All Forum Posts by: Nik Moushon

I went to high school and college in Michigan on the West side near the lake...so LOTS of lake effect snow. Yes, a sloped roof is better but a flat roof is not a deal killer. A large percentage of buildings that are not residential have flat roofs, especially when they get past a certain size it just gets impossible to have sloped roofs. And its not really the snow that causes problems its the water from the snow melting and ice from that snow melt then re-freezing that is the biggest issue. 

The biggest thing is to make sure that it is sloped properly and all the flashing and roof membrane is in good condition. Most flat roof leaking problems occur by improper installation or lack of proper maintenance. Not because they are "flat". 

Do some due diligence and see if you can get in the "attic" and get on the roof. Yes, flat roofs should have an access to the "attic" space. This way you can inspect for water damage, if its not visible in any of the units. Don't turn away from this one JUST because of a flat roof. 

Absolutely. They did have somewhere in the 18-20% cash of construction loan. And for the 8 figure budget thats not a small chunk of change. Plus their land value is also a sizable part of their lending weight. What also helped was they are doing 12-plex buildings instead of one large building and doing it in phases. So they don't have to take out the entirety of the total project construction loan at once. As the buildings get built and occupied (we have a 1% vacancy rate here so they will be rented out before they are even finished) that equity also get factored into the remain loan as well.  I should've made this clear earlier, sorry about that. 

 Nope. No partners of any kind. I know they have money through inheritance and their own but seriously no partners and no experience in MF. They did manage their own house build but thats it.  I know this is a rarity and not the norm but if you push hard enough and show your due diligence its possible. Just do go expecting it.

I would disagree with you only because the 84 unit development I mentioned above is doing just that. Owners got family land. Had not special financing of any kind. They just went around to the local banks and started shopping. At first, it was hard to get the banks to take them seriously but now they 3 banks fighting over them to get the loan. I'm not privy to all their financial details so I can't really go into it much more than that. I do know that they do have enough money of their own to pay all the Arch fees without a loan so I'm sure plenty of cash is needed up front aside from the downpayment (which land value counts towards also). Developing any site for new builds is no easy task for sure and not for the faint of heart. But you dont have to be filthy rich with lots of cash to do it...though lots of cash never hurts lol.

@Tab Teehee 

DO NOT sell the land.

DO NOT contact local contractors. 

DO contact a local (ish) Architect. 

The reasons I say this are:
1) - If you are not hurting for money holding onto that land will only help you in the long run. That person contacting you is hoping to take advantage of getting into the market before Google comes in and is offer WAY cheaper than its worth. Even if you decide developing it is not something you want to do the value will only increase as housing damnd increases because of the new jobs.

2) - Do not go to a contract and start talking to them. Nothing against contractors but they only have their bottom dollar in mind. Its just how that industry runs. They will try to convince you to either spend as much as possible or as little as possible. Either way, they make a killing and you get a sub par product. You only have to look at the nearest mass produced sub division that is developed and built by a contractor to know exactly what I'm talking about. 

3)  - Shop around and find a somewhat local architecture firm and start talking to them. There are two reasons you want to do this. One is that they will know FAR more about the local codes and regulations than a contractor as well as knowing how to design something that is reasonable priced but looks high quality. This will be able to get you the best design possible. Second is unless you go single family sub-division or a bunch of 4-plexs you will HAVE to hire an architect anyway. That's because anything over 4 units will require you to follow the IBC (International Building Code) and require an Architects seal. This could vary some between states, I'm in WA, but I'm pretty positive on this. Architects also act as a mediator between you and the contractor and since you hired them they keep your interests a priority.  

Disclaimer I am an architect out in WA state so I will call out the somewhat bias-ness of my post now. The office I'm at is currently working on several apartment developments right now. One project being an 84 unit complex on 5 acres. I wont go into detail on that or more of why you should hire an architect unless you want me to. Feel free to PM me or just keep the conversation going here.

I will add that financing a new build is very different than buying a building. Make sure you really understand the differences and the requirements before you just jump in. Not that its not worth it just that its different.

@Account Closed Grandfathering situations are great if you keep it the same but as soon as you start changing things it usually causes more trouble (and money) than its worth. One way to get around what the city has said is converting that duplex into a SFH, if thats possible.

You could also dig deeper into the code to see if theres some work around but thats not guaranteed. The city more than likely isnt lying to you but they dont always give you all the information or all your options. Most the time they just don't know the code very well as most people just look up in one spot in the code on the computer. You cant blame them for that the code can be very large and unless they've been there for 30+ years they dont have much of it memorized or at least to a point of knowing where else to check. 

@Dan Handford Thanks for the input. 

I am starting small. I have my eye on a couple 4-5 plexs though there is a couple 10+ out there but I'm thinking they wont be worth it atm though i still haven't run real complete numbers on it yet. But even those look like they are considered "small" by how you define it. 

I know for SFH you tend to pick one realtor and thats it. At least thats what I have done in the past. Wasnt sure if it was different or not. Thanks for affirming I should keep my options open.

To answer your questions in order:

1) - I've not dealt with this as a REI but I do in my profession all the time (I'm in architecture).
2) - Splitting lots can be time consuming and expensive (relative to your budget that is). You will have to check with your local city code as to what you can do and I would do this before you buy. It really depends on your city codes. Depending on the zoning location you could be just fine or completely screwed. As in they will make you tare down one of the buildings screwed. Not trying to scare you as is an extreme but it is a possibility, though probably unlikely. Zoning almost always will have a minimum lot size. So you might not even be able to split it because you can't make a lot big enough. 

As for price, again, this is determined by the city. You'll have to call them and ask for a price. My city costs would be a couple grand. 

3) - Your headache level depends on the codes and zoning. It could be a breeze or a massive PITA.

4) - I hate to keep saying this but this depends on your codes lol. If the building were built against code then you can have some leverage as it could be difficult to sell in the future if you back out. If the code says all is good then you might still have some but not that much. If they are determined to sell then you might have something but if not....well...you can always try.

First you need to find out if your lot is located in a city or in the county. Then you will need to look up the corresponding code (specific city or king county). You can just google this. Once you find the code then you need to find the section for zoning. Most online codes will have a search bar so this should make it easy. Once you find the zoning section of the code you will want to look for the description of R4. There will probably be plenty of references to other section of the code as not every piece of detailed information you need is in one place. So be prepaired for some searching. 

If you still cant find what you are looking for just call or go into your local planning department and they can help you out. I would suggest trying to go through the code yourself and look for it because it is a useful skill to know how to navigate governing code to figure out what each property you are looking for needs.

Welcome to the forums!