How can we be of assistance?

These are the most often asked customer questions and answers

As a Real Estate Consultant we help you resolve your construction issues. 

A: Are you absolutely sure this is your only recourse? If so then there is a process that most lenders will require that includes:

To start the process for firing a contractor we need a letter directly from the homeowner to the contractor with the following points answered in the letter. It must be hand signed by the homeowner.

• Letter from the homeowner to the contractor 
• Informs contractor of their removal from the project
• Details the reasons for their removal - be specific
• Subject property address
• Date of termination 
• Signed/dated by the homeowner

After that, the file is typically reassigned to another Draw Specialist that will work with the homeowner(s) to validate another contractor. That package will be sent to the homeowner once we have the letter as described above.

 A: I hear this all too often. You just created "construction issues" any time you change the scope of work. The buyer thinks they are doing themselves a service by keeping the 203k construction cost as low as possible then putting their own money into the project.

The problem with that is that the additional work they want to do with their own money gets in the way of the  contractor finishing his work most of the time. This causes a rift between the borrower and the remodeling contractor because the contractor can't get his hold back till all of the work is completed. The other, and sometimes greater issue is that had they put that additional money down they might have been able to get a better, less costly loan.  FHA loans have PMI (Private Mortgage Insurance) that stays with the loan for the term of the loan. A $600,000 loan amount would have an insurance premium of about $510 per month... had you used the FNMA product you would be saving that expense. As a real estate consultant, we help you resolve your construction issues. Contact 203k911

A: The appraisal was completed based on the work being completed so you cannot just arbitrarily change that "scope of work". That doesn't pertain to upgrades or additional work above the original "scope of work". Those must be handled via the "Change Order" process but can be modifications or additions to the scope of work. We are happy to help you with our construction service and your remodeling contractor. 203k911 was the bran child of a real estate consultant, with experience as a HUD 203k consultant and an FHA appraiser and we help you resolve your construction issues. 

 A: No one wants to bid against the world on any project. Most contractors don't even want to bid against more than one other contractor. Keep your mouth closed, don't let anyone think you are getting more than two bids or you may find that you don't get anyone to bid on your project 

 A: This is actually a very good question. So many lenders and other instructors want you to go out and get a contractor's bid 1st. This isn't done for your benefit but may be to your detriment. The program was originally designed for the consultant to come out and work out the scope of work details with the client. The client is the borrower in this case. Once they get that determined the consultant should provide a bid for the client. This is very empowering for the client. Then the bid is sent out to a contracotr or up to three. When those bids come in the client and consultant are to review and the client should make a decision as to which contractor to award the bid. 

Caution: Each bid is as a whole. While you can negotiate a price you cannot take the lowest items from each contractor and have them both work on the project. That will not happen. They both may walk away from your project.