Back in the saddle

[Soushia]

So I am officially off the schnide and back to spit-shining turds. This one is a bungalo in St. Pete Florida. It is just over 100 years old, and has no foundation...just large footer beams on top on 2ft high concrete pylons. It was so damaged that even the termite damage was over 40 years old because it has been that long since there was any edible wood left for them to eat:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v643/DerWoodman/1.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v643/DerWoodman/3.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v643/DerWoodman/4.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v643/DerWoodman/5.jpg

In addition, I had to contend with fire damage, water damage, and almost 2 inches of compression in the collapsing wall.

After 5 days of running concrete, small hydraulic jacks, and about 1,200 lbs of new pressure treated 2 x 4's and drywall...I managed to fully rehab the sinking portion of the house, and remove all the old plaster and lathe walls. This includes capping the old plumbing and moving it to the other side of the room, adding central air via the old stove vent cover, and placing 4 new outlets and 2 new light switches:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v643/DerWoodman/01.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v643/DerWoodman/02.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v643/DerWoodman/03.jpg

I'll get the baseboard, crown molding, and paint up on Monday.

Not bad for one crippled guy ehh?

:headbang:

Next week I beging converting an 800 sq ft unattached garage into a 1 bedroom rental unit. Who knows...I might even hire some help next time.

[Cinnabar]

Just out of curiosity, with that much damage, what makes it worth it to not just bulldoze it over and start without the existing framework?

[Soushia]

Just out of curiosity, with that much damage, what makes it worth it to not just bulldoze it over and start without the existing framework?

Because if you do that...it has to be 100% legal. That includes hiring an architect, an engineer, and licensed G.C. (General Contractor) to start. Then you have to apply for 26 different permits, and halt construction at each step till the city/ county/ state sends over an inspector to determine if it is up to code.

To build from scratch...even if you are an exceptional project manager, takes about 150 days from start to finish.

Then, at the end, the homeowner has to have the property assessed, and pay the difference in property tax and insurance before they can get a C/O (certificate of occupancy).

The bitch of the bunch with that is when you go to put it on the market, if it is the only "new" property in the area, you stand a good chance of sitting on it because it will be overpriced in comparison to the area.

That is the joy of rehabbing older depressed properties. Less red tape and a better chance of getting out the week it goes on the market. With a foreclosure rate of 30% in Florida...if you don't sell it quick you are stuck with it for years.

[Miach]

Because if you do that...it has to be 100% legal. That includes hiring an architect, an engineer, and licensed G.C. (General Contractor) to start. Then you have to apply for 26 different permits, and halt construction at each step till the city/ county/ state sends over an inspector to determine if it is up to code.

To build from scratch...even if you are an exceptional project manager, takes about 150 days from start to finish.

Then, at the end, the homeowner has to have the property assessed, and pay the difference in property tax and insurance before they can get a C/O (certificate of occupancy).

The bitch of the bunch with that is when you go to put it on the market, if it is the only "new" property in the area, you stand a good chance of sitting on it because it will be overpriced in comparison to the area.

That is the joy of rehabbing older depressed properties. Less red tape and a better chance of getting out the week it goes on the market. With a foreclosure rate of 30% in Florida...if you don't sell it quick you are stuck with it for years.

Should check in your area. In Seattle you only have to leave one wall standing in order to qualify as a renovation.

[Slak]

Its the same in Cali too. Drove through a neighborhood when I was younger, and I saw a house with one well built wall and then everything else torn down or in skeleton. Kinda funny to see.

[Ternach]

Nice work mate!

[Shokar]

:wootdan: :wootdan: :wootdan: :wootdan:


The T-Pimp sig is back !

[Soushia]

Should check in your area. In Seattle you only have to leave one wall standing in order to qualify as a renovation.


It is like that in many areas...but Florida is unique in a Corky kinda way. To start with, there is no state income tax. So the state makes up for it by "nickle & dimeing" you to death everywhere. This includes the multiple applications for permits, and all the inspections costing $20 to $30 each.

