All Forum Posts by: Justin Suyama

As someone who has done Additions, land development and worked as a contractor in the area for 20+ years there are a few things to add to David's comment.

Feasibility:

1) Is the building site one which would allow a DADU per the jurisdictions requirements? Does this fall within City of Seattle, Unincorporated King Co or perhaps a specific city in/around "Seattle"? What are the setback requirements? Water availability for a second structure? Sewer availability? Once you have this basic stuff figured out you can draft up a Site Plan. 

2) Bring the Site Plan to the City you wanna build in and speak with a Plans Examiner and get more data on what might be required. They will give you a whole packet of info of all the things required before submitting for a permit. This may/will include Survey, Engineering, Architectural and may include other things depending on your site such as Drainage, Road/Traffic Impact and/or find out if any Road Improvements would be required as these can be $$ cost items, Wetlands, etc. Find companies to give you a price on these items.

Also it'd be smart to understand from the Sewer District, Water and Power district/company where and how you will add these 3 key infrastructure pieces to the DADU. Is power in the area overhead or underground? Where does sewer run, do you have to go into the public right of way, under public sidewalks, into the street? etc. I'd get quotes from companies on these things because they will likely require excavation and be bigger ticket items. Last year I completed an addition in Tacoma that required an excavator to bring in new sewer/water and the excavation was a separate company than the plumbing company as sometimes these two do not go hand in hand.  

3) Ballpark as David mentioned could be upwards of 300k for a 1000sf DADU or higher depending on your choice of finish materials. I recently did an 850SF addition in SeaTac and it ended up costing about 280k, labor, materials, permits, and various things such as survey, engineer, architect.

4) Add together the ballpark cost from #2 and #3 and see if you can finance this. It sucks to get into a big project and you NOT being able to finish because the money dries up.

It can all be pretty daunting if you're green on the subject but this is where I'd start - in a nutshell. However if you have more money than you have the interest or experience in the process to bring your vision into reality you can always hire a GC who has the experience/track record of this sort of stuff. Look for someone who will essentially not only coordinate the project itself to get done but also do all the preliminary (personally or by hiring someone) to get past the gated pre-project work such as collecting up all the survey, plans, studies, bids, etc. in order to get the permit.

Good luck!

Quote from @Patrick Goswitz:

Quote from @Matthew Paul:

Customer buys the materials , what could possibly go wrong .....................?

The minute a potential customer asks that question , its time to say , good bye . 

Everything contractors do and  should have a mark up , labor , materials , subcontractors , dumpsters , etc .  This is how we make a living and cover our bills .  Contracting is a business , profit is the goal , not a paycheck . 

If you want points on your credit card , ask your contractor if they take credit cards , I do . You pay 4%  credit card fee . 

. 

 Ok fair enough. You don't want the customer to buy materials because they buy cheap materials or wrong materials. I completely understand. What about just giving the contractor my credit card to purchase the materials that are needed. Any problem with that?

Hi Patrick... that can work depending. In my existing scenario I am pro managed at Lowes and use their Lamex for purchases (though I maintain accounts at Depot and several specialty companies such as Ferguson, Platt, Stoneway, etc). Because of my spending I can get far more in discounts at Lowes than the Lamex 5%. I have two primary investor-partnerships thus the buy power is doubled as major projects come from 2 sources. This means better discounts for both of them (I don't mark up in these relationships as they are ongoing).

Also I have employees and one of them is entrusted with purchasing as he's been with me since the beginning. So for me it might not work. 

If your contractor only works for you and is the only person in his crew that buys things then that could work. Just make sure that he won't be viewed as an employee in case L&I does an audit, ie one relationship and all spending under your umbrella might be viewed different. Years ago I went through an audit and this came up.  I was able to side step financial fees but the person funding the project was assessed a 26k debt because I and all subs were viewed as employees. Something to consider. 

As a contractor, I never let anyone but me purchase the materials. Why? Because I know exactly what's needed, and how much. I don't want my time wasted by someone who doesn't purchase materials for a living.

When I worked mostly for home owners, I'd have some who wanted to buy the paint, or some such. Well, I'd bid the job, they'd buy the paint, only they'd show up with the cheapest Glidden product on the shelf that I'd have to put 3 coats onto a wall to cover. This costed me more in my time, yet my bid was submitted. A respectable paint would require a good first coat and a fast 2nd touchup fill in generally.

