Developer Newsletter
As the economy continues to struggle and real estate sales show marginal increases, new opportunities for the development of properties are emerging throughout the Chicagoland area. Within the past several months Tomacor has completed more than a dozen inspections on multiple unit properties which banks had foreclosed upon and developers retained us to complete a construction base line for services and construction detailing. 
A close listening to economists and investment bankers reveal that a second wave of mortgage foreclosures is emerging from the vast numbers of half done residential condominiums and recently purchased apartment buildings that have become too expensive to convert. Tomacor believes this is the right time for investors who can obtain funding and know their way around commercial construction.
Last month Tomacor was hired by a potential developer to inspect a twenty unit luxury condominium complex. The developer was interested in the short cuts, errors, and omissions so commonly found in new construction when the bubble was bursting. Masonry problems (always present in significant numbers due to the absence of masonry inspectors and quality control) dominate the field. Masons, in a hurry to get paid, erected their scaffolding in the inside of the building rather than at the exterior walls which allowed them to construct their walls faster as floors were laid up yet prevented the proper “striking” of the exterior mortar joints. Flashing and weep holes are almost never found and the abundance of water penetration through two layers of jumbo brick and block was present throughout the building. Our analysis helped the developer provide a budget within which he could work without making false assumptions about the masonry. The bank that held the property was initially reluctant to the budget needed yet was committed to financing the project to completion. The banks were able to remove distressed property from their portfolio and the developer is planning to sell them for a price more than a third less than the original $600,000 asking figure yet he will also make money according to his projections. 
In January 2010, Tomacor was able to complete an inspection in the buck town area on a 21 unit town home complex which was in receivership without a roof and 30% of its exterior walls. What complicated the process was the original developer’s multiple attempts to close up the building while gasping for breath and finally being consumed by his debt. Again the masonry work was horrible and minimum standards were missing throughout the complex. Tomacor’s recommendation was to remove masonry chimneys that were installed without structural support over plywood decks in the developer’s hurry to close up the roofs. He lost the race. Through our efforts a new developer is able to determine repairs needed and construction details required before the property can be placed back on the market. 
Tomacor was able to bring to the picture just exactly what work was so bad that it needed to be removed and eliminate deficiencies in workmanship or areas which needed to be completed to blueprint standard but more importantly completed in a fashion consistent with the workmanship standards that were already partially in place.
The critical component? Repairs must be made in a fashion consistent with the original workmanship of the new construction project. Simply stated, if the workmanship is not consistent, building systems and components will fail all over the property. Following the blueprint is not enough because no one follows the blueprint and they haven’t followed it for two thirds of the construction process. Trying to follow the blueprint now, other than in its primary design standards will lead to system and component failure because the original workmanship and detailing failed to follow the blueprint. Any attempt to complete the project is forced to blend specific blueprint standards with poor quality workmanship standards present from the beginning of the project. These opportunities are all over Chicagoland and more are coming. Are you ready?!