Save Money with a Permitting Specialist

“Bureaucracy”: Doesn’t the word alone give you the creeps? It does us too. However, there are some intrepid folk out there who actually know how to deal with the government officials and contractors who are involved in getting your home building permits approved and getting your site ready to build on.

One of the many services that we offer you a True Built Home as an option is the use of a trained and experienced permitting specialist.  Although this is a slightly additional fee, clients who have used one have told us that it was more than worth their fee; which is really not much considering how much they will do for you.

Here is a partial list of some of their various services: basic permit application completion and submission, zoning, obtaining septic and well permits, Critical Area Delineations, land use, short plats, coordinating the location, application, and installation of all utilities on a project.

There are at least 3 advantages to using a permitting specialist:

SAVES YOU TIME

The process of getting your home construction project permitted involves a number of different things.  Utilities need to be arranged for.  You need to do your “due diligence” in terms of finding out needed information about your building site such as setbacks, and the wetlands were critical area issues, land surveying, and so on.

As you can see, there are meetings with various contractors and government agencies.  In some jurisdictions, it may be necessary to wait in line for hours in order to meet with a building official.  Likely, you have children, family, a job, or numerous other things that you would rather be doing or should be doing besides standing in a line in a windowless office, behind a bunch of people who’ve been standing in a line even longer than you have (think “going postal”).  A permitting specialist however does this for a living.  It’s their job, and one of the things you will be paying them to do.  This will leave you free for the things that are more important in your life, like petting your cat.

In addition, there are also applications (also known as Red Tape) that need to be filled out correctly and completely.  If you miss anything or get anything wrong, the application can be needlessly delayed.

Do you know what “glazing” is?  If not, then you will need assistance in dealing with glazing calculations which many building departments require.  If you get these calculations wrong, it can cost you money. However, a permitting specialist completes these calculations all the time and so are aware of what they are, and how to make correct calculations.

SAVES YOU MONEY

While it could be said that most of the things that save you time also in some way save you money, there are more direct ways that a permitting specialist can save you money as well.

For example, as a layperson, it may not be aware of some of the workarounds that a permit specialist would be aware of after years of experience in dealing with government agencies.  Also, since they deal with if various subcontractors all the time, they may know of ones who offer better pricing and services than the ones you may know.

SAVES YOU HEADACHES

A permitting specialist generally has much experience in dealing with the various agencies involved. To a great degree, building permit processing is not standardized, meaning that policies, codes, and other requirements vary from one building department to the next.  A layperson could easily find themselves feeling overwhelmed by these, and in some cases could become discouraged and even be inclined to think that their project is not worth the headaches.

True experience: One client with a particularly difficult site had been warned not to go to the building department without being accompanied by a specialist. He chose to ignore the warning and went anyway. In the process of his comments to the building official, he gave incorrect and unnecessary information. The building department in turn imposed restrictions which did not really apply but which increased the building project cost to the point that the client could no longer afford to build. As a result, his project was delayed for at least a couple of years.

Here is where a permit specialist can become your best friend (well, your 2nd best friend after us J). They will know what things are necessary and what things are not to get your permit approved. They know the different counties and their requirements, as well as what flexibility local agencies may have. This foreknowledge is invaluable for working through and around the various obstacles that will present themselves.

Of course, all of the permitting can be done by yourself, and your sales consultant at True Built Home will be more than happy to help you as much as they can. However, unless you have experience at is yourself, or you find pleasure in wading through red tape, we highly recommend that you enlist the aid of a permitting specialist. Contact your home consultant for more information.

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