In my naivety I pushed the urge to fire the sack of shade until he "got the systems all wrapped up", because on the residential real estate side of things I had dealt with a few exceedingly complicated sales that were caused by open permits (permits that had never been finaled out and closed) so I was very apprehensive about firing the contractor before the Electrical, Mechanical, Structural, and Plumbing permits had been closed.Six MORE months later it had been enough.

Depending on the county, some will let you split a lot and build on each without any special permits, and others (Sampson county NC) will make you follow their subdivision rules even if the lots share an existing common road.

Permit issues.

He has walked through the unit several times, visited a kitchen supplier with us, and done some legwork with the town on permitting.

Also you never know when your project will get held up by permits, utilities or something else.

What kind of turnaround are you seeing when applying for permits with the City of Atlanta?

Couple things to keep in mind – phase one may be front loaded with some additional items, like permits or dumpsters, and there can be others.

Also what zoning would I need to be permitted to build a duplex vs a 4-plex?

Especially in Philadelphia, but I guess that only matters for permits.

Do I start by hiring an engineer to make the design and get county approval and permits, or securing the building loan first.