FAQs for planning the construction of your new garage

"Do you offer an inclusive 'design and build' service?"

Generally speaking, yes, our construction contractors will provide you with a "one-stop" solution. That will include the initial consultation and planning, preliminary estimates and budgeting, design and blueprints, obtaining the building permit, plus the actual construction.

However, if you don't need everything, that is fine too. If you already have plans, drawings, or even a permit, we can also handle all the rest. So, whether you need us to handle it all or just individual steps, we will help you. If you just want us to handle the design stage so that you can then obtain bids from a few competing builders, simply let us know and we can do that for you.

TO ASK A NEW QUESTION (OR REQUEST A CONSULTATION), CLICK HERE.

"Do I need to have a permit already or can you help?"

We can help. The construction of a new garage apartment will legally require the issuance of a building permit.

If you have any kind of "special case," we can help you determine that and manage it. For instance, in some cases, adding an apartment (or "ADU") can even change the zoning of your property. However, adding a 2nd dwelling will usually only require a review of existing capacity of the utility connections, like the septic or a large enough sewer pipe.

Your construction supervisor will help you with determining what approvals are relevant. Then, your supervisor can complete all the relevant paperwork and then file for your new garage apartment to get approved.

Be aware that in some cases, there may not be enough space for you to build a garage that is as large as you prefer. For instance, the garage apartment will need to be a certain minimum distance from the property line. That distance may depend on the overall height of the structure. So, the only way to get a permit may be to reduce the footprint of the structure.

We will help if the city will not approve the request for a building permit unless the building plan is altered to comply with all regulations pertaining to zoning, utilities, setbacks, and easements. However, in most cases, obtaining a building permit is simple, fast, and inexpensive.

TO ASK A NEW QUESTION (OR REQUEST A CONSULTATION), CLICK HERE.

"Do I need to have financing already or can you help?"

Again, we can help. Our construction coordinators can help inform you about the best options for the financing of your garage apartment. If you have sufficient equity in your home, it is usually easy to get a reasonable rate on a loan to build your new garage. Plus, if your credit score is average or better, then you can qualify for the best interest rates on your loan (which will be far better than typical interest rates for credit cards).

Also, especially for large garage apartments, the payments for the construction of the garage will typically be split up in to an initial deposit plus several installments. For some people, that means that they will not even need any financing (or to pay any interest). They will just need to budget for each installment in order to keep the construction of their new garage on schedule.


TO ASK A NEW QUESTION (OR REQUEST A CONSULTATION), CLICK HERE.