All Forum Posts by: Samuel Pavlovcik

@Scott Davidson and @Courtney Valderrama, I also have a few reliable, responsible GC's I can recommend, feel free to PM and I'd be happy to share their info. It's always good to have multiple options to choose from...

Make sure they get a Building Permit! I remember hearing about one of these shows in Chicagoland getting in a lot of trouble for doing projects w/o permits. The City has set their rules pretty strict on non-permitted work and they will slab on a Significant price tag in order to get cleared for the remediation...

@Isaac Ruiz you have come to the tight place, BP has a lot of Active members here in the Chicagoland area. You will likely get a better response if you are a little more specific in what/who you are looking to connect with, in addition to more information about location/what type of real estate you are looking to pursue.

@Christian Dulu Based on the code excerpts you provided I assume this property is in CA is that correct? I wanted to double check as I am an Architect in IL and have personally dealt with the Highland Park Zoning Department here in IL and would have been able to provide you with some insight...

Jonathan,

I've got a Home Inspector that I've used with good results that I know serves everywhere from Downtown to the Western suburbs. I sent you a message, PM me back for details.

Congratulations @Veronica Joyner on your past projects, there are a lot of people on this forum who could benefit from Your advice based on your experiences as well!

There are a lot of great people on this forum with a lot of information. I have met many active and knowledgeable members in the Chicagoland area and I wish you the best in your endeavors. You're definitely in the right place for idea/experience sharing and networking!

Hey @John Irvin, as an Architect, I am aware of a few user-friendly software programs that are also Free (or have Free versions available) that you could use to play around with your space. A lot of these programs have good online tutorials to help you understand how to use the various tools as well.

Feel free to connect, I'd be happy to share some more input from an Architectural standpoint. Sometimes the smallest change in design can make a vastly significant difference in the price for the remodel; i.e. moving a load bearing wall Vs. a non-load bearing, or not realizing until you open up a wall that there is a main plumbing stack that now needs to get relocated! There are definitely ways to plan ahead to avoid many future expenses and headaches; however, in the work of remodeling, nothing is ever perfect...

Hey @Adam Hughes, I worked with 2-guys on a 20-Unit Condo-building with underground parking down in Bloomington, IN that seems to have a lot of similarities to what you are mentioning; College town, rural development, financing(this was not their first multi-unit project), etc. They are not on BP, but I'd be happy to discuss further with you and see if they would be willing to connect and let you pick their brains a bit...

@Dan Miklosz, I'm an Architect based out of Chicago and I am actively working on (2) projects that are exactly as you have described. There are a lot of varying circumstances on a per-lot/per-project basis that can either make or break the opportunity to add a unit. The 1st thing to check is definitely the Zoning for the property. That alone can give you a very strong sense of the possibility of being allowed to add a dwelling unit. After the Zoning, there are additional concerns; many of which can be resolved with good Architectural design and communication with the building department. As @Dan Weber mentioned, depending on the number of units, it can have an effect on the code requirements to be met; however, in Chicago the change doesn't happen until switching from 1-3 units up to 4+ units (Changing occupancy from R-5 to R-3). The City does tend to be relative flexible with these building code constraints when you are only looking to add 1 unit to the property. Additionally, there have still be talks about the upcoming ADU ordinance in Chicago which will open up the opportunity of adding an additional dwelling unit for many more properties which would have otherwise been constrained by the Zoning Ordinance with the only option being pursuing a Zoning change which is timely, expensive, and not guaranteed to work. Feel free to reach out if you have any specific questions, I'd be happy to provide some more detailed input.

@Henry Lazerow Yes it was! Showing up on a Ducati with a full sleeve tattoo(Ha!). Things have been going great, I sent Avery my final pricing after viewing the property and the detailed discussion on the scope of work. I told him no need to rush signing any contract with me until everything gets worked out and finalized with his closing; this way he at least has accurate pricing for his project. I actually sent a follow-up earlier today just to check in; hope things are going well.