I have a 4-unit property in Oakland that all vacant except for one
tenant and I'm looking to do a condominium conversion for all units
before I sell the place.

1) Does anyone know how involved the work is or what the costs could
range per unit?
2) Are there any potential problems or possible headaches that I
should be aware of?
3) I'm going to have to hire a General Contractor and a Land Surveyor
(according to the rules).  I've never done a construction project or
any project before so is there anything that I should try to look for
when deciding on who's fit for the job and what qualities might make
the GC or Surveyor good or bad?

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Request for Question Clarification by czh-ga on 25 Jun 2005 16:29 PDT

Hello rolex888-ga,

You've asked some interesting questions and I think there are several
researchers who would be able to handle your project. However, the
price you've set is simply not reasonable for the amount of work that
will be involved to provide you with a good answer.

Since you're a first time poster you may not be familiar with the
workings of Google Answers. I suggest that you review these links so
that you can get the most out of this service. You will have to raise
your price to get a complete answer or you can leave it as is and hope
for the best.

http://answers.google.com/answers/faq.html
http://answers.google.com/answers/pricing.html

Good luck.

~ czh ~

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Clarification of Question by rolex888-ga on 26 Jun 2005 16:43 PDT

Will I get better responses if I ask one question at a time and price
it at a lower individual price for each?

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Request for Question Clarification by czh-ga on 26 Jun 2005 17:28 PDT

Hello again rolex888-ga,

Yes. If you combine multiple tough questions it's not likely that
you'll get an answer. Sometimes it's hard to tell  off the bat whether
the questions are tough or not. In this case, I thought it would be
fairly easy to find what you need but then I took a look at the
current planning commission wrangling over this subject and discovered
that it's a tough question.

Here's my take on your questions: 

#1 Finding out the cost of converting to condos is probably doable.
There should be information available about comparable projects.

#2 Even very cursory research suggests that there will be headaches. I
anticipate that the headaches will be broken into questions of
construction and financing and questions of city permits and
regulations. Both may be fairly difficult to answer.

#3 This one needs to be clarified. Do you want the researcher to give
you links and explanations of how to find a General Contractor and/or
Land Surveyor and how to work with them? OR, Do you want the
researcher to find you candidates that you might want to hire?

It seems to me you need advice on how to handle condo conversions in
general and how to hire someone who is familiar with getting the job
accomplished in Oakland. I get the impression that you've done some
research on your own and it would be helpful to know about that
regardless how you clarify or reframe this questions.

I hope this helps. I look forward to your clarification.

~ czh ~

Here are some starting points for research. It looks like Oakland
condominium conversion ordinances are on the verge of being changed.

http://oaklandnet.com/government/ceda/revised/planningzoning/Commission/
OAKLAND PLANNING COMMISSION 

http://clerkwebsvr1.oaklandnet.com/attachments/10388.pdf

http://oaklandnet.com/government/ceda/revised/planningzoning/Commission/item2jan04.pdf

More than likely you will make more money selling the property as a
4plex. There are two impact zones in Oakland for condo conversions, if
your property is in one you will have several additional hurdles to
work through. I'm working on two conversion projects now for clients
and a possible third. What I've seen is that the economy of scale
doesn't often make sense under 20 units. As far as costs are concerned
you're looking at about $75k to convert four units. You can look at
the May/June issue of the Commercial Property Guide for my article
there, titled "The Condo Conversion Craze."

Best bet is to talk to an investment real estate broker who covers the
apartment market in Oakland (such as moi). I have developed an FAQ for
Berkeley & Oakland conversions, but I don't know what Google's policy
is about contacting people or "soliciting" business so I'll leave that
alone.

dear aptpro1-ga,

How can I find "Commercial Property Guide"  titled "The Condo Conversion Craze."