18 Jan 5 Things You Need to Know About Tear Downs

Building a home is an exciting and sometimes stressful journey. Finding a good architect, hiring a construction company, and often, tearing down an existing home to make room for the new home takes time and money. While teardowns may seem straightforward, there are actually quite a few things to consider when tearing down a home to build one in its place. If you are considering tearing down a home and building a new one, consider these five things before getting started:

1. A demolition permit may be needed for contractors to begin working. Just like any other demolition project, the demolition of your home will require a demolition permit, which most contractors will require before beginning work. Although this may vary by county, visiting the municipal services page on your county’s website should offer some valuable information on how to get started with your demolition and rebuild. For example, Cedar Grove, NJ’s municipal page states that permits are needed for almost everything that you do to your property, and it even offers contact information to get started as well as accepted forms of payment for your application.

1. There are resources available for identifying potential teardown properties. If you do not have a teardown property in mind but are interested in finding one, locating a potential teardown may be easier than you think! One of the first places to search isa teardown site such as teardown.com. Similar to real-estate websites for new homes, there are websites available that are specific to teardown properties. These teardown websites provide homes that have already been confirmed as viable teardowns and allow users to search within a specific area of interest with additional filtering options by price range, lot size, and listing source.

1. There are financing options available. Although it may seem strange to search for financing just to tear down a property, the truth of the matter is that it may be your only option if the home or construction fees are pricier than anticipated. While construction loans are less popular nowadays, there are financial institutions that offer construction loans to demolish a home. If you are interested in pursuing financing to tear down a home, then speak with your financial institution first about possible financing that may be available. It is important to note that according to the Home Store, any outstanding mortgage for a home must be paid before a teardown can take place; however, it is possible to find financing that will pay the balance of the remaining mortgage, in addition to covering the demolition, and construction fees of the new home.

1. Homes can be sold as teardown properties. Believe it or not, there are homes on the market that are sold as teardown properties. While this may seem like a strange concept, teardowns have become increasingly popular over the past few years. In fact, according to the National Association of Realtors, teardowns have become so popular that the National Trust has issued a series of nicknames for the trend that are specific to different states, including “Bash-and-Builds” and “Bigfoots” for Northern New Jersey.

Your contractor is required to call NJ1 for homes demolished in NJ. Just like any other demolition project, there are guidelines, restrictions, etc. to be followed in order to legally demolish or build a structure. Demolishing a home is no different; therefore, your contractor will be required to contact NJ1 prior to demolition taking place. This requirement is simply for the safety and convenience of the community to determine what could be below your property before a demolition or dig takes place.