All Forum Posts by: Jim Adrian

Architects are busy everywhere!   My 6 months projections are the healthiest i've seen!  I've got a green light for as much overtime I want.  Right now we can pick and choose which projects we want.

We are feeling the affects of the Great Recession 2007-2009 in my opinion.  Architects and engineers are in the front line of growth.  Construction came to a crawl in 2008 and many architects and engineers lost there jobs and change professions.  I thought I seen stats that about 1/3 of the countries architects got laid off and change professions.   Just in the last few months have we seen rapid growth and need for more staff in the market sectors (industrial and water treatment) I deal with.  Now we have a shortage!

I echo what @Thomas S. said. 

@Leo Hoang

I would sell the house in Nebraska.  You would need to rent it for ~$2700 to make ~$200. based on 8% vac, 10% pm, 8% cap ex and %8 repairs and some other assumptions made.  This is a loser.

I would buy in the lower to middle range to put money away and take care of bills.  It never hurts to rent for a period to figure out what part of town you want to live in before buying.  

@Ty Primers

You stated you are in drafting and design classes assuming this is an Associate Degree program.  If this is true this path will not get you to being a licensed architect.  I speak from experience, I have an drafting associate degree.  I went back to school to get my BA and Masters of Architecture and now licensed.  You will need an accredited degree from a 5 yr or 6 yr program.  www.ncarb.com   has the requirements of becoming licensed.

A lot of good info mentioned above.  A lot of contractors have drafters to re-draw buildings during construction for like formwork and other items.  Drafting, architecture, CM are good skill sets that can be used in RE development.  It really depends on what you want to do.   If you get into construction its very likely you could be working from a job trailer and not in an office.  

I would go with the one that more esthetically pleasing.  A plain 3 tab shingle (pictured above) looks cheap and if that's the 25 yr one then spend the money on architectural one, also pictured above.  I would look at the wind rating and pick the higher rated one.  Im not familiar with the area but are you prone to extreme high winds like tornados and hurricanes or even straight line winds?   People want a piece of mind that they have a good roof. 

I avoided an insurance claim last year because I didn't have the cheap shingles that where rated at 75mph winds where most my neighborhood lost there roofs from 85 mph straight line winds.

If he never turns in an application then you never have to review or approve it.  There is a possibility after the divorce he couldn't afford the rent due to alimony etc.  He may no longer make 3x the rent and you will be dealing with an eviction.  

@Marc Pelletier

First off your spreadsheet is hard to read due to size.   I'm not sure how you are analyzing the repair cost and how this plays into your spreadsheet.  I would take a hard look at those numbers.   $87k - others  "for what"?  For your first one I would find one that is more turn key.  The more repairs / renovation you do the more chances to run into problems.  This all equals more money of out your pocket.  Don't forget you have travel cost to see this place during renovation time.    

The owner should not pay for non-compliant work; that includes materials and labor.  You paid the contractor to do the work once. If it takes 5 tries to get it right then this sucks for the contractor.  I would review the drawings the architect gave you to verify what has been installed meets the drawings.  If the work matches the plans then the Architect needs to pay for the error not the owner.   Having the building dept inspect this this give you 3rd party verification.

@Jared W Smith and @Nik Moushon give great advice day in and day out! 

@Nik Moushon hit the nail on the head here!  Schooling is one of the most intense degrees out there.  If you like sleep then I would pass on this field.  I would be buildings models and presentations boards till 2am or 3am 5 days a week.  If you have a family this is a No Go on schooling, speaking from experience of a single parent at the time.  It was rough and I missed out on a lot.

I would focus on the construction management or something like that if you want to flip full time.  Business, accounting, or marketing classes are ones I wish I had taken to help out in general.

I can tell you large projects are cool but challenges and headaches are just as big too.  The key is seeing variety and not getting burned out.   Ive done the skyscraper project for 3 years straight to the utility pump house that takes 2 weeks. 

1% of the value of the house.   If you add repair cost this in turn will raise your house value.   These are guidelines.