By: Helen Callier
When faced with repeated delays in obtaining city building permits, do you continue to go back and forth to meet with the Plan Reviewers in hopes that today will be the magical day? Do you scratch your head and wonder what the notice on the website means when it says 15-day plan review process? If you are Contractor, you remain engaged with wishes that you can get started with your construction project soon.
While City Permitting can be confusing and frustrating, many Architects, Contractors and Project Owners have found that working with partners such as Permit Expediters reduces the burden on internal staff and helps them to focus on core services. Also, after doing the math and research, they recognize that specialists can complete permitting tasks faster and at lower cost than they can.
Organizations that have made the decision to use a third-party provider for managing building permits also believe that building code specialists and expediters have greater expertise and can reduce the risk of delays in obtaining permits.
Develop Strategic Relationships
Having a strategic relationship with entities that invest time in understanding your business goals, operational needs and type of projects can play a key role in not only saving your company time and money but also in your business growth.
Also, through strategic relationships, you have an added bonus with quick access to advice on building codes and an entity that can quickly access information, versus waiting around for a response from City permitting.
Keeps Your Firm Ready
By working with special partners, Architects, Contractors and Project Owners are reassured that they have the right resources in place for their business model to deliver permitting services when needed and to support their business in an effective manner during the year.
Building permit experts stay abreast of the latest changes in processes, building codes and even City personnel shifts which helps to minimize risks in obtaining city permits. In addition, this information is a value-add to Architects, Engineers and Project Owners during the construction documents phase.
And if it is the best for your business and you are determined to handle the building permitting challenges on your own, here are three quick tips to assist you in this effort.
- Get started early
- Do not assume the Architect or Engineer knows all the city building codes
- Ask questions
In Conclusion
The Permit Us Now team will be continuing its workshops on “12 Steps to Obtain a Building Permit” and we welcome Contractors, Architects and Project Owners to join us. To learn more, call 1.844.PERMIT.4 (1.844.737.6484). Ask about our bilingual workshops and follow us @PermitUsNow on Facebook. Build safe.
