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What is up, real estate development family? I'm Sam, also known as the Pro Design Builder. I'm the best in the business, and it's not even close. So today we're gonna be navigating how to navigate city approvals and permit process. Alright, so before we get started, this group is specifically for real estate investors who are struggling with the experience and knowledge to make the transition into real estate development. If you haven't already, hit like and subscribe. And there'll be a link in the description to join our Facebook group. So we're giving out great information just like this training inside of our group, exclusively to people that are members of our group. So let's get started on today's training on how to navigate the permit approval process and uh and and city approvals. So let's let's first start with what is a permit and why is it important, right? So the permit alerts everybody involved, including zoning, including city, water, etc., that you pass the minimum requirements to approve your project. And getting that permit says, hey, listen, this person did his due diligence, they got the soil test, they got the the um the site surveys, they got the the plans, they got the proper uh general contractor and trade partners, they got all of their ducks in a row, and the permit allows the process to go smoothly with checks and balances, and that's why a permit is important. So there's always a love-hate relationship with permits, right? I love when I finally get that permit in my hand, but I hate the process of going through the hoops to actually get that thing, but that's part of the red tape that's involved in real estate development. So I wanted to kind of break this down for you so you get a better understanding on what the hurdles uh you have to cross to get this to this point. So let's let's talk about it. So, step one, which is pre-planning and due diligence, all right. So, know your zoning before you do drawings, right? So, before you go out and you spend massive amounts of money with drawings and putting together plans, you need to understand your zoning uh prior to doing that, all right. So, so know if if this is even feasible to draw or to put up this type of structure uh in the boundaries that they've set for you, which is where where your survey is gonna come into play and be very important, right? So, understanding your zoning is gonna tell you that. So, how to research zoning easements, flood zones, and historical uh layouts. So, um, so there's a lot of homework that you need to do in understanding the parameters around your specific lot, right? And when you know those parameters, like the zoning, the easements that says, hey, listen, it could only be 25 feet from the back or 20 feet from the front or seven and a half on the sides. These are the type of things that you need to know because it's gonna tell you what the highest and best use of that particular parcel will be, right? It's gonna define the parameters that you can build, right? So that's gonna tell you how much value you can add. So it's gonna be important for you to know that. Also, flood zones, too. You're gonna need to know what the flood zones are, and you might not have to encounter this as much as we do in Florida, but the flood zones are gonna be important because it's gonna tell us if we need to bring more dirt in, right? How is the topography? If it's already flat, how can we get the proper runoff? Is it at the same height of the crown of the street? Does it need to be higher? Has this ever been impacted in the last 15 years? These are the type of questions that flood zoning will tell you in your research process, right? So, also, too, this is a no-brainer, and every future developer should do this. Just request a pre-application meeting with the city, have a sit-down with the building department. What can I do? What can I not do to this particular parcel, right? So, some of the things that we cover in our course, if you're part of our uh our program, is what are the specific questions you need to ask your building department so you can get this better understanding and this clarity in making the next steps, right? So, you know, that's going to be very important. So that's step one, right? So that pre-planning and due diligence meeting on the front side before you choose to go, putting together plans, spending an exorbitant amount of money prior to closing on the deal, right? So these are things that you could do very early on in the process, right? So let's let's let's talk about step two, which is building your permit package. So there's several steps in building a permit package, right? So having the required documents like plans, energy calculations, site surveys, uh, site plans, soil test, no a window and door schedule. So if you ever want to get your project kicked out from the city, the quickest way to do it is to submit an incomplete package. We dive really deep into this in our in our program on exactly what this needs to look like and also how to read plants, right? So if you're missing something, this is gonna create hurdles and more time delays in executing on your project, and you and it's very important that you understand what those hurdles are, right? So common submission mistakes that that are made that gets plans rejected, all right. So let's let's dive into that. So an incomplete package missing parts of the permit package will create delays in getting your project off the ground, right? That's gonna be very important for you so to know. Uh, not having all of the trade partners that are part of the process up to date and applications submitted. This is part of the process where the contractor handles most of this, but if you understand exactly how all the pieces come together, it does make you a better developer, right? And how to avoid certain aspects um that will create delays, right? So so uh so also understanding what do they want from you as a as a submission. Do they want physical copies of the plans, or are they okay with with a digital copy of the plans, right? So, one of the other things too that will get your your project pause is having a digital stamp of approval from the engineer or architect, or having a physical stamp or approval with the engineer or or architect that lets them know that you have inspected this particular plans and it's good to go, right? So if you don't have that stamp, whether it's uh digital or not, then that could create additional delays, all right. So the three professionals every solid permitting team needs is an architect. Um an architect, a uh uh rotor, a engineer. These are these are part of the permit process that that you need. All right, so let's talk about step three in the process of submitting and reviewing um the process. So, like I said, I mentioned briefly, in-person or online submissions, every city is a little bit different. When COVID happened, most of the cities turned away from the stone age and they went digital, right? So you want to know that because the architect that's preparing the plans will prepare it specifically for that municipality, right? You might want one or two hard copies for yourself and for the job site for the guys, but then a digital stamped plan for the submission of the permit, right? So those things are gonna be very important as well. What happens behind the scenes after submission? So once you submit your plans, right, and you have a complete package, what's gonna happen from here is the plans are gonna go to different areas of the city. It's going to go to to to to zoning, it's gonna go to plumbing, it's gonna go to electric, it's gonna go to HVAC, it's gonna go to building, it's gonna go to civil, you know, um underground plumbing, it's gonna go to all the different areas, and what's gonna happen from here is they're gonna put together comments of areas that are unclear in the review of your plans, right? So this is nothing to be panicked about. Uh, this is very common occurrence, and what's gonna happen from here is they're gonna send a round