Ask the Architect

Should we wait to do the work?

Posted

Q. We’re in contract to buy a house and want to get started ASAP. We heard it can take a long time to get a permit, but we want to do things the right way and not have to worry about getting caught or having our new neighbors rat us out. We need a new kitchen, and want to push out for a family room deck and breakfast room and finish the basement. Do you recommend waiting until after we’re sure we close on the house? Have you ever seen a deal not go through or anything that would stop us from hiring an architect before we own the house?

A. Forging ahead does have risk, especially in a market where the buyer is one of several who made an offer. You’ll never forget the feeling of losing the deal and the money you spent on something you can no longer use, so you have to be confident or bold to go forward. I’ve seen this happen several times, and in some cases the buyer wanted everyone, including the architect, to return money, feeling and acting like a victim. They just did not want to recognize that work had been done, under contract, and just because they took the risk, they wanted everyone else to share in their loss. Nobody did.

I’ve even seen demolition start and improvements made before closing. It was a strange ending. We didn’t hear from the buyer until another deal was made. They learned their lesson, didn’t want to talk about it, and were owners before they hired us the second time. It takes time to put plans together under any circumstances, so either accept that you’ll move in first and experience living in the home or be prepared for the long wait.

I get calls every day from people who want to negotiate the time it will take, needing something right away, with a lack of knowledge, understanding or care that their plans aren’t for the purpose of just getting a permit, but as a contract for all the work that will be done. Most people really believe that the contractor will know just what to do and just do it. Every construction project I’ve ever seen or known about has had issues involving code, structural or finishing. Commercial projects generally have independent construction management overseeing the contractor, scrutinizing every bolt, beam and nail. Residential projects rarely have independent management, and most homeowners have little or no sense of how much they’ll lose due to technical problems created by poor decisions or workmanship by unsupervised workers, their managers who seldom come to the job, or the company owner who sells the job with promises not delivered, telling you it would cost more to have had a full-time manager (which they couldn’t provide). Those plans are your fall-back, so they have to be prepared well, which, again, takes time. Take the time.

© 2016 Monte Leeper. Readers are encouraged to send questions to yourhousedr@aol.com, with “Herald question” in the subject line, or to Herald Homes, 2 Endo Blvd., Garden City, NY 11530, Attn: Monte Leeper, architect.