UPDATE: The letter has been uploaded to Scribd and is now available. To view it, please click on the link at the end of this post.
In order to protect the rehabber's identity, I have blacked out the contact information. I have also withheld his name, as his address could easily be found through and auditor search. In this article, I will refer to him as "Rehabber".
The rehabber of an East Walnut Hills property has contacted Councilmember Leslie Ghiz, saying that the City's Department of Buildings and Inspections has given him the "run around".
In a letter dated November 13, Rehabber alleges that not only has there been widespread miscommunication within the department, but he has also be subjected to verbal threats from B&I Inspector Terry James.
Rehabber claims to have been subjected to the following:
* A $168.40 investigative fee: James filed a cease and desist stop work order because he believed that Rehabber was trying to illegally flip the property without a permit. Rehabber was cleaning out the house at the time and had previously shown rehab plans to the Plan Examiner.
* A $500 fine: After applying for permits, James' boss told Rehabber that he could begin tearing out mortar and slats, but James approached him at the job site and told him to stop.
* A $50 revision fee: The Plan Examiner kept rejecting the plans that Rehabber submitted, eventually telling rehabber that they wouldn't be accepted without and architect stamp. A structural engineer signed off on the plans and told him that B&I sometimes does that to eliminate liability.
* An abnormally long wait for plans to be accepted: Rehabber was told 4-5 days until the plans were approved. Near the end of that time frame, Rehabber was told that it would be an additional 11 days, but that he could have them the next day if he paid $250.
* A doubling of the $500 fine: Rehabber was told he could reduce the fine back down to $500 if he attended an Administrative hearing.
* A finding of fault: The hearing mediator sides with James, even though no evidence was presented. Rehabber alleges cronyism.
* Intimidation: After repeated visits by James telling him to stop work and leave the property, Rehabber asks the Supervisor of Inspections to remove James from the case. Later, Rehabber notices James driving by and poking around the property. James leaves when he is spotted.
Rehabber ends the letter with the following paragraph:
"With all of the troubles I've been having, it's easy for me to see why so many people are leaving the city. By restoring the house, I thought I'd be, in a small way, restoring the integrity of the neighborhood and the city--it's a shame that people are creating such roadblocks for me to help "better" the area."
City Manager Milton Dohoney is expected to release a report on this subject in mid-December.
Building Cincinnati
Do you have any rehab horror stories? Have you decided not to rehab in the City because of it? Do you agree with Rehabber's assessment of the City's bureaucratic climate?
Please comment below!
Read the entire letter on Scribd
10 comments:
i know quite a number of people who have chosen to rehab without permits because of crap like this.
Different city, but I just spent two years rehabbing a 100 year old house in Newport. I had to apply for several permits, due to the historic nature of the building, and I encountered no administrative snags whatsoever. In fact, the city employees were extremely helpful and often offered advice on materials, styles, and local resources. I've heard stories that seem to indicate that things aren't as pleasant for rehabbers across the river. That's a shame, because restoring an historic property (doing it the RIGHT way, at least), is time consuming and stressful enough without the city making it more difficult.
The rehabber's letter is now available for viewing.
I have not had these kinds of problems. It is my guess that a lot of the problems here are with the individual inspector.
We're only seeing one side of this conflict, but so far it sounds like 2 problems.
Like Mike, I'm in the business, and have found the City B&I folks to be very fair, professional and competent. However they are human, and once in a while an inspector will get his skivvies in a bunch over some perceived slight and take it out on the applicant. An inspector lurking around a jobsite without having any official business there is one indicator of this.
But there's another problem that I've seen all too often. Rehabbers who've had successful projects under the less stringent 1, 2 & 3 Family Dwelling Code get a major culture shock when attempting multifamily projects under the full blown OBC. Suddenly sketches and techniques that used to sail through approval are now insufficiently detailed, and sometimes they take it personally. Nobody ever explained to them that society has stricter construction rules when larger numbers of potential victims are involved.
It sounds like this matter has turned personal. Regardless of who lashed out first, supervision at B&I has an obligation to halt the childishness on all sides and resume business on a professional level. Fines are appropriate for someone deliberately sidestepping the system, not newbies who are stumbling their way through it. Regulators should be reminded that their job is to help citizens achieve conformance, and developers need to remember that diligent code enforcement protects them and their investment.
We are in the midst of renewing numerous neighborhoods throughout the City, so we can’t afford to get a reputation for being hostile to the rehabbers and developers who do the heavy lifting. The best way to avoid a bad reputation is to earn a good one.
Well said, Mark.
I purchased a 126 year old home in Northside at an auction. It was vacant & boarded up at the time. Within a week of clean up, I had an "order" taped to my door requiring me to obtain a $900 vacant building license.
Well, it wasn't vacant, I had moved in and intended to rehab while living there. I called B&I and told them this. They agreed to set up an inspection to determine if the property was "habitable."
At this point, I was pretty irritated. I wanted to say hey, I am one of the good guys. I'm trying to fix up a home to live in. I really got the feeling the city would prefer that the house stay boarded up and vacant.
Anyway, the inspector was scheduled to show and never did. I recall seeing a red truck parked outside the house, but no one ever got out. I went out on the porch and stood there, just in case it was the inspector. The man never looked at me, never budged. I had no idea at the time, but the city inspectors do use red trucks. And when I called B&I back to inquire about the missed appt, I was told that I was the no show. Uh huh. I'll spare you my reaction to this load of b.s.
The story has a happy ending when the inspector finally came back and found the courage to knock on the door like regular folks do. I think he could see that I was not a flipper or slumlord, just a beginner rehabber wanting to make a nice home. He gave me a "pass" two days before Christmas last year.
Good story! I'm glad things (eventually) worked out for you.
I'm a bit behind on commenting on this because I just came across your blog... I am the girlfriend of the house rehabber mentioned in the letter to City Council.
To respond to Mark Miller's post... it IS definitely a personal issue between the Inspector and my boyfriend. But for no reason whatsoever. I'm still baffled why we were "singled out" - although I have heard of this specific Inspector behaving this way to other rehabbers.
An update on the house... we're putting the finishing touches on everything. It's been over a year since the beginning of the project; had we been able to pass our inspections without all of these issues, we would have been finished months ago. Ah, the life of rehabbing.
Thanks for getting our letter out so that others can read about our trials & tribulations. It's nice to know that we're not the only ones out there.
Rebecca,
Thanks for the updates - glad to hear the house is going well. If you want to discuss specifics of the house, please e-mail me (or have your boyfriend e-mail me) at
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