wall or driveway. I went to Houston to find a person to do soil sample as an example. I was looking to see if there was a developer who might want to complete. Lots are free and clear. I would like to work with developer with land payment not required until finished units sell.

This is North Padre Island adjacent to lake Padre on Granada Dr. I started work on development and I had lots re-plated for PUD, HOA approved and Charter completed. I seem to be unable to get quotes from local contractors. I have asked many to quote standard tasks such as a retaining wall or driveway. I went to Houston to find a person to do soil sample as an example. I was looking to see if there was a developer who might want to complete. Lots are free and clear. I would like to work with developer with land payment not required until finished units sell.

I started a small single family vacation home development that I cannot finish. I would like find a developer to work with who can complete the construction and sale of units. The area is zoned high density tourist area with STR. Walking distance to beach or boat ride from canal lots to Gulf of Mexico only about 5 mins. Recent PUD approved for 9 units. I am not sure how to find a developer who does coastal construction and would want to work on something like this. Any ideas would be appreciated.

How do I find builders or investors interested in vacation properties on canals within access to to Gulf of Mexico  10 min by boat? I don't have any connections in the industry and don't know where to find them. I doubt cold calling builders is the way to do this. Any ideas?

i use them on all my properties. Saves a lot of time and money when changing renters. I am not a handyman. I just follow instructions. Takes only a couple of minutes per lock.

Thanks for the comments, We (the lot owners) will let the builder determine what can be done to maximize value. Lots are zoned multifamily resort, mixed use and can be fairly high density (I think up to 60 units an acre). So there is a lot of flexibility in what type of construction the builder can choose. We just don't know how to find builders that might be interested. I was looking around on the Internet when I saw this site and thought I would ask.