In another situation, my customer would buy faucets. They got the cheapest brand at the store. I installed them. I was back out there in 6 months replacing them because the gaskets leaked or the handles broke.

Over the last 10 years I've created and maintained relationships with investors, now friends. I don't mark up materials. I charge them what they cost me and I get a better price than anyone else because of the volume I spend.

I do charge for my time and 25+ years of experience as a contractor. This works the best for us but it takes some trust and you SHOULD know roughly what materials are gonna be so that you can get an idea of markups if any. This takes perhaps a few projects to get the hang of. 

If it's remodels, whether holding or flipping, my advice is; build in a 10-20% overage for the surprises. You can go thru a house and itemize out everything and try to get the best budget you can get but sometimes you just don't see the things that are buried in walls, attics, foundations. Yes, inspections help but inspectors miss plenty of spots as no one has X-ray vision. I'm of the mindset that if it's going to be a problem down the road, fix it now, and fix it right. This sometimes costs more money.

A good contractor will have a sense of the best places to spend money in/on a property to maximize ROI. One of the things that has been true for me over the years is, a well designed lighting/elec plan can be the difference in feel from a 60's era house versus something a lot newer. Like the old living rooms that only had a switched outlet for lighting. I will go into those and install 6 or more recessed cans and put them on a dimmer. Much better functionality. No point in making a pretty living room that's going to be dark or lit by a single lamp bulb.

So it's all a balance between the budget, the ROI spots in the house, the surprise spots, and of course the external influences like market movements, up or down.

As some have suggested, a scrub with soapy warm water might remove some of the ink, making it lighter. The two products I'd recommend would be Zinsser's shellac or any interior oil base. I wouldn't oil base the entire wall, just the areas affected. The Zinsser Shellac would be my first option (alcohol based), and I'd use a chip brush to be able to throw it out afterwards. After it's all dry, a regular painting 1-2 coats should make everything look new.

I probably wouldn't sand as that may affect the texture of the wall. However this is something you can test in a spot less visible if you desire. I however think this is an unnecessary step if you have either of the two aforementioned products. Good luck!

Who I am and what can my company do?

I've been remodeling houses since the 1990's; flips, remodels, add-ons and have worked over a thousand “inspection work orders” for real estate transactions (for buyers/sellers/agents). I've also developed land ie subdivisions and boundary line adjustments for the purposes of creating buildable lots.

I have extensive knowledge of each aspect of the remodel process, from rough to finish. In short, taking a house in any condition and bringing it back to a desirable and exchangeable product. I currently have a small crew of 3 employees plus me and a roster of great sub-contractors.

Over the last 8 years, I've been working with 2 investors (and still maintain these relations) creating Air BnB and Adult Family Home residences. I am looking to take on another investor to expand my work options and opportunities. I can piggy back projects depending on who's ready and have the ability to run two projects at once depending on their size, scope and location as long as adding work doesn't interfere with already contracted commitments.

Primary areas of operation include Kent, Burien, Des Moines, Federal Way, Tacoma, Fife, Bonney Lake, essentially anything south of Burien, west of Covington, north of Lakewood and east of the Narrows.

I have years of photos of before and afters, including active listings on Airbnb which showcase my products. I am happy to send more info upon request.

Who am I looking to partner with?

I am looking for an investor who wants to purchase and have my company remodel 2-5 residential houses (or small commercial units) a year located in south Seattle to Tacoma.

The ideal here would be to meet up and talk.

Give me a DM and we can chat further.

Quote from @Douglas Skipworth:

Are you able to get some ownership in the assets just by contributing your time and skills (ie, sweat equity) or do you have to put up cash? Getting an ownership interest in an asset with little (or none!) of your own money down can be an amazing way to build wealth! That's what I attempt to do whenever I can, especially in Memphis real estate.

This is something that I am open to exploring, ie trading some labor for equity/ownership. Currently I just kick in to buy properties usually with a partner but as I consistently tell my workers, I'd rather own something that gives me $500 or $1000 a month in cashflow (or more) than a lump sum of 50-100k ... I wish I could have told myself that in my 20's.  

I've read it a couple times and listened to it recently with a friend. I'm working to get out of the rat race by investing/partnering (as a general contractor) with others in the Air BNB and Adult Family Home markets in the greater Seattle Tacoma area. The goal is passive income and using my assets as leverage to purchase more.