Ok, so I know this is not exactly a unique situation, but we are first timers here, so bear with me. Long story short, we filed on Nov 25 with DOB and are still awaiting permits. We had 2 meetings with examiners and then finally got approved. I get that getting rejected and waiting 3+ months is probably not that unusual, but what does seem odd to me, is that our project was approved 1 month ago,... [more]
Ok, so I know this is not exactly a unique situation, but we are first timers here, so bear with me. Long story short, we filed on Nov 25 with DOB and are still awaiting permits. We had 2 meetings with examiners and then finally got approved. I get that getting rejected and waiting 3+ months is probably not that unusual, but what does seem odd to me, is that our project was approved 1 month ago, yet we still can't pull permits. Here's where the situation gets a bit awkward. We are no longer working with our architect who originally filed. We had another expeditor go to pull the permits and were given some excuse about needing multiple copies of such and such that needed to be filed, not just handed in. So we had another architect do us a favor and file what was requested. But that was weeks ago and we've heard nothing since. We're in an awkward place right now because we are no longer working with and have terminated our contract with architect #1, yet we're not really employing architect #2, so we really have no one to ask what's going on here and do a status check on our behalf. I tried calling the DOB myself, but you can imagine how that went. The reason our expeditor has not attempted to go back and pull permits again, is because the required items are still not showing up as received, even though we filed them weeks ago. Is this fairly typical? How long should we expect it to take for documents filed to then be recorded as received in our B-scan list of required documents?
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Shouldn't your expeditor be able to answer these questions (or ask the right people at DOB to get answers)? If he is unable to help you, maybe you could hire architect #2 (or someone else) now -- Are you planning to go through the rest of the project without hiring another architect? I think you will want an architect to certify that the project is complete and complies with applicable DOB laws before you will be able to get a letter of completion from the DOB (I think this circumvents the DOB doing its own inspection), so why not hire one now to handle this and help move things along? You should check with someone who knows more about the DOB requirements to confirm whether you will need an architect down the road.
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Response by uptown_joe
almost 11 years ago
Posts: 293
Member since: Dec 2011
Agreed with nychomeowner this is something your expeditor should be able to sort out and at least identify the roadblocks. That is their job. You may want to call around to other expeditors for a second opinion and their proposals to replace the first.
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Response by karhu
almost 11 years ago
Posts: 84
Member since: Aug 2010
What documents did you need to submit exactly? If a job is approved and a permit cannot be pulled, it's usually because the inspector's information is missing. Even you don't work with architect #1 any more, he is still the applicant for your job on the record and he needs to certify that the inspector you hired is eligible for those inspections. Also you should know that architect #1 can send a letter to DOB stating that he is no longer responsible for your project and DOB will suspend your project right away. Proper way to do this is to hire another architect to supersede original architect, so the project can continue.
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Response by kpantelides
almost 11 years ago
Posts: 3
Member since: Apr 2009
We had not planned on hiring another architect, but planned on continuing with just our contractor, and have an expeditor we can pay as needed. Is it likely that the architect would choose to close out our permits if they're no longer working when the client? Is that typically something they would do? We technically don't have an expeditor working with us either. We had one just run over to pull the permits, but we haven't technically employed him.
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Response by kpantelides
almost 11 years ago
Posts: 3
Member since: Apr 2009
I should add, since the permits had not yet been pulled, my understanding was that only the current approved application is in our old architect's name, but the actual permits will be transferred over to the name/insurance of the company who actually pulls them (in this case, our contractor). What the expeditor told us is that they said they needed 4 copies of our demo plan filed. So we had those plans filed (by architect #2), but that was weeks ago and they are still not showing up as filed when I look up the application online.
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Response by karhu
almost 11 years ago
Posts: 84
Member since: Aug 2010
Separate demo drawing? I guess this is not an apartment renovation. If it was filed weeks ago, it should show up on the system already.
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Response by GA_12
over 10 years ago
Posts: 46
Member since: May 2009
You will need an Engineer or an Architect to perform inspections and to issue letter of completion.
It will be hard to find someone at the end, Architects don't like to sign-off on projects they are not involved in.
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This is nothing. Could you imagine having to take the 4,5,6 train? http://streeteasy.com/talk/discussion/39283-sale-at-115-milton-street-price
Shouldn't your expeditor be able to answer these questions (or ask the right people at DOB to get answers)? If he is unable to help you, maybe you could hire architect #2 (or someone else) now -- Are you planning to go through the rest of the project without hiring another architect? I think you will want an architect to certify that the project is complete and complies with applicable DOB laws before you will be able to get a letter of completion from the DOB (I think this circumvents the DOB doing its own inspection), so why not hire one now to handle this and help move things along? You should check with someone who knows more about the DOB requirements to confirm whether you will need an architect down the road.
Agreed with nychomeowner this is something your expeditor should be able to sort out and at least identify the roadblocks. That is their job. You may want to call around to other expeditors for a second opinion and their proposals to replace the first.
What documents did you need to submit exactly? If a job is approved and a permit cannot be pulled, it's usually because the inspector's information is missing. Even you don't work with architect #1 any more, he is still the applicant for your job on the record and he needs to certify that the inspector you hired is eligible for those inspections. Also you should know that architect #1 can send a letter to DOB stating that he is no longer responsible for your project and DOB will suspend your project right away. Proper way to do this is to hire another architect to supersede original architect, so the project can continue.
We had not planned on hiring another architect, but planned on continuing with just our contractor, and have an expeditor we can pay as needed. Is it likely that the architect would choose to close out our permits if they're no longer working when the client? Is that typically something they would do? We technically don't have an expeditor working with us either. We had one just run over to pull the permits, but we haven't technically employed him.
I should add, since the permits had not yet been pulled, my understanding was that only the current approved application is in our old architect's name, but the actual permits will be transferred over to the name/insurance of the company who actually pulls them (in this case, our contractor). What the expeditor told us is that they said they needed 4 copies of our demo plan filed. So we had those plans filed (by architect #2), but that was weeks ago and they are still not showing up as filed when I look up the application online.
Separate demo drawing? I guess this is not an apartment renovation. If it was filed weeks ago, it should show up on the system already.
You will need an Engineer or an Architect to perform inspections and to issue letter of completion.
It will be hard to find someone at the end, Architects don't like to sign-off on projects they are not involved in.