Transcript:
How would you like to quickly add significant value to your home? My next guest, Roman Hernandez, is going to show us how to do just that. He may also be able to help you sleep at night [chuckles] by getting the Department of Building and Safety off your back. It is my pleasure to introduce Rowan Hernandez with The Code Solution. Roman works with the founder of Code Solution who has been solving building permit issues since the mid '80s. The Code Solution is a code compliance service providing the most innovative, prompt, and reputable solutions in the following areas: pre-screening for permits, building and safety code violations, housing code violations, entitlement services, and project planning. Basically, they take the headache out of getting permits, and they can also help you if a permit was not obtained in the first place. Roman, welcome to the show.
Thank you so much, Todd, for having me on.
You're very welcome. Let's combine my real estate knowledge with your expertise, and talk about adding equity to your home. And of course, what I'm talking about is for the people out there that have converted their garage to a living space. When that happens and they didn't-- well, first of all, how many people get permits for doing that, would you say?
I would say, maybe, no people [laughter].
Exactly. And what kind of issues can you run into by doing something like that?
In the city of Los Angeles, if you get rid of your garage, you need to replace those two spaces somewhere else on your property.
Off-street parking, they call it.
Exactly, so when people do get rid of the garage, they have nowhere else on the property to replace those spots.
The front yard does not count.
No, no. The grass does not count [laughter].
So they need to build-- it's usually a carport, right?
It depends on the local ordinance or the local zone. It'd be a carport or actually an enclosed garage that they would have to build to remedy that issue.
All right, so let's say I have a 1,400 square foot house, a 2-car garage, and I converted the 2-car garage to a-- what is it? They call it a mother-in-law suite, or a guest house, or something like that, and I did not get a permit. You're fine and dandy until the building inspector comes by for something else, or if, God forbid, a fire starts in that room, or something like that. Not having a permit, it could really expose you.
Or a lot of the cases too, it's neighbors complaining saying that, "You know what? My neighbor did something wrong there," or, "Somebody's living in the garage." It's always a neighbor complaint, and the city's obligated to check that out.
Come on, neighbors. Be nice out there [chuckles]. But when that does happen, how can you help solve the problem? Tell us about that process.
So basically, the client calls us, we give them a free consultation. We go to their site, we check out the garage, we measure the garage, we go to the city, we check their zoning, and we let them know on the spot if it's possible or not. Most cases, it's hard because people don't have an extra two parking spaces on their property, but in some cases a city doesn't require another two spaces. So it varies everywhere you go. I can't just say yes or no, I have to see the property, and it's 100% for free. We go out there and we'll tell you how it is and if it's possible or not.
All right, so if they do require off-street parking and there's a driveway, could you say, "I can get it permitted but you're going to have to build a carport first"?
Most definitely, and then before we even say that, we'll measure out the carport area to make sure that the carport can actually go there.
Now the other cool thing about Code Solution - correct me if I'm wrong - but you also have engineers and architects on site. Is that right?
Correct. We're a one-stop shop. We have attorneys, architects, contractors, engineers. So any type of construction property issue you have, we can take care of it. Anything, I mean anything.
So if you want to make sure it's done right, and you don't want to piecemeal it-- and if anybody listening has ever gone to the Department of Building Safety to get something done, you know that it's very complicated. And these guys are the experts. So how do you add equity? Let's think about that this. What are the average dimensions of a garage?
It's at least another good 300 feet.
Okay, so 300 square feet - I've got my calculator right here - and let's say on average - it depends on where you live in LA - but on average, you're looking at 350 bucks a square foot for your house. That's $105,000 by legally turning a garage into a living space. Because after they do it, they make sure that it shows up on title with the new square footage.
Correct. We go to the county and we put everything on there for you.
All right, so it's a free consultation. It sounds like a no-brainer. So if you have a situation where you need a permit issue resolved, they can take care of it for you. In fact, what are some other examples beside an illegally converted garage, that you guys run into and can help with?
It's basically anything that was done without a permit in the beginning. A lot of people do additions: a room addition, a living room addition, maybe an extra house in the back, an extra bungalow in the back. We can come in and permit those for you. I know a lot people don't want to go through the city because it's a headache, or maybe they have a contractor who's not licensed. We can come in and justify that project to the city and get it legalized for you.
And it's not just permit things you work with. You handle other code violations as well, right?
We do so many things. One of our big things right now is we do feasibility studies for residents. Say you have a large property anywhere in Southern California and you want to get rid of it, or you want to build apartments on it, or you want to build town-homes on it. We can come in and tell you what you can do. Is it really going to be worth your money to not get rid of your home to build those apartments? We can tell you how much it's going to cost. What's the likely rent, the likely income you're going to get from that?
And if you're looking to build an apartment complex, and maybe it's zoned for two units but you want to build eight.
It's a zone variance.
A zone variance, and you want to get the property entitled to build what you want. You can help with that as well?
We can do all of that.
So if you're just a single family home owner or an investor and this sounds like something that would help you out, I would like to encourage you to reach out to me. If you have a situation like this, what we've been talking about - an unpermitted space, maybe a garage that wasn't converted with permits - and you would really like to have that square footage added to your home, or maybe you have a current issue with a government agency like the Department of Building and Safety, then let me introduce you to Roman at The Code Solution. So that I can make the introduction, this is what I need for you to do. Just send me a text to my off-air number at 310-882-5565 and in the text, just enter the word code. That's C-O-D-E. When I'm done with the show, I'll make sure that Roman gets your information and contacts you to find out exactly how he may be able to help. Now, remember The Code Solution offers a free consultation. Right, Roman?
Yes, sir. One [visit?] is free.
Free. Well, can't beat that. They'll look at your situation and tell you what it will cost and how long it'll take to fix your problem. They'll also tell you if they can't help you. In fact, I can speak to this personally. I had a client that wanted to do a lot split, and Roman's team, they spent a lot more time than I think they were expecting. They determined that it would cost my clients a huge amount of money, and that there was only a 20% chance that they could even get the lot split approved. So my client decided not to risk their money on only a 20% chance. I can't say I blame them, and what did this information cost them?
Free.
Nothing.
Absolutely free.
It cost them nothing to find this out. So instead of throwing money down a hole, a bottomless pit, they contacted The Code Solution first. If you need help with a permit-related or code-enforcement issue, then please text me the word code to 310-882-5565. That's 310-882-5565. Roman, thank you so much for this information. I think there are many people out there that are going to sigh a breath of relief knowing that there's someone that can solve their problems, because you just don't know where to go.
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