First Housing Development Corporation of Florida

Ever wonder what makes up certain requirements for Multifamily Buildings.  According to the Census Bureau these features are required in all multifamily buildings:      
?    Air Conditioning
?    Floors
?    Framing 
?    Heating Method & Heat Pump
?    Laundry – on site or each unit
?    Parking
These are just to name a few.  Each Multifamily Building has to pass requirements not only through the state, but the county departments as well before they can build.  They have to apply and receive the required building permits and surveys for land they are building on.  

For example, if the county requires that 6 buildings must contain a 2 car garage, they must apply that to their initial building plans to ensure it is in the property’s final construction.  Or if they require the use of City Water and not Well Water, these features need to be added to the cost of the property before they can build.  They will not only have to ensure that these features & amenities are met, but each state requirement as well. 

Multifamily housing is important for many different types of agencies.  Multifamily is referring to a housing development designed to house several different families in separate units.  Apartment Complexes, Duplexes, Quadraplexes, Townhomes, Condos are all great examples of multifamily housing.  

“The Fair Housing Act requires all "covered multifamily dwellings" designed and constructed for first occupancy after March 13, 1991 to be accessible to and usable by people with disabilities. Covered multifamily dwellings are all dwelling units in buildings containing four or more units with one or more elevators, and all ground floor units in buildings containing four or more units, without an elevator. Federal regulations adopted by the Department of Housing and Urban Development at 24 CFR 100.201 define covered multi-family dwellings.” (www.fairhousingfirst.org)

The needs for multifamily housing is not going to stop growing. Not everyone wants to buy a house or live in a house when they are single or even just starting a family.  Sometimes, it is cheaper for single male or females to rent an apartment versus buying a house and maintaining the upkeep. College Students for example would not want to buy a house, they are in school for 4-8 years only and then you never know where they might end up.  Multifamily housing is needed and very important.

Multifamily housing may not be the first thing you think of when moving into an apartment complex, and that is alright, however, you are living in a multifamily housing development when you live in an apartment, condo, townhouse, duplex, triplex or quadraplex. 

References:
Census. www.census.gov
Fair Housing. www.fairhousingfirst.org
 

We live in a social world and we not only ask our peers about experiences we also look up reviews online.  First Housing is a company that takes pride in working with amazing General Contractors and building a rapport with them.  While asking many of our clients how they choose a General Contractor, here is a short list of what they told us.  

1.    Ask People you know
Let friends, relatives, co-workers and neighbors know the project that you are looking into doing.  Ask them for referrals.  If your neighbor had their roof re-done a year ago, they would be the perfect candidate to ask on who they would recommend.  Majority of People like to receive on average 3 quotes before selecting the General Contractor.  Also, these friends and relatives will also be honest to you about who not to use.  Why they did not choose the other 2 General Contractor Candidates.  You do not want re-doing your home to be a night mare.  There are many problems that arise when re-doing a home, so ask the General Contractor about issues and how they would handle them.  You are re-doing your roof and they find there is a hole in some trusses, what do they do and how would they handle it?  Make up some different scenarios and ask because the more you know about them, the better it will be for both parties. 

2.    Test out those Referrals
Look closely at the credentials of the General Contractor list you received from the people you know.  How does their website look? Are they local? What is their cost of doing business?  Do they have a landline or just a mobile number? Are they a national company?  Are the contractors and sub-contractors state-certified?  These are all important questions to find out about each of your candidates.  You may have to do your research to find out these questions, but trust us, it will pay off in the end to do research in the beginning.   Each type of work does require different certifications.  If they are installing your new roof and certified in electrical work, this does not qualify them as being state certified in your current job.  Yes, they have a state certification, but not on the job you need them for. 

3.    Interview them
If they are worth doing the job, they would love to sit down and talk to you and discuss your upcoming project.  Remember to have at least 3 candidates in mind, so when you talk to the first one, if you do not like something you can move on quickly.   While interviewing them- do they seem interested in your project? Do they seem to care about what you are asking to be done? Did they ask you questions on what your expectations, budget and overall outcome is?  Ask for pictures of previous projects- does it look like quality work?  Don’t be fooled by one picture of a beautiful remodel, ask to see several and in the job you are requesting to be completed.  Ask if the project was completed on-time and on-budget? If the answer is no, ask why?  Read reviews of the company online after the interview. 
 

This is your project - make sure the contractors you are selecting have the experience with completing on time, they are efficient and stay within your budget constraints before signing on the doted line.

As every contractor knows, safety is of the utmost importance on the jobsite, and without safety features in place, too many things can go wrong.  According to the most recent article in ConstructConnection.com, 937 deaths occurred in 2016 due to construction injuries as a result of safety violations. 

“OSHA requires that an employer do everything reasonable within its power to ensure that its personnel do not violate safety standards. However, if an employer lives up to that standard and an employee nonetheless fails to use proper equipment or otherwise ignores firmly established safety measures, it seems unfair to hold the employer liable.  To address this dilemma, both the Occupational Safety & Health Review Commission and courts have recognized the availability of the ‘unforeseeable employee misconduct defense’.”
 

Contractors must have a safety plan and workplace rules in place, and these should include instructions and rules relative to the jobs being performed.  Monthly compliance inspections should be conducted to support the contractors’ efforts to discover safety violations and correct them before something goes wrong.  A proactive approach to this would be to conduct inspections every morning before employees show up at a job site, throughout the regular work day, and after employees have left for the day.  

Contractors should not wait for an official inspection before taking action, or, worse yet,  for a serious accident to happen to one of their workers. Safeguarding the workplace and works means ensuring that you and your employees are trained, inspection reports are retained, reviewed, and if necessary, disciplinary action should be taken when there are violations or infractions. 

Workplace safety is important for everyone involved.  Construction jobs progress much more smoothly and efficiently when everyone is doing what they are supposed to do, when equipment is in good working order, and no one is getting hurt.  

Training is imperative, not only for the employee, but also the employer; just think about how far a safety class can go in saving a life, as this is protection for all parties involved.  

First Housing offers online OSHA classes starting at only $20 per course.  Don’t let workplace safety be a problem for you or your staff…sign up today!

References:
www.osha.com
www.constructionconnect.com/blog