What worked in 2009 --- Wear the Hats that Fit (Part 1 of 3)

What worked in 2009 --- Wear the Hats that Fit --- the opportunity at hand, Inspector and Development Consultant ---

It was a blessing to begin 2009 as a Development Consultant for an overseas group developing a mixed use commercial parcel. The value delivered began when the property was in escrow and I was hired to inspect the property and analyze development costs. As a former supervising inspector, I became immediately suspicious about the legality of the main 17,000 square foot building. A little research at the building department confirmed my suspicions . . . No Final Inspection . . . No Certificate of Occupancy . . . Even though the building had been in use as a major neighborhood public facility for twenty years (yes 2 decades).

My advice to the agent representing our buyer, let the escrow die; get your deposit back, renegotiate based on my cost estimate to complete construction properly with assurance from the building department that they will issue a certificate of occupancy.

I then met with city officials to get the consideration of reopening the dead permit, and an agreement from the officials to do future inspections based on the codes being used at the time the original construction permits were issued. A new escrow was opened and closed at a substantially reduced price. I started coming up with original next phase design ideas for my client to move the process forward.

The considerations from the building department were huge, as the legalization and remodeling projects were brought in at a substantial savings well under the estimates by architects, engineers, and contractors.

Life safety issues were paramount in my guidance, but still I was able to create a documented savings value of over a million dollars for the new property owners now enjoying their totally remodeled legal building.

All this was done as a paid consultant (not an agent), helping another real estate agent and our buyer get the best value possible.

Using your special knowledge and experience to assist others can be a valuable career enhancement to your regular real estate work in 2010. Look forward to finding and wearing the hats that fit in 2010 . . . and enjoy!