Interview with Robert Ross, Our Structural and Design Consultant
Robert Ross, who has many years of experience designing and building homes in Marin County, has worked with Madeline Schaider Real Estate for over 30 years as a structural consultant. In this role, Robert (who is not a Realtor) acts as a trusted advisor, collaborating closely with us to provide advice benefiting both our buyers and sellers. This service is free to our clients.
“I enjoy the process of looking at a house and thinking of what it could be,” Robert says. “As a builder, I offer understanding of how a house is built, and how well it’s built – which brings a greater depth to what Madeline Schaider Real Estate offers.”
Q. What’s the construction or design question you’re most often asked?
A. “Can I open up this kitchen?”
Marin has many homes built in the 1950s and 60’s that don’t have the open floor plans that are popular today. Sellers may consider taking down walls to make the property more attractive to buyers; buyers may want to do work on a house that hasn’t been updated. I can quickly tell whether a wall is weight bearing and the repercussions of removing a post or beam – I know how to transfer loads and have years of experience working with engineers and building departments. I provide a preliminary evaluation so that our clients can avoid spending time or money consulting with an architect, engineer, or contractor.
Q. How do you work with sellers?
A. I help sellers evaluate what improvements they could make that would yield the greatest profit on sale. We may suggest they open a kitchen to living areas, which can make a home much more attractive. For cosmetic changes, we may recommend bathroom and kitchen makeovers, new paint, loor coverings, sheet rocking a garage, or new landscaping.
What a seller decides to do depends on their financial position. It may not be possible for them to address a big-ticket item. But it’s important to deal with issues that otherwise would mean selling a home at a discount, things like drainage problems and pest infestations.
We always advise sellers to have their homes inspected before listing. These inspections highlight items that they could repair to increase the sold price. We always evaluate the potential return on each investment and advise sellers on the value of each repair or improvement. The inspection reports, provided to potential buyers, present an accurate picture of the home “As Is,” avoiding negotiations in the selling process that may be costly to sellers.
Q. How do you bring your expertise to buyers?
A. In many cases, I help our clients evaluate whether work they might contemplate is realistic. For example, quite often buyers believe it will be a simple matter to create a flat yard by putting in retaining walls to hold back a slope. Before they get too involved in the process, I suggest that the house might not be the right one for them because that kind of construction could be very expensive.
I also advise buyers who are considering increasing a house’s footprint. Adding space may or may not be feasible. It depends on city and county rules for setbacks, lot size, slope, floor to area ration (FAR), etc. FARs differ from town to town – the FAR is meant to maintain the character of a neighborhood. Getting approval for a building permit is often a slow and expensive process. We want to be sure our clients are aware of what is and isn’t possible and of any hurdles they may face. When a buyer is interested in a particular property, we investigate all these issues as much as possible before they present an offer to buy. The last thing we want is for a client to think they can add space or make changes and then find out they can’t.
Q. What about straightforward cosmetic changes that buyers may wish to make?
A. The key thing here is that cosmetic changes are not always straightforward – we want to be sure our clients are realistic about the true cost of a project and understand whether we’d expect to see hidden issues. For instance, I’ve worked with buyers who liked the space and layout of a bathroom but disliked the tiles. They thought that this would be a relatively inexpensive fix – just popping off the old tiles and replacing them with new ones, but that’s not always the case. I’m able to advise about the likelihood of related issues, for example, water damage under the existing tile and whether fixtures can be reused.
Q. Do you help buyers interpret inspection reports?
A. Yes, and that’s an important service that we provide. Inspection reports may be slanted to protect the inspector’s liability. Reports may raise concerns, but often without explanation as to whether an issue needs fixing, and without estimates of repair costs. It’s very common to see “earth to wood contact,” which means that the potential for termite infestation is high. Often there is not a termite problem; it may just be that dirt needs to be moved a few inches away from the siding, a simple maintenance issue.
Q. How does your experience as a surveyor contribute to our clients?
A. Surveys are important for our clients when they want to expand a home, build accessory structures, determine fence lines, or determine the size of a lot. I worked as a licensed surveyor, so I know how to read and interpret property surveys. This training helps me explain to buyers or sellers lot boundaries, the size of a property, and where easements are located that may affect their use of a property. We can also find the latest regulations for each town on setbacks, which are distances from a street or property line for an existing or expanded building. As these regulations are often confusing, I interpret them for our clients.
Sometimes official surveys of a property are available. However, most properties in Marin have only assessor’s maps that define easements that may require interpretation. In simple terms, easements are portions of a property that are granted to others for specific uses; for example, installing and maintaining a utility line. Madeline, Alan, or I can find this information online or through town building departments.
When needed, I advise clients on hiring a licensed surveyor.
Q. Can you read and interpret blueprints for our clients?
A. Yes. Blueprints of homes are useful in planning renovations but are often complex and challenging to read. Blueprints provide important information concerning support strength of walls, construction of foundations, earthquake proofing, electrical wiring, and much more. Having designed several homes in Mill Valley and Tiburon, I have experience in reading and interpreting blueprints and in interfacing with the original architect or planner if available. Newer homes often have original blueprints, either passed down from previous owners or on file at the town’s building department. I am available to help.
Q. Do you advise prospective buyers about property maintenance?
A. Yes. We’ll discuss the straightforward items, like the roof, and any deferred maintenance issues that should be addressed. We let clients know what gives us concern and what doesn’t. Common maintenance items are landscaping issues that affect fire risk, care of shingled homes, and drainage.
Q. Do you ever dissuade a client from considering a property?
A. Yes. There have been times when we found problems that buyers are not willing to take on, like foundation and defects which may be difficult and expensive to fix.
I’ve advised a client who was looking at a newly built home not to buy it. The home had expansive decks that had defective, leaking water-proofing membranes. To repair, the decks would have to be rebuilt at a large cost. To neglect this repair would mean water intrusion and, eventually, considerable damage to the structure.