All Forum Posts by: Tim Wang

The permitting is probably adding at least a grand to the price, at least in my experience. You could submit for the permit yourself. It's not too hard, but that's where expedited permitting services could come in handy because they have knowledge of what the city wants to see in the plans. I delayed myself about a month because I had to go back and fix things in my permit submission. 

I believe an architect stamp is only required for buildings > 8ft in height(someone correct me if I'm wrong). I was able to get a permit without an architect stamp for a single story 1800 sqft house. I paid $1.4/sqft for the designs. 

Interested!

Unfortunately I have experience with this. The people in residential planning and development at the City of Austin are actually quite helpful. It depends on the history of the property - if the owner had pulled permits and let it expire, then there's a possibility the city may just let you reactivate the permits. If there was no permits or you can't reactivate the old permit, then you'll have to submit the permit as if the project is starting from scratch. Like Alex G stated, this would require  a lot of extra work: floor plans, structural drawings, demolition application(which requires tax certificate), water service plan verification, and energy service verification. This is for a residential addition application, which you can find here. None of this is really too complicated, mainly it's the floor plans and structural drawings that can take money + time since most architects/structural engineers are backed up with work right now. 

You could go with the no permit route, in which case you should be careful that the remodeling is not too noticeable from the street. You could get caught by Austin Code or reported to Austin Code by a neighbor in which case you will be forced to pull a permit or pay fines. The violation will explicitly state that you will not be able to sell the property without giving notice of the violation to the buyer. The violation is also recorded in the public property permit history. If you do go with the no permit route, definitely over-disclose. I found all this out the hard way.

Hello BP,

I am in a very terrible situation right now. Six months ago, I purchased my first home and investment property; a duplex. It was originally a single family home, but the seller had converted the carport into another unit complete with a kitchen and full bath. Both sides were already rented out when I purchased the property. I asked the tenants on the converted carport side to leave, and began to rehab that side so I could live in it. After putting in a lot of time, finances, effort, and stress into rehabbing that side, even getting scammed by my first contractor, I’ve come to find out that the conversion has expired permits. I received a code violation from the city due to my previous contractor’s work, and from their investigation they found expired permits on the property. Not only did they find expired permits, they found a previous code violation in 2014 that detailed a major gas leak on the property as well as a crack on an exterior wall so large it separated the windows from the walls. The property was even taped off and deemed unsafe for use. Though it appears these items were repaired, none of these items were disclosed to me in the seller’s disclosure and would have seriously affected my purchasing decision.

Separate from that, the duplex usage of the carport conversion is illegal. Although the lot is zoned for multifamily use, it does not satisfy the duplex code according to the city. The common wall on both units must be at least 50% of the maximum depth of the building. It is off by around 5 feet. So after all of the sacrifice I have put into the property I will have to convert it back to a single family home, or spend even more money extending a wall out 5 feet.

I intend to take legal action, but I have several questions:

Understandably I did not perform my due diligence regarding the expired permits, but shouldn’t my realtor, the sellers realtor, my lender, the title company have caught it? Shouldn’t the seller’s agent, who listed it as a duplex, have verified it was legal? What other parties are at fault here?

What would be a feasible compensation? The seller’s broker and title company should be bonded. I would not mind keeping the property, but I would like all of my money that I’ve put into the house back and the money it would take to convert the property into a full duplex or single family home. If necessary I would be willing to give up the property just as long as I am compensated for all of my troubles.

Should I just send a letter of demand to the seller? My fear is that the seller will just move all of his assets out of the country.

Would I be able to work with my lender to temporarily suspend my mortgage payments? I would need the money to pursue the legal battle.

My tenants pay the mortgage and a little bit more. The lease they signed with the seller expires in January 2019. I would not mind having them sign a new lease with me, but with the knowledge of all the safety issues I can’t have them sign the lease with good conscience. Should I have them sign a new lease with an acknowledgement of all the prior safety issues, or not risk leasing out that side at all?

Thank you for your advice. This is an incredibly stressful time for me and I appreciate any advice or point in the right direction.

Gratefully,

Tim

@Danny Webber Thanks for the reply I will message you if I have any questions. 

@Zachary Barton Thanks man good to hear from you.

@Jack Williams Thank you sir.

@Jerel Ehlert:

The inspector, my realtor, and I did walk throughs of the home but did not notice any cracks on the walls and only slightly uneven floors. I just learned from the neighbor, who had been living next door for 5 years, that the wood paneling on the side of the home is new and was used to replace the old brick there. Please see below:

The opposite side of the home has the similar wood paneling, and that is where the neighbor said he saw a crack that ran down the entire wall that was so wide he could fit his fist through. There are also signs of a cover up at the base of the foundation because there are new concrete blocks there to hide the foundation and a temporary drain placed nearby to prevent water from reaching the foundation. I'll have to take photos tomorrow to properly illustrate.

The neighbor also said that the mainline water pipe had several leaks in the past and has pictures to prove it. This was not disclosed to me either. The home was built in 1954 with cast iron pipes and the neighbor described the pipes to be extremely corroded. 

The only thing the seller listed in the non-disclosure was that there may be lead-based paint in the home. I should also mention that the seller has owned the home for 5+ years and so it was he who installed the wooden panels on the side. 

@Michael Plante @Matthew Paul @Greg H. @Alex G.

The inspector, my realtor, and I did walk throughs of the home but did not notice any cracks on the walls and only slightly uneven floors. I just learned from the neighbor, who had been living next door for 5 years, that the wood paneling on the side of the home is new and was used to replace the old brick there. Please see below: 

The opposite side of the home has the similar wood paneling, and that is where the neighbor said he saw a crack that ran down the entire wall that was so wide he could fit his fist through. There are also signs of a cover up at the base of the foundation because there are new concrete blocks there to hide the foundation and a temporary drain placed nearby to prevent water from reaching the foundation. I'll have to take photos tomorrow to properly illustrate.

The neighbor also said that the mainline water pipe had several previous leaks in the past and has pictures to prove it. This was not disclosed to me either. The home was built in 1954 and the neighbor described the pipes to his home as well as to my house to be the same as @Alex G.'s photos. 

The only thing the seller listed in the non-disclosure was that there may be lead-based paint in the home. I should also mention that the seller has owned the home for 5+ years and so it was he who installed the wooden panels on the side. 

Hey Austin BP, 

Newbie and aspiring investor here. Took the plunge a few months ago and boy did I jump in the deep end. 

Seeking recommendations for real estate attorneys experienced with seller disclosure fraud. 

Thanks in advance! 

Aspiring real estate investor here. Decided to take the plunge a few months ago with my first rental property and boy did I jump in the deep end. Looking for recommendations for real estate attorneys in Austin, TX and seeking advice from any one who has had experience with fraudulent seller disclosure. Thanks BP.

@Sean Carroll Yes I believe so. 

@John Webster What discount stores did you shop at?