All Forum Posts by: Matt Burr

I am also a licensed architect and agree with Alec. In addition to what he said it sounds like he charged you a very low number. FYI, Architects have different fee types, such as cost per square foot, fixed fee, percentage of construction cost, etc. but as a good rule of thumb licensed architects usually charge 10-15% of the construction cost. Standard cost per s.f. of a home is $250, so a 1,000 s.f. home could potentially cost $250,000. So his fee could have been $25k to $37k in that example. Also consultants and engineers are usually included in that number and paid by the architect. I will say that a year is way too long as long as the project was ministerial and did not have to go through any public review process. 4-8 months is typical. He may be an unlicensed architect depending on what you paid. Let me know if you have any questions. Thanks!

Thanks Daniel for the inspiration!  There seems to be a lot of us standing on the sideline ready to get into the game.  It's stories like yours that help push us out there.  Thanks!

Hey Matt, I too am interested in knowing what cities provide good cash flow (2% rule or better), safe, stable employment, low vacancy rate, low cost/ high rent, etc. I also live in San Diego and am interested in investing in buy and hold multifamily properties out of state for good passive income. I was thinking of finding a property in a good college town with the assumption that those areas would be safe and always need renters. I would love to be one flight away from the property too.

Hi Tyler,

I am an architect from San Diego also interested in development and real estate investing in general. We (architects) bring added skills to the project, we provide the design, understand what can be built on the lot and have a good sense on construction cost.

We also provide instant sweat equity. Some banks will give you credit for a set of drawings that you have prepared (architecture, landscape, mechanical, electrical, etc) and any development costs (renderings, models, development fee). This credit can be used as part of the capital needed up front.

There are a lot of successful architect developers out there, especially in San Diego.  Do a little research  and you will find there is plenty of information out there for us architects.  Good luck to you!