All Forum Posts by: Thai Chau

Quote from @Chandler Burton:

Hello!

I live in Denver and my property is a single family home, but the land is zoned to support a duplex.

The house was separated into two units up/down when I bought it, with separate entrances, electricity and water.

I'm looking to get the property zoned as a duplex and the city is asking for:

- Need Site Plan that contains Reference Lots and Front Setback Dimensions

- Spot grade elevation points at primary front setback and rear corners

Are these site plans something an architect needs to do? Has anyone used an online service such as getasiteplan.com ?

Thanks in advance.

Hey Chandler. This is fairly straightforward as we do this all the time. An experienced architectural surveyor can definitely get this done. Unless I’m missing something from your post, local building/planning departments don’t need civil engineers or land surveyors for this type of drawing. DM me if you have further questions. Otherwise best of luck with everything. 

Quote from @Eileen L.:

Hello, looking to learn from those that have done a garage conversion recently. I’m located in Southern California and curious to know what is the average cost to do this? Is this usually funded by a home equity loan or something different? I will be reaching out to my city to get more info on permit requirements and will work with a contractor, but wondering right now about funding such a big expense. I have about $150k of equity in one of my investment properties, so that’s the only thing I can think of. This would be a garage conversion on my primary residence. Any advice is appreciated, thank you!

 Hi Eileen. 

I spoke to a lender today that specifically mentioned possibly getting a “fix and flip” type loan, where they’d loan up to 85% of the purchase price and construction cost. I’m still diving through my notes and doing further research but that sounds like what you’d need.

What I know a lot more about is on the architectural side, when it comes to producing the drawing package in order to submit for permits with the city. But we can discuss that later if you’d like.

Good luck!

Wow, being a rookie to REI, there are so many terms and words here that I have no idea what they mean. Time to Google. Thank you for all of this information, Jo-Ann!

@Bei He This would be awesome if it's feasible. I agree with a few others' feedback; I'd try to negotiate with the neighbor. A few thousand $ to fix a fence and landscaping is way better than what you were quoted.

Quick question, do you know what the limit would be for those THOW? Is it just one per property or perhaps more?

Thank you and good luck!

I’m going to follow this just because it’s a new topic I never considered. I’m sure there are reasons someone may want to forge paystubs but I can’t think of any, especially for real estate/rental applications. 

Because you can literally print paychecks and pay stubs on any printer at home, it’ll be hard to tell unless someone is altering an existing one. But only sure way is to cross reference with bank statement & deposits. 

Best of luck here. Happy investing!

I'm also curious to understand this subject. So I'll follow this discussion to see responses. In my "9-5", I work on a lot of as-built surveys for architects/home owners adding ADU's. I have yet to see anyone putting in a prefab unit.

Thank you so much for your feedback, @Ronald Rohde & @Chris Seveney! I hate to admit it but I had to research what ALTA and PSA meant. So thanks to you both, I learned something new. I'm truly grateful.

I'm literally surrounded with neighbors from all branches, both retired and active duty. So I see the challenges you speak of. That is why I'm even more appreciative of all service members. That said, I know for a fact that there are many resources available to military members (probably within these walls of BP). So with enough drive and determination, you will exceed every expectation. Let's go!

I also wanted to jump in to welcome you, a fellow new member to BP! Wishing you health and happiness along this journey!

I'm "in the market" everywhere a plane, train or automobile can transport me. But from what I see everyday here, it's absolutely exploding with new builds. Everytime I go outside city limits, I notice a new development that wasn't there last time. This is not hyperbole.