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Within my neighborhood in California, there has been a steady pace of remodels which go through a vacant lot phase, rather than just adding on and renovating. H
by cardiffspaceman 7y ago
Within my neighborhood in California, there has been a steady pace of remodels which go through a vacant lot phase, rather than just adding on and renovating. How are such projects economic if regulations are having costly effects? I had to remove and replace a wall and also restucco the remaining walls. With the restuccoing, it was opportune to replace the windows. All this stuff had to comply with the latest codes rather than the code from the time the house was originally built. So it seems to me that the tear-downs have to comply with even more regulations so they would cost the same as any green-field house construction, without the benefits of scale.
- ac29 7y agoThe vacant lot stage, I assume, is due to the lengthy process of permitting. If you're referring to the same sort of "vacant lot" as I am, there is often a foundation and a single wall or so left so that it qualifies as a remodel as opposed to new construction (though in reality is effectively new construction). Presumably there is some regulatory and/or tax advantage to doing this. In a lot of places in California, "how are such projects economic" goes beyond regulatory delays and their associated financial impacts. When you are spending $1M on a 1/4 acre property that you tear down and spend an additional $400k redeveloping, its certainly more than just regulatory costs making that so much more expensive than the vast majority of the US and the world.