You may have considered building your own home. You can do this by hiring a general contractor to handle the entire project or you can act as the general contractor by being an owner builder. You can save a lot of money by doing it yourself, but you must remember the extra time, effort and stress involved by doing it yourself.

When a home is built, many different subcontractors to the work and usually the manager is the general contractor (GC). The general contractor is in charge of the entire house and has control of hiring and managing the subcontractors. However, the general contractor can charge a hefty fee which is typically 20% of the value of the home. If you decide to do the management work yourself, that 20% can be equity in the home when the building is finished.

continue reading »

Recently, I met with a commercial lender who mentioned a problem with one of his projects. Construction had started, but the developer hadn’t closed the construction loan. Thus the lender’s mortgage hadn’t been recorded, but likely would be soon. He wondered how the delay might affect the priority of his bank’s mortgage lien. Attorneys representing secured lenders in commercial foreclosure cases, or contractors in mechanic’s lien actions, should be conversant with Indiana law in this area.

1910: A Draw. The Indiana Supreme Court’s 1910 decision in Ward v. Yarnelle, 91 N.E.7 (Ind. 1910) is the landmark opinion on this subject. At the time, Indiana’s mechanic’s lien statute “failed to address the lien priority between a [construction mortgage] and the mechanic’s liens of those who [completed] the construction.” In Re Venture, 139 B.R. 890, 895 (N.D. Ind. 1990) (excellent summary of the law). The Court therefore announced the equitable “doctrine of parity” in which a “real estate mortgage executed while a building was in the process of construction was entitled to equal priority with the claims of [contractors that] worked after [recordation] of the mortgage and with full knowledge of its purpose and effect.” Beneficial Finance v. Wegmiller Bender, 402 N.E.2d 41, 47 (Ind. Ct. App. 1980) (no parity because contractor completed its work before lender recorded its mortgage); Brenneman Mechanical v. First Nat. Bank, 495 N.E.2d 233, 242 (Ind. Ct. App. 1986) (parity because contractors had knowledge of loan, which helped pay them).

continue reading »

If you have finally found a construction contractor who is able to do your renovating job for you, why fight with them?

Yes, none of them are perfect but there are some things you can do to help make the job run smoother, finish on time and on budget and with a whole lot less stress and angst.

continue reading »

I. Purpose and Application of OSHA

1. History and Applicability of OSHA

The Occupational Safety & Health Act of 1970 (“OSH Act”) was signed into law December 29, 1970. The Occupational Safety & Health Administration (“OSHA”) began operations on April 28, 1971. OSHA’s first standards were promulgated May 29, 1971. The OSH Act was passed to assure, so far as possible, every working man and woman in the nation safe and healthful working conditions and to preserve our human resources. See 19 U.S.C. § 651, also known as the General Duty Clause.

The OSH Act applies to all employers and their employees in all fifty states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and all other territories under federal government jurisdiction. Under the OSH Act, an “employer” means a person engaged in a business affecting commerce who has employees, but does not include the United States (not including the United States Postal Service) or any state or political subdivision of a state. 29 U.S.C. § 652(5).

continue reading »

Buying a new construction home is different than buying a resale although most of the rules are the similar. New home sales representatives work for the builder. If you buy a new home through the builder’s sales rep you will have no one representing your interests. Most states do not require builder sales persons to be licensed real estate agents. Who is on your side?

1)Why Buyers Agents – The home buying process is full of traps for the unwary, inexperienced, and even the experienced home buyer. A good Buyers Agent can help you stay on course and avoid the problems. Understand that not all real estate agents are equal, spend some time interviewing agents. Interview 2 or 3 agents expect a strong presentation of their qualifications, experience, and written guarantees of performance. Today’s best Agents are internet savvy, have a team approach and use an interactive computer presentation of the facts.

continue reading »

You’ve seen the ads in the newspaper and on television. Home builders and real estate developers offer great mortgage deals and bonuses to help you buy one of their properties.

Aside from the obvious, selling you a house, how do they benefit from these deals? The builder makes a little extra money. More importantly, using their affiliated lender gives them control over the transaction. It’s less likely that a problem will delay the closing.

continue reading »

If you are through your projects of construction and the funds in your pock et have diminished for quite some while now, it can be difficult for your to manage the expenses that are incurred. What usually we decide is that the project can be delayed for some time but that instead increases the expenses. You should rather go for a development bridging loan.

Since a construction project is lengthy and takes its own sweet to be completed, the expenses that are required to be made are spread over a period of time. These expenses are not easy to be handled as the amounts involved are big. So when a cash shortfall occurs, it is better to take up a bridging loan for its development rather than delaying the whole project and expanding the expenses even more.

continue reading »

If you’ve been injured as a result of poor building construction, you may be able to claim compensation from those responsible for that poor construction.

Sloppy construction can happen in connection with various initial mistakes:

continue reading »