All Forum Posts by: Mitch VanDeveer

@Brenda Whittaker unfortunately I would imagine so. As a construction business owner myself I would also be worried about not being paid by someone I had never met. Things I would consider in my selection.  Were any of them referred?  Do any of theM take credit card?  Do they operate out of a physical location, how long have the been in business, and of course any online reviews I could find. 

Hire a roofing contractor.  We worked in Texas about 10 years ago and "General Contractor" were not required to be licensed.  Make sure whom ever you hire is bonded, insured and licensed if you can find one.

Arch always, at most it should only be $10 or so a square more.

Good Luck!

As a contractor who builds luxury homes there is no such thing as a typical hill side excavation.  The 3 items we consider most when analyzing hillside lots are soils conditions, slope and potential access.  Soils conditions can make or break a project.  Is it rocky?  Using a hammer hoe for any length of time is VERY expensive.  If it's not rocky how deep is rock?  You also don't want to have excessive over excavation to install your foundation.  A quality soils report can be well worth the expense in you due diligence stage to determine the projects viability.  If the lot is in a recently developed community you quite possibly could request a copy of the soils report from the land developer but make sure their report has sample locations close to your lot.  

Good luck

Small multi family as in condos/townhomes or apartments?  What's small?  We work with different architect depending on the project.  PM me if you'd like to discuss further. 

Mitch

All depends on the location.  Where is it?

Hi DeWitt.  Looks like you're on the right track.  Do you have anything right now? 

Thanks, 

California stucco systems are different than any other area in the country.  That being said for the size of house your talking about it seems high.

As a contractor, when i see stucco that has enough damage that needs sand blasted off i would suspect additional problems.  The lathe is not securely fastened to the structure, potential moisture  problems, foundation movement, etc.  It may only be that the stucco mixed in the correct ratio but i would want to be sure i didn't have additional problems.

All that being said I would offer what i thought the property was worth taking into consideration the estimated repairs.

Good luck!

@Nate T. Good call on hiring the professional!   I don't have a standard answer for any of those questions.  It all depends on the extent of the smoke damage and any potential water damage.  That being said you can't paint over the soot it needs to be cleaned.  Also drywall work is cheap so if you think is questionable tear it out the last thing you want is to finish the rehab and have any odors.  Do you have any pictures of the areas in question?  

As a contractor my first step would be to call a certified environmental consulting company. They then come out and take all the necessary samples. We use a 3rd party to relieve our company of any potential liability. Do you know all the materials that may contain asbestos? That's why we don't sample ourselves. If the house isn't a total loss, they can also test for mold. The water used to extinguish the fire can cause more damage than the fire itself especially if the structure is not immediately remediated properly.

Fire restoration- make sure anything smoke damaged that is not burnt be sealed with an appropriate smoke seal product. ie Un-Soot

As a contractor it's standard for me to ask potential investor clients if they have any comps they can provide.  I do this for a couple reasons; 1. to give me an idea of the finish levels needed to provide an  accurate estimate, 2. yes to see if you know your business.  Not to ensure I'll get paid, i ask other questions for that. 3. i'll ask this before i ask about your budget.  For example if you bought the house for 175k (which i always look up before i view a property) and when i walk around it needs 45k to get to the level of the comps but it only comps at 250k i know right then you don't have 45k in your rehab budget.  

Good luck!