of comments back. I've never submitted the plans where I got the permits approved right away, besides like a demo plan, right? That's nice and simple. But when you're talking about building a new structure, they're always gonna have questions, they're always gonna have specifications that you need to specify before they're gonna hand out that approval. So, what what happens um uh from there? So you're gonna track the process uh and respond to the comments, resubmit uh uh efficiently. So, one of the strategies that I use personally is I just get the comments back to them answered as fast as possible. One of the most frustrating parts of building a building is the permitting process because that's completely out of your control. So that's when you would get the comments, resubmit those back to the architect. The architect will update the comments. Sometimes there's comments specifically for the contractor or for the trade contractor that they need to answer themselves, but most of the time, the architect's job is to answer those questions and update the plans to get approval. So, and with that understanding, you will you could fast track some of the hurdles by hiring a permit expediter. So, a permit expediter's job, right? I'm gonna explain this to you. Here's what a permit expediter does you could hand the plans to the permit expediter, they're gonna make sure that the plans are submitted to the city. Once those plans are submitted to the city, their job is to track that permit and make sure days are not lost with getting the approval, right? So, what they're gonna be doing is they're gonna be hitting refresh on a daily basis, and once those comments come in, they're gonna submit it back to the architect for updates. If there's any comments that are needed by the trade partners, electrical, HVAC, mechanical, etc., they'll get those updates uh from from them and then they'll resubmit it and they'll continue to push your job forward. So that uh permit expediter is a very important process and person on your team, right? So making sure that you track the process you know thoroughly and you hire the right people are going to be very important in moving your your project forward. So let's talk about um let's talk about step four, which is uh inspection and closeout, right? So now you got your permit approved, you finally got it through the process, you got a permit in hand, and then now you're going through with the contractor, and then one of the first things that you need to understand is scheduling inspections, and what is the sequence to um the inspection schedule, right? So when you're looking at building a building, sometimes there's 20 something different inspections, and these these inspections need to be in sequence or it's gonna create a certain type of delay on your project, right? It's gonna be very important for you to know and also the contractor to know to hit these certain benchmarks so to continue to move your project forward. All right, so what what inspection inspectors actually looking for, right? They're making sure that the right type of straps are used, they're making sure the right type of clips are used, they're making sure the right type of thickness is is there, they're making sure that the soil poisoning is is there the way it should be, the the right vapor barrier, the the right uh density of the compacted um uh dirt, right? They're making sure the thickness of the slab is there, they're making sure all of these details are there that you're not fully aware of because that's not what you do on a daily basis, making sure those are safe and approved for the future homeowner, right? So the per the the purpose of a permit is to make sure that the dwelling is safe for the future tenant or the future homeowner. So that's what permits are are important for. So final approvals on getting your CO. Um, all right. So before that, let's talk about what causes red tags and failed inspections. So anytime you deviate from your current plans, that can trigger a red tag, that can trigger a deviation. So, one of the ways that I talk about that is absolutely necessary is to not change your mind, get it all drilled down in the pre-construction process and do not change your mind. That's very important because you when you don't change your mind, you're not gonna deviate from the original plan, right? So to avoid red tags and and delays, and why that's important is because every time that there's a delay on your project, the price of the project goes up, right? So anytime the project is not complete and um uh moving along slower, it's gonna cost you more at the end, and you have to know and understand that concept, right? So final approvals and getting the CO. So the certificate of occupancy, no one could be a dwelling in the home until you have a certificate of occupancy, and that says that the minimum approvals have been made, and all of the permit um inspections have been done, and they could dwell inside of that structure safely because it met all of those standards, right? So that's something that's gonna be very important for you to understand. So I'll tell you uh a funny story about a permit issue that I had, right? And and this wasn't even a building, this was a uh a remodel. So this inspector, uh, one of the final inspections that I had, which which was plumbing, and he goes, Hey, you have people living in the house. I was uh I was like, Yeah, it's like people live through renovations all the time, they wanted to move in, so I let them move in. That's not an issue. He's like, Oh, they're not supposed to be there. I was like, but I just explained to you, people live in there all the time. So what he did is he called the code enforcement on me, which I was actually very surprised about. And then when the code enforcement got out there, he goes, I don't understand, I don't understand why he did that. I was like, exactly. Sometimes you don't know exactly what you're gonna get when it comes to city inspectors, right? But if you know and understand what the laws are, you could only issue one certificate of occupancy, and once that one certificate of occupancy is issued, anybody could dwell in the home outside of that because it already met those standards. So if you're doing a renovation or something like that or alteration, then the homeowner technically doesn't have to leave the premises, right? So that's gonna be important for you to know, all right. So what's the secret sauce and what are the pro tips attached to getting and navigating through this process? So we're gonna be breaking this down, right? Building rapport with city officials, all right. So that's two-part building rapport, right? Which is city um city inspectors, and also uh city council that will approve particular uh projects for you, right? If there's an alteration or there's a change uh that needs to happen with a particular parcel, knowing and understanding who these people are will help move this along for you. Uh, what inspectors actually look oh no, all right. When all right, when to use a perman expediter. I would say use a permanent expediter if the city is considered a tricky municipality, right? If your contractor is accustomed to working in that particular municipality and knows that they have relationships there and they can get things streamlined through, then I would say you don't need to use a perman expediter. But but for us in in a very populated city in Fort Auderdale, it makes sense for us to pay the additional money to not lose the time because everything is so expensive here, right? So some of the things that we cover is scripts for calling the zoning and building department, those are the types of things that are in our program, navigating um stop orders, those are the types of things that are in our program as well. So I have a link in my description, and if you wanted to join our Facebook group of active real estate developers that are looking to change the game and level up themselves, go ahead and click that as well. So, outside of that, have a great day. I hope you got a lot from this training.