[UCGal]

So, this guy was basically an insurance salesman… How did he ever feel entitled to $2M worth of home?

[quote=ucodegen]

They spent $250,000 of their savings on design and grading.

Again.. a loan is not savings!! That is also a lot of money for design and grading.. are they trying to grade the entire 5.6 acres? [/quote]

I was struck by that also. But it actually might be a realistic figure. I’m more than a little familiar with the challenges of hillside development. (We built a companion unit on a sloped hill.) I assume this “grading and design” included the following:
* Architect
* Civil Engineer
* Soils Engineer (soils report in the beginning and to certify any compaction along the way)
* Structural engineer
* OSHA certified grading contractor.

The last kicks in (OSHA) if there are footings of a certain depth or if retaining walls are a certain height. 5 or 6 feet from top of wall to bottom of footing. If you’re building on a hillside, you have big retaining walls to secure the building pad. A lot of “A” contractors are not OSHA certified – so it kicks the price of the grading up a bit. (We needed it on our project because of our retaining walls.)

Our project was MUCH smaller, and my husband did the architectural design. But we were out around $30k in engineering (structural engineer(s)/civil engineer/soils report) and permits before we even hired the contractor that hired the grading sub… And grading wasn’t cheap.

[UCGal]

So, this guy was basically an insurance salesman… How did he ever feel entitled to $2M worth of home?

[quote=ucodegen]

They spent $250,000 of their savings on design and grading.

Again.. a loan is not savings!! That is also a lot of money for design and grading.. are they trying to grade the entire 5.6 acres? [/quote]

I was struck by that also. But it actually might be a realistic figure. I’m more than a little familiar with the challenges of hillside development. (We built a companion unit on a sloped hill.) I assume this “grading and design” included the following:
* Architect
* Civil Engineer
* Soils Engineer (soils report in the beginning and to certify any compaction along the way)
* Structural engineer
* OSHA certified grading contractor.

The last kicks in (OSHA) if there are footings of a certain depth or if retaining walls are a certain height. 5 or 6 feet from top of wall to bottom of footing. If you’re building on a hillside, you have big retaining walls to secure the building pad. A lot of “A” contractors are not OSHA certified – so it kicks the price of the grading up a bit. (We needed it on our project because of our retaining walls.)

Our project was MUCH smaller, and my husband did the architectural design. But we were out around $30k in engineering (structural engineer(s)/civil engineer/soils report) and permits before we even hired the contractor that hired the grading sub… And grading wasn’t cheap.

[UCGal]

So, this guy was basically an insurance salesman… How did he ever feel entitled to $2M worth of home?

[quote=ucodegen]

They spent $250,000 of their savings on design and grading.

Again.. a loan is not savings!! That is also a lot of money for design and grading.. are they trying to grade the entire 5.6 acres? [/quote]

I was struck by that also. But it actually might be a realistic figure. I’m more than a little familiar with the challenges of hillside development. (We built a companion unit on a sloped hill.) I assume this “grading and design” included the following:
* Architect
* Civil Engineer
* Soils Engineer (soils report in the beginning and to certify any compaction along the way)
* Structural engineer
* OSHA certified grading contractor.

The last kicks in (OSHA) if there are footings of a certain depth or if retaining walls are a certain height. 5 or 6 feet from top of wall to bottom of footing. If you’re building on a hillside, you have big retaining walls to secure the building pad. A lot of “A” contractors are not OSHA certified – so it kicks the price of the grading up a bit. (We needed it on our project because of our retaining walls.)

Our project was MUCH smaller, and my husband did the architectural design. But we were out around $30k in engineering (structural engineer(s)/civil engineer/soils report) and permits before we even hired the contractor that hired the grading sub… And grading wasn’t cheap.

[UCGal]

If you know the current owners name you can check if there are liens against the place.

http://arcc.co.san-diego.ca.us/services/grantorgrantee/search.aspx

That would be a good place to start.

You can look up the owners name (and find out whether there are back property taxes) from this website.

https://www.sdctreastax.com/ebpp3/(fbvk2bn0j131r0450qy1ts45)/Start.Aspx

[UCGal]

If you know the current owners name you can check if there are liens against the place.

http://arcc.co.san-diego.ca.us/services/grantorgrantee/search.aspx

That would be a good place to start.

You can look up the owners name (and find out whether there are back property taxes) from this website.

https://www.sdctreastax.com/ebpp3/(fbvk2bn0j131r0450qy1ts45)/Start.Aspx

[UCGal]

If you know the current owners name you can check if there are liens against the place.

http://arcc.co.san-diego.ca.us/services/grantorgrantee/search.aspx

That would be a good place to start.

You can look up the owners name (and find out whether there are back property taxes) from this website.

https://www.sdctreastax.com/ebpp3/(fbvk2bn0j131r0450qy1ts45)/Start.Aspx

[UCGal]

If you know the current owners name you can check if there are liens against the place.

http://arcc.co.san-diego.ca.us/services/grantorgrantee/search.aspx

That would be a good place to start.

You can look up the owners name (and find out whether there are back property taxes) from this website.

https://www.sdctreastax.com/ebpp3/(fbvk2bn0j131r0450qy1ts45)/Start.Aspx

[UCGal]

If you know the current owners name you can check if there are liens against the place.

http://arcc.co.san-diego.ca.us/services/grantorgrantee/search.aspx

That would be a good place to start.

You can look up the owners name (and find out whether there are back property taxes) from this website.

https://www.sdctreastax.com/ebpp3/(fbvk2bn0j131r0450qy1ts45)/Start.Aspx

[UCGal]

Brian –
What about people who own houses/homes in the city? Not everyone who buys, does so in the suburbs.

(I live in the suburbs, but I have definitely owned/lived in the city.)

[UCGal]

Brian –
What about people who own houses/homes in the city? Not everyone who buys, does so in the suburbs.

(I live in the suburbs, but I have definitely owned/lived in the city.)

[UCGal]

Brian –
What about people who own houses/homes in the city? Not everyone who buys, does so in the suburbs.

(I live in the suburbs, but I have definitely owned/lived in the city.)

[UCGal]

Brian –
What about people who own houses/homes in the city? Not everyone who buys, does so in the suburbs.

(I live in the suburbs, but I have definitely owned/lived in the city.)

[UCGal]

Brian –
What about people who own houses/homes in the city? Not everyone who buys, does so in the suburbs.

(I live in the suburbs, but I have definitely owned/lived in the city.)

[UCGal]

You do feel more freedom to make changes and invest in the house.

You also feel a bigger burden… I remember that feeling of “what have I done” when I signed my first mortgage paper. That faded after successfully making the first couple of payments.

It’s a mixed bag. I’ve only rented for 18 months of the past 16 years. But I definitely felt a lot more freedom to customize an owned house to my needs. Little stuff like putting in custom shelves in the pots/pans cupboard…

[UCGal]

You do feel more freedom to make changes and invest in the house.

You also feel a bigger burden… I remember that feeling of “what have I done” when I signed my first mortgage paper. That faded after successfully making the first couple of payments.

It’s a mixed bag. I’ve only rented for 18 months of the past 16 years. But I definitely felt a lot more freedom to customize an owned house to my needs. Little stuff like putting in custom shelves in the pots/pans cupboard…

[Author]

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