Potentially putting an offer on home- have questions on adding on to house/permits

J

JoonB_IHB

New member
My husband and I are thinking of putting an offer on a house in TRock. The house is a little smaller than we would like, but I have seen exact models of this home where there have been additions to the front of the house (not a second-story addition). We would like to do the same to this house. We would also like to take down a wall and open up the kitchen- but need to see blueprints, etc whether this is possible.



My question is this:

If we put an offer on a home- how do we go about getting an accurate answer whether any walls of the house can be moved outward? What is the process involved in putting an offer on a house, getting an architect to see estimates, etc? What about the permit process? How long does it take?



I would love some insight on this!

Thanks
 
[quote author="JoonB" date=1249621241]My husband and I are thinking of putting an offer on a house in TRock. The house is a little smaller than we would like, but I have seen exact models of this home where there have been additions to the front of the house (not a second-story addition). We would like to do the same to this house. We would also like to take down a wall and open up the kitchen- but need to see blueprints, etc whether this is possible.



My question is this:

If we put an offer on a home- how do we go about getting an accurate answer whether any walls of the house can be moved outward? What is the process involved in putting an offer on a house, getting an architect to see estimates, etc? What about the permit process? How long does it take?



I would love some insight on this!

Thanks</blockquote>
You will have to get a copy of the building plan and bring in a contractor, engineer, and/or architect to see if it is feasible. The other party that will be involved is the building department for the City of Irvine which will have to provide you permits to do the work and will determine if your plans for additions are even feasible. You may also have to deal with the HOA (if any) and/or neighbors to get approval. If you go with a good licensed contractor, they should be able to take care of that for you. Depending upon the site of the addition and/or modification the process can take anywhere from 6-12+ months, maybe longer (just depends how much red tape you need to get through with the City of Irvine and/or the HOA if there is any). Carefully consider if that is something you want to get yourself in because you may or may not be able to make the additions and/or modifications to the home because upon various City requirements such as set-backs. One of the contractors that I used to work with did an addition to her homein Manhattan Beach and it took her about 2 years from the time that she started (the City and the neighbors were the things that caused her delays). Think long and hard whether it will be worth the headache of making an addition to the home. Good luck!
 
So, if I decide to keep the size, but remove walls inside- how long is this process?



Who are some good licensed contractors?
 
[quote author="JoonB" date=1249622529]So, if I decide to keep the size, but remove walls inside- how long is this process?



Who are some good licensed contractors?</blockquote>
You may still have to be permitted to remove some walls on the inside as electrical wiring is present in many walls of a home and that wiring will need to be relocated. I unfortunately do not have any good licensed contractors that I can refer you. The only kind of stuff that I've ever done on my homes/rentals were upgrades that my dad and I completed (obviously no permitting required).
 
You should check with the HOA to see if an addition is even allowed. Previous additions could have taken place long time ago when architectural contextual compatibility was not an issue. Architect in most cases will be your orchestrator and strategist for code setback and approval research. Contractor can give you some idea but the legal drawings such as plot/site plan, as built plan, proposed demolition and addition plan, elevations, section, roof plan, field measurements, foundation plan, and roof plan could only be prepared by an architect. Minor structural consultation and calculation to be performed by a structural engineer. Other additional exhibits for HOA and city reviews may include neighborhood context photographs, aerial photos and a vicinity map showing the neighboring properties may be affected by the proposed addition impacting view, visibility, sun angle, prevailing breeze and noise.



Turtle Rock being a tree hugger community do not expect your future neighbors to roll over and let you add to your house without some good convincing.



PM me if you need help with this before you decide to purchase this home. You need to fully understand this before getting stuck with a property you can't alter to fulfill your lifestyle.
 
ABC- good one! I laughed at that comment.



I seem to have no luck (or maybe it is luck and someone above is looking out that I don't become a knife catcher), but we saw the house today at 2 pm. The realtor for the seller is at the house as there is no lock box. She never mentioned to my realtor when we called to inquire about the house that there is another offer on the house (should she have told my realtor this, as I wasted 1 hour out of my work day to see the house?- I digress....). When we are at the house, the realtor says to me (not my realtor) that there is an offer and counter offer out there.



So, we decide to put in the offer, and my realtor calls their realtor and lo and behold, just 3 hours after seeing this house, they signed the counter.



What a waste of my time.



Thanks for your comments everyone. I appreciate it.
 
[quote author="JoonB" date=1249632441]ABC- good one! I laughed at that comment.



I seem to have no luck (or maybe it is luck and someone above is looking out that I don't become a knife catcher), but we saw the house today at 2 pm. The realtor for the seller is at the house as there is no lock box. She never mentioned to my realtor when we called to inquire about the house that there is another offer on the house (should she have told my realtor this, as I wasted 1 hour out of my work day to see the house?- I digress....). When we are at the house, the realtor says to me (not my realtor) that there is an offer and counter offer out there.



So, we decide to put in the offer, and my realtor calls their realtor and lo and behold, just 3 hours after seeing this house, they signed the counter.



What a waste of my time.



Thanks for your comments everyone. I appreciate it.</blockquote>
Did your realtor ask the listing agent if there were any offers on the property? That's one of the first questions I always ask because you can never trust the MLS status just for the very reason you encountered. Hell, I closed on my NC escrow yesterday and it's still showing up as "back-up offers accepted."



Remember, it's better to be lucky than smart or good. ;)
 
[quote author="JoonB" date=1249632441]ABC- good one! I laughed at that comment.



I seem to have no luck (or maybe it is luck and someone above is looking out that I don't become a knife catcher), but we saw the house today at 2 pm. The realtor for the seller is at the house as there is no lock box. She never mentioned to my realtor when we called to inquire about the house that there is another offer on the house (should she have told my realtor this, as I wasted 1 hour out of my work day to see the house?- I digress....). When we are at the house, the realtor says to me (not my realtor) that there is an offer and counter offer out there.



So, we decide to put in the offer, and my realtor calls their realtor and lo and behold, just 3 hours after seeing this house, they signed the counter.



What a waste of my time.



Thanks for your comments everyone. I appreciate it.</blockquote>


Always remember and never forget that you are dealing with realtors (no offense to the few good ones around here).
 
[quote author="tmare" date=1249633525][quote author="JoonB" date=1249632441]ABC- good one! I laughed at that comment.



I seem to have no luck (or maybe it is luck and someone above is looking out that I don't become a knife catcher), but we saw the house today at 2 pm. The realtor for the seller is at the house as there is no lock box. She never mentioned to my realtor when we called to inquire about the house that there is another offer on the house (should she have told my realtor this, as I wasted 1 hour out of my work day to see the house?- I digress....). When we are at the house, the realtor says to me (not my realtor) that there is an offer and counter offer out there.



So, we decide to put in the offer, and my realtor calls their realtor and lo and behold, just 3 hours after seeing this house, they signed the counter.



What a waste of my time.



Thanks for your comments everyone. I appreciate it.</blockquote>


Always remember and never forget that you are dealing with realtors (no offense to the few good ones around here).</blockquote>
None taken. :cheese:
 
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