Property Rehab: Fixer-Upper and Construction Talk

After talking with somebody, I have found out a few things I did not know...I have a possible foreclosure on my radar that I am interested in, and want to lock it up, and use hard money...So from talking with this person, I am not sure: but

Do I need insurance while in the process of fixing up the home? - What for exactly?
Are there loans / grants that I can apply for?

When you peform or authorize anyone to do the following a Building Permit is required.

"Construct,enlarge,alter,repair,move,demolish,or change the occupancy of a building or structure, or to erect, install, enlarge, alter, repair, remove, convert, or replace any electrical, gas, mechanical or plumbing system."

The following however are exempt from a Building Permit.
1.Detached Storage sheds one story in height where the floor area does not exceed 120 square feet.
2.Fencing less than 6 feet high.

The question has been raised regarding the location of Smoke Alarms when finishing off a residential basement (aka: Mother-In-Law apartment) as a seperate living space. Smoke alarms are typically required in the following locations:`
1. In every sleeping area (bedroom)
2. Outside each seperate sleeping area in the immediate vicinity (hallway)of the bedrooms.
3. On each additional story of the dwelling including basements.
Areas not requiring Smoke alarms:
1. Crawl spaces
2. uninhabitable attics

Smoke Alarms have been required per the International Residential Code since the 1970's, however, Carbon Monoxide (CO) Alarms have only been indroduced as a requirement since 2006 and are manditory as of the 2009 edition of the IRC. Local Building Codes and/or the local Building Offical's mandates can supersede the IRC. So make sure if your doing extensive rehabbing or adding onto an existing structure, that you follow the appropriate guidlines for insuring your investment property is safe for renters or for re-sale.

I just bought a house 2 months ago at the Montgomery County tax auction in upstate, NY. I was listening to the quickstart audio in Dean's TALD course and the part when Dean talks about making decisions that devastated him. Well I am in that position now and I feel like such an idiot. I thought I would be able to get financing through grants and started gutting the house financing fell through and now I will be selling the house as a shell after it is all cleaned out. It is a big house at 3,508 SQFT. It was built in 1884 and has old style framing.

What would it cost me to update this type of electrical panel (refer to picture 18)? Are these kind of panels safe to use until I save up the funds to update it? Where would I get the replacement parts if fuse blows to replace it?

http://docs.google.com/gview?a=v&pid=gmail&attid=0.1&thid=1225041965bf65...

I am a new investor, and I need to know how to calculate rehab costs, here in Sarasota, Florida. Could someone please give me some info. on how to calculate this info.?
Thanks,
Charley

Hi,

My question is when I go out and find a property after talking to the seller such as a pre-foreclosure and figure out the equity in the house, and how much i believe its worth, how does the inspection process occur? If i'm locking up a deal on paper with a price that I agree with the seller, how do I know exactly what repairs are needed? do I (the wholesaler) hire an inspector? thanks for your help in advance.

buffs

Hi,

My question is when I go out and find a property after talking to the seller such as a pre-foreclosure and figure out the equity in the house, and how much i believe its worth, how does the inspection process occur? If i'm locking up a deal on paper with a price that I agree with the seller, how do I know exactly what repairs are needed? do I (the wholesaler) hire an inspector? thanks for your help in advance.

buffs

there are books and tools out there for you to use to get the info that general contractors and subcontractors know and use.one such book or tool is called the home remodel estimator book.this tool gives you the sq ft prices for just about any rehab or new build category you r looking for.you can buy a book for just about any state as each state is going to have their own price range.for instance if you are looking for a roof sq ft price it will break down the job as follows1[rip out per sq ft 2] framing if needed 3]plywood per sq ft at 7/16 or 1/2 " or 3/4" whatever size you need a price