All Forum Posts by: Account Closed

Yeah. The Norristown Code office can be painfully exacting. They doubled the cost of my rehab and most of the things were useless. The permit process has also slammed multiple effort to rehab my property. It can be done but the biggest cost driver was that bureaucracy. Trend seems to be getting less invasive but I don't know if it will continue that way.

@Sandy Gabin - I'm pretty sure this is actually a township-by-township thing. 

The code process in Norristown can be arduous. My wholesaler and I hadn't researched this when I bought. I bought a foreclosed property with a few major issues and renovated it. When I went to put it on the market, I was told that I needed a business license, which triggered a U & O inspection process. The inspection process added about 4 months to the timeline to get it on the market and it doubled the cost of renovation. This is almost 10 years ago but the inspectors wanted to inspect the drywall screws before mud went up! My contractor was a lifesaver in negotiating with the officers. Also be aware that your property could be under the Historic Commission which adds a ton of time as they have to approve windows and external work material.

Please keep me posted and definitely do your best to get the previous owner to pay for the work.

It's rough but passable so far. I need a heater inspection and a chimney inspection to pass the inspection. And I need to fix some cracked bricks... which require approval by the Historical Board... which only meets monthly. I called and the second inspection delayed because I couldn't get all the work done in 60 days. They were very friendly about that.

This is a major pain. Please provide moral support if able!

Norristown, PA has apparently instituted inspection every 2 years. My first one seemed ok but my report includes things like "Remove bedroom from back of kitchen" and I'm concerned this is going to be a pain. Does anyone else have experience with the Code Office? I could use advice.

Thanks for the shout-out @Jon Graboyes

Everything I experienced is reflected in what he says. There is an effort to improve Norristown and they have kept tax increases down for a few years however, their idea to improve the area was to require a U&O inspection every year for a rental license. I don't think they have a fundamental understanding of the issues. I bought a property ~6 years ago and I haven't seen any appreciation. Cashflow is ok but I had to invest double into the property to make repairs than my wholesaler predicted.

I want to make Norristown a safe place for families to live but there are some big hurdles.

I had a water problem in my property where the feeder line has sprung a small leak. Once I fixed that, the basement dried up on its own. The leak was right at ground level so it was hard to detect. That might be the problem.

I recommend Rick Smith of Ameen general contracting. He helped me get my first rental property up to code and is always quick with estimates.

Thanks for this information. I've been struggling with this very issue. I've been meaning to look into Citizen's Bank. Anyone have experience there?