All Forum Posts by: Jarod Hall

Emma

Your project will fall under commercial building code for sure, so Mike is spot on with his comments. In building code world for the last 10 years or so whenever you have one unit on top of another you fall under the commercial code, even if it is a duplex.

You will need a fire sprinkler system. Almost definitely in the whole building. So you will want to plan on some renovations in your other units and a little bit of lost rent.

You will also need to provide fire walls/ceilings between all of the units. This is not a huge expense, but something to be aware of. 

The final thing that has really come bite some project I have been working on in the but is the distance to the nearest fire hydrant. In really old neighborhoods they are sometimes not spaced as tightly as new code requires and it can be expensive to add them if the right conditions are not in place already.

One lesson that I have learned the hard way is keep you tenant until you have a building permit in hand. Anytime you have to deal with a city it can end up taking way longer than anticipated.

Good luck and let me know if you have more questions.

I agree, one of the first things to do would be to check the zoning. Another good first step would be talking to a local builder to see how much a building like that would cost in your area, then add 20%. See if you rents would cover the loan on that cost. I know that in my area $800 a month would not cover the cost of construction.  

I think a good distinction to be made in this thread is the difference between technically feasible vs profitable. It appears that if a neighbor has built something like you are looking at then it zoning, building codes, and seismic codes would allow you to build a similar building. 

However, just because it was built does not mean that there was money made. I would think that in my Salt Lake Market it do a basic building of that configuration you would be looking at the mid to high $200's a square foot for hard costs. I am sure that costs are higher in Bellevue. Additionally I would guess that the type of apartments that would be in that configuration would have higher than average finishes, and that is a serious balancing act to not under or over spend. In addition to the hard costs, there will be soft cost. Those are generally an additional 30-40%.

This sort of deal is not a beginner deal. Someone with experience might be able to make some money, but without a lot more information it is impossible to tell.

Hi David

I am an Architect in SLC. I would be interested in getting to know more about your ideas for this project and then I can help give you some recommendations. Send me a PM if you would like to chat.

My brother is a contractor that does a lot of work for investors in the area. You can give him if you are still looking. 

Hi @PatrickWalthall, Without knowing a little more about what you are looking for I can't say for sure, but I imagine that @JeffBreglio would be a great option. He is quite active on these forums and the local RIA. I have worked with him and he is great.

J

As an architect I am biased, but I think you should have some sort of plans drawn if you are doing much in the way of moving doors and walls. It just keeps everyone on the same page. If the work you are doing is minor then I would recommend using this high tech stuff called graph paper and a pencil. If you are doing major work I would check with a local contractor to see who draws for them.

SLREIA has one big meeting a month and smaller lunches once a week. I have gained quite a bit of knowledge from attending their meetings.

David

I have't seen tons of Utah specific stuff on bigger pockets, but the local investor clubs are pretty active.

https://uvreia.com/ is pretty active in Utah County. The have a couple of meetings a month. Or if you want to drive a little bit http://slreia.com/ meets in various places in salt lake county. It is a little bigger.