Good morning!
Last week I announced that I entered into an Agreement to buy an infill lot in uptown Harrisburg, PA.
That Agreement included a 20-day "Due Diligence" period - a time where I look a little more closely at the project to see if it's feasible and/or I'm willing to move forward.
So - this is what I've been doing in the last week (and what Home Builders often do when they enter into a Due Diligence period):
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I reviewed the Zoning Ordinance for the City of Harrisburg, and I determined that this was in the "RM - Medium Density" Zoning District.
- This means (for this specific Zoning) that I could, indeed, build a triplex unit (one building per lot).
- In addition, it's possible that an ADU (Accessory Dwelling Unit) could be built for each property (bringing a total of 6 units on 3 lots) - but I'd need to go through a Land Development planning process to get this fully approved.
- I would need 1 off-street parking spot per unit (a total of 3 if I only did the building or 6 if I added the ADU's). Not too bad - as I've seen higher amounts required.
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I also decided to physically walk the lot to take a closer look at it, and I noted the following:
- There are a few very large trees that will need to come down. And, when I looked at them directly, those trees are HUGE - with some branches bigger than many tree trunks. I'm seeing some extra money needed to take the trees down and grind the stumps.
- I could find only one waterline curb box on the main street (even though 3 separate lots exist). This tells me that either there WAS a house on this property that was previously serviced by one water line - OR - the other curb boxes were hidden or non-existent.
- I reviewed the sewer lines from the Sewer Authority map - just to see if there was any mention of laterals onto the property. Sewer lines exist on this street, of course, but I couldn't find anything about laterals into the property. If I take the cue from the water line, there might be a single lateral in. So - this could mean that I need to cut into the street to access the sewer lines (and water line from above).
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I started looking at the permit costs, and there were a lot of them (more than I'm used to seeing).
- To keep this email short and readable, I'll try to break these down next week for you.
I had a few conversations with different Trades and Suppliers in the industry right now - and - I got a sense of some worry about pricing (hello, tariffs) and overall quality of materials.
AND - I started shopping around with some lenders. I began communication with a local bank - and - at the suggestion of one of my friends, I looked at a national lender who focuses on homebuilding companies only.
General Feeling right now: I'm not so gung-ho. I've spent a few sleepless nights worrying about a bunch of things with this project - and - I'm trying to ascertain if that's just nerves of restarting OR if my worries are justified.
I still have another week in my Due Diligence Period - so - watch for more next week.
Until then, Happy Building!
-Brad