All Forum Posts by: Marcin G.

there is a big difference between problems discovered by home inspector AND "code upgrades" due to requirements of local municipality. home inspector might not even know the local codes as they work all over the place throughout all the IL villages. . home inspectors focuses on safety, "does it work or not", while local code enforcer focuses on every possible way to suck as much money as possible. also once I am slapped with codes violations I have no choice ...once the home inspection report comes back and I look thru some nonsense to justify price drop I say "next"

Thanks –that helps. how extensive the rehab need to be that CO is required ? if you buy REO, replace windows, paint, etc and put it on the market would you still need that document ? or you need it when you touch structural, make additions etc ?

thanks. I am much more concerned about "opening can of worms" and adding unforeseen costs to the projects due to the necessity to bring a lot of things up to code. I want to avoid having 12334 violations pinned to the property address ...

Lets say we are talking about cosmetic rehab ..new floors, paint (inside/out). Nothing related to plumbing, possibly new windows, paint the deck, new cabinets, counter tops etc. we need to open up kitchen, demo wall (which luckily is not load bearing). This requires moving electricity. Looks like we might need 2 permits …1 for demo (dumpster outside), 1 for electricity. If the deck is rotten and needs to be reworked we might need 1 for the deck as well …now …lets say my GC pulls those permits from the city and then once the work is done and we invite inspector the close the permits …the inspector goes on a wild tour around the house slapping us with every possible code violation. Step railing too low, no screens in windows, no GFCI, heater not up to code, ducts problem, joist should be reinforced …in other words a mass …

How would you prevent that situation from happening. Easy/dirty solution is …not to pull permits …well ..this one might backfire some day …I was thinking ..before I purchase the place .. I would invite local home inspector who knows LOCAL village codes end he would inspect the property plus inform me about code violations ...but since the property was built in 1950 ….there will be plenty of those.

How about inviting a local inspector, pulling current code violations on the property if they exist and having a conversation what is required to make the project happen …appreciate how would you handle such a scenario – thanks

try working with small local bank. blanket mortgage with all the properties on 1 loan. they will probably hook you up with some sort of NON-revolving line of credit for the first 12 months. they might go as low as 50c on a dollar ...it will be like pulling teeth to get anybody from lending department work on your case as its time consuming to merge single units under 1 loan ..but its doable ..persistence will get you some playing chips ..then you move "all in" on some REO ..turns out you were dealt KK vs AA and back to 9 to 5 ...just kidding ;-)

If you are not totally sure how much certain items might cost you IN YOUR city …would you recommend insurance adjuster tool called Xactware ? the way I envision that …during the attorney review I could draw the layout of the house and input what needs to be changed …the soft should tell me how much insurance would pay for that ..that I think might have something to do with how much I would pay for the material (?) …if the numbers check out …I proceed to closing. If not ..cancel the contract. I will need couple of flips under my belt to feel comfortable with material/labour cost in my area but I need a little hand-holdingnot to screw up my first one …working with GC is another option ...or both scenarios in one...?

thanks all . so I see there are couple of ways to solve that problem :

1. Your GC should be getting certificates of insurance from every sub.-> that's where i know that sub X will be on my property doing work. I collect certificate of insurance, call the insurance company to verify

2. As long your GC has verifiable workers comp insurance, it should stop with him -> that should take care of the people who were hired by GC as employees. Same drill I call GC's worksman camp to make sure.

3. My insurance (I hope there is a product that covers us) should take care of any subs who were not my GC's employees (there were contractors) AND who were not insured and got injured

i think I got it. thanks

thanks all - definitely helps.

Lets say I hire GC, I sign a contract that among other stipulations says that I pay only to GC. GC hires subs. Lets say he hired painters team. Guys are not licensed or insured …one of them falls off his ladder and sues the owner of the property, my LLC

What should I do to prevent that from happening. Should I ask for license and certificate of insurance (that names my LLC as additional insured) to EVERY sub GC will hire ? How will I control that ? I am sitting in my cozy office while out there GC is making decisions who to hire etc .. I cant be there all the time (that's why I hired GC) so any idea of the best approach to the problem ? thanks

Once you successfully rehab your property, market and sell, I understand new owners might decide to sue you for some hidden/undisclosed defects, title issues (?) other things …is there some list of things that prevail ? what's the best protection in this case…carrying plenty of insurance for your LLC will definitely help. Lets assume that you disclosed all the known defects, you pulled and closed all necessary permits etc is there something you need to pay extra attention ? thanks