All Forum Posts by: Cathy Svercl

technically, the Florida Building Code does not require services of an engineer or architect in the design/re-design of single family homes. (local building departments may have tighter requirements.) regardless, any new or changes to the roof, walls, windows, and exterior doors of homes requires a structural engineer or architect to calculate the wind loads & sign & seal the drawings.

your GC should recommend some architects and engineers so you can get additional design fee proposals for comparison.

p.s. i am a licensed Florida Architect #AR93491 in the Tampa Bay area.

welcome, Karina. in addition to the great sources of info on Bigger Pockets, Tampa Bay is one of the best places to learn all things Real Estate investing. start attending evening meetings in the area! you'll get to know what people are doing locally, what's working, and help you find your best pathway to REI success.

also, check out a new local BP group on Meetup.com, meeting in Clearwater.

Habitat for Humanity's ReStores have building products, and a lot of times have used or even brand new windows for very low prices.

look for umbrella policies through your auto insurance instead of your property insurance. weird, but true.

yes, check Zoning!

if Zoning allows a triplex, also make sure the Tax or Property Dept of the City has records showing the house is being used as a triplex. if it doesn't, the owners might not have gotten a Building permit to remodel from a duplex to a triplex.

if Zoning only allows duplex, you'll have a choice to make - which units should you combine, and will you still have cash flow?

contrary to an above reply, "typical" block walls are not solid - only corners and either side of openings have vertical rebar and filled with grout. in Florida, we also have additional vertical rebars for wind and flood strength - called "filled cells" every 4 to 6 feet along the wall. other areas of the country may have different requirements.

the R-value is just as important as the air (flow) barrier. the foam will do both by filling all the cracks in the block wall.

not familiar with "Dryvit" specifically. this is a name brand for what the industry calls EIFS "Exterior Insulation Finish System". EIFS should be installed by an experienced contractor to make sure water and moisture can still drain/dry out of the wall.

get quotes from local companies, as no retrofit job is the same as the next.

we used injected foam insulation, very cost effective, gives R-20 insulation as well as reduces outdoor sounds (traffic, neighbors, etc). for a 1200 sf house, it cost $800 3 years ago. the installer came for 4 hours, drilled 1 inch holes in the CMU ("cinderblock") exterior, about chest height, 16 inches on center. sprayed the liquid insulation through the hole, it solidifies inside the block shortly. just fill 1 inch holes on outside with grout and paint, or stucco over.

we only had 1 problem, where there must have been a hole in the block on the interior side, and the foam pushed through and pushed the drywall out about 2 inches. not a big deal - cut out 24 inch drywall square, scrape off extra insulation (which has solidified), put drywall square back in place.

p.s. i am also an architect here in FL.

when we bought our triplex, we inherited some deadbeat tenants. the first day we got the keys, we visited each tenant to introduce our company & review the policies (rules and regulations in their existing leases, including that we would continue all policies, including late fees, etc). we also left them a copy of the new rental applications and explained that when their leases expired, they would have to apply the same as a new tenant. thankfully, they all left within a few weeks...!

what is the typical rent per unit in that neighborhood? are they all 1/1 or 2/1?

tell us who pays which utilities - water, gas, electric, etc.

also, are you planning to put down some of your own money, how much, and what would your mortgage payments be?

@Andrew S. - give us an update on what you decided!