The other thing you need to consider is that Florida is in Hurricane Alley. Any new or modified homes have to be engineered to withstand sustained 120mph wind. Without an engineer rating, no insurance company will write you a policy. And without a policy, the state will not grant a certificate of occupancy...which means you can't live there, rent it, or sell it.

Every place in the country has developed builing codes/ standards that reflect the local environmental factors. Up north, from the midwest moving east all the states have a minimum standard of pitch/ angle on the roof to insure that snowload wont make the structure buckle. Out west, from San Diego up thru Seattle you have to have a multi-layered slab and subfloor to minimize structural shifting in an earthquake. Down south, you have to use dual straps to reduce lift and sway of the roof in high winds.

It is important to review all building codes in your area before making any wholesale structural changes. The cosmetic stuff (interior framing, drywall, flooring, fixtures) don't matter. It is only when you start moving load-bearing beams or adding extentions that you have to account for engineering the home.

[Gnioss]

So in short dont buy a house from soushia or you will get blown away, earthquaked, or crushed by snow.

[Soushia]

So in short dont buy a house from soushia or you will get blown away, earthquaked, or crushed by snow.

Pfft!

The moral of the story is to make sure that you hire someone who is aware of the standard bilding codes in your area if you are doing anything more serious than dywalling/ painting.




p.s. I just got contracted by FEMA as part of their emergency response unit in event of an area being flooded...anywhere in america.

Now that is some scary shit!

[Elad]

nice job..I can't do any of that crap. But if it weren't for guys like me, there wouldn't be guys that had careers doing what I can't do.. at least thats what I tell myself.

[Diraker]

As Jesus always says, "Let the buyer beware".

[Diraker]

Sort of old thread but I saw this article in the WSJ and it reminded me of this post.

http://online.wsj.com/public/article/SB119370066239175607.html

Cari Luna is Jewish by heritage and Buddhist by religion. She meditates regularly. Yet when she and her husband put their Brooklyn, N.Y., house on the market this year and offers kept falling through, Ms. Luna turned to an unlikely source for help: St. Joseph.

The Catholic saint has long been believed to help with home-related matters. And according to lore now spreading on the Internet and among desperate home-sellers, burying St. Joseph in the yard of a home for sale promises a prompt bid. After Ms. Luna and her husband held five open houses, even baking cookies for one of them, she ordered a St. Joseph "real estate kit" online and buried the three-inch white statue in her yard.

"I wasn't sure if it would be disrespectful for me, a Jewish Buddhist, to co-opt this saint for my real-estate purposes," says Ms. Luna, a writer. She figured, "Well, could it hurt?"

With the worst housing market in recent years, St. Joseph is enjoying a flurry of attention. Some vendors of religious supplies say St. Joseph statues are flying off the shelves as an increasing number of skeptics and non-Catholics look for some saintly intervention to help them sell their houses.

It goes on, but don't forget to bury a statuette of St. Joseph on the property if you want it to sell. If it hasn't already.

Speaking of St. Joseph when I was a kid I'd go visit relatives in California. Hollywood. Anyway in the room where I slept there was a statuette of Joesph holding the baby Jesus (just like the picture in the article) and it used to scare me because it always looked like it was moving. I thought it was possessed or someshit but now I know about how human eyes are basically pretty suck ass and how images float across your retina and such.

[Elora]

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[Diraker]

The other day there was an article in Newsday (NY paper) and it talked about people using the "strategy" of claiming competing houses on the market were *dun dun dun* haunted and that buyers should avoid them.

I expect a cut when Soushia's house sells because of my advice!

And Elora, you take what I say too seriously. But I agree (and yes I am being sarcastic) using people's superstitions to sell houses is head banging on the wall material.

[Soushia]

Hey man...in a down market people will do whatever it takes to appeal to any niche buyer they can.

It is getting uglier by the day out there...and even with the fed cut today it is going to keep getting worse before it gets better.

Why the hell do you think I went back to looking for tv gigs!

[Gnioss]

I would think claiming your house was haunted would make it sell better, not the other way around.