All Forum Posts by: Jeffrey Stasz

@Manolo D. and @Aaron McGinnis and @Jason Coyle 

thank you all for your reply. 

Yes. This engagement has been full of rookie mistakes. I usually only work on my own projects that are full builds and then sold on spec so this client management thing is new to me. 

I love the idea of going for a retainer...it's actually what I tried to do in my first response and they ignored it. I should have asked for a retainer right there! 

Also. My bid is super detailed in that my SOW is EXTREMELY specific right down to the materials used etc. It is also only for demo and framing so I have really just put together a single line item and they are asking for additional breakdown (like my internal number) which I am not going to provide. 

Thanks for the warm welcome to business! 

Best 

Jeffrey 

Hey all, 

Could use some help from some more experienced folks on the board: 

A potential client came through Houzz with 3 projects. All three projects are no where near the stage where a contractor should be involved and I told them that. I offered to manage the projects as a construction manager for a fee but they continued to push for (free) estimates and bids. 

So, I put together a rough estimate for the project that would not require an architect or engineer. Potential client agreed to the rough estimate and I went out to the project site for my 2nd consultation. I also pulled in some of my subs so I could start getting hard numbers on trades. 

We talked through the project in more detail and I agreed to provide a fixed bid for the first phase of what is going to be a 3 phase project. 1. Permitting, Demo and Framing  2. Trades  3. Finish work and Close Out. 

Thinking everything was okay. I drafted construction documents in AutoCad (a day of time) put together a takeoff (another day of time) and drafted a contract (1/2 day of time) which I submitted today. So at this point including research, travel and bid documents I have about 3-4 days of time into the client. 

Today I sent out the contract with terms and a fixed bid and they responded asking me to break down my bid by component (Demo, walls, floors, doors etc etc). And they also asked me to breakdown the cost of all the components for phase 2 and 3. I am starting to get the sense that: 

1. they have not read any of the things I have sent them. 

2. They are going to be a huge pain in the ***. 

3. I am going to continue investing time in this client only to have them take my breakdown, drawings and building plans and then bid out to a trillion other folks. 

Just wondering what some of you more experienced folks would recommend? My gut tells me to tell these folks that I have submitted what I am going to submit and that is it. 

Thanks in advance. 

@Jonathan Valalik I am a developer in Charleston focused on Historic Homes and Rehabs. 

Feel free to PM me if you want to take a trip down to Charleston and we can grab a coffee or go on a walking tour. 

In my experience the tax credits are generally useless. They can be bundled and sold/collateralized by a lender but unless you're doing a really large project like the Cigar Factory here in Charleston they don't get you much. Also most of the credits are designed to benefit end users rather then developers so again...the value of them is limited. 

In my view what makes historic a valuable niche business are the barriers to entry. Working in a historic overlay is far more complicated and there are a lot more interactions with regulators then a traditional development. Understanding the rules backwards and forwards is key. Understanding the goals of the Board of Architectural Review (BAR) and the other actors in the area (Municipal and County Government, Local non-profits, neighborhood associations etc)  is equally important and time consuming. These added wrinkles generally keep volume players out of these areas allowing smaller companies to add to their capital bases before competing with CalAtlantic Homes and GreyStar. 

So while a player like Lennar will go out into the county and develop a 500 unit community with a gross margin of say 80k/home. I will be operating downtown with a gross margin of around 500k/home. These higher margins allow me to grow my capital base faster and are more suitable to a player with limited capital and bandwidth.

Hope this helps. Please feel free to follow up with any questions. 

Welcome to SC. It's a GREAT place for what you're interested in! 

@Mike Reynolds nice catch! Just curious on your thoughts on this. I usually thought elevated slabs were built with block and a draining gravel supporting the slab. Have you seen something like this where someone pours a slab over a pier system and then use a jack system to allow it to set? 

Could be kind of an interesting application...What do you think? 

This does not look good. It looks like someone got the jacking wrong and then mislaid the rebar. Or it could be a failed post tension system but this highly unlikely as Post Tension tends to be in commercial construction. 

For reading on how this is supposed to be done check here. 

I suggest calling Kelly Powell at Kelly Engineering to see if he can take a look. But there is no guarantee that this is savable. 

Elliot Davis is also really good. 

John Q. Florence. 

John Q Florence is who I use. He is always on his game. 

As for the other stuff...just remember that minor closing delays are part of the game...

@Chris Isaacson thanks for the info and I like the idea of the brochure. I usually put together an "owners book" that has photos of the build, a copy of as builts, all of the warranty info and a list of critical subs that did the work. But that is usually distributed to the buyer only. Maybe on this one I will do a brochure about the build for prospective buyers as well. 

I am looking at the cassette type and they look pretty slick...

Thanks to all for the responses. 

@John Semanchuk as a realtor here in Charleston how much education do you think is going to be required for the behind the sheetrock type registers? Or are people just not that interested in the HVAC system? 

@J Scott I should have added that I am looking at the concealed mini split systems. Up to 5 zone generally run around 4-5k and install in a day. The house I am building is trending toward the higher end so a comparable traditional system would have to be something along the lines of a energy efficient Trane system rather then a run of the mill package unit. Also, the concealed units eliminate the ascetic issues because they are behind the walls. I'm in SC and like the idea of offering multiple zones of cooling for a house which seems harder to do on a traditional system. Then again...I'm not an HVAC expert hence the question. As for pricing...the costs for materials on the mini split will be a touch higher but the cost to install will be much lower. 

@Troy Gandee any experience with the concealed splits? 

@Elena Meadows No need to make an argument about zone control. It's a stone cold fact. You can loop them into separate thermostats so you can be pretty specific about individual rooms and temperature without adding a ton of cost so long as you don't go overboard. This is going to be new construction so the routing/ductwork is less of an issue.