Thursday, December 3, 2015

Rezoning-When it works and when it doesn't

Changing a property's zoning classification can be a major decision for a property owner.  In some cases it will improve the use and ultimately the value of the property, and in some cases, it could hurt the overall value.

How could it hurt a property's value by going to a higher, more intense use?  Well, for example, if the property is an existing building, lets say a residence, and the new zoning would allow for an office use, then the owner is required to bring the building up to code with ADA, plumbing and electrical improvements, and most importantly, parking.

Most of the "proper" conversions I have been a part of or had knowledge of, has been in the $40k-$50k range with some as high as $100,000.  Concrete and drainage alone represents a large portion of most conversion budgets.  A CPZ overlay or beautification requirement is a landscaping expense that most owners do not take into consideration.

Therefore if other comparable "converted office" properties is X, then the "un-converted value" would be X minus the renovation costs.  This may reduce the perceived value that an owner estimates their property to be worth.

The decision making process of whether to rezone or not should include a financial analysis and feasibility study.  If you can not use the property for its proposed use once rezoned, then a new approach must be taken. 

The bottom line is do the research and homework to determine if a rezoning is the right thing to do for your property.

©Mark Subervielle 2015

Who has time to write a book, script, business plan? Well, you do, and plenty of it

From my previous article,
"Don't have enough time" to improve your life?  How to add 2-3 weeks of additional work time per year  http://flipthiscity.blogspot.com/2015/10/dont-have-enough-time-to-improve-your.html

We discovered as much as 1.78 extra months per year of "free time" to work on our plans, goals, ideas and purpose.

So if you have had an idea for a book, script, play, song, blog, business plan or creative itch to write and publish, time is not your problem.

In the "Extra Time Breakdown"  we looked at how 1 hour each Saturday and Sunday gave you an extra 2.6 weeks per year based on a 40 hour work week.

Now lets look at what it takes to write a book, script, play, blog, journal, business plan, etc.

Break it down to words and pages.  Writing starts with putting words on a page.

Before we look at how long it will take you to write, lets look at what you already write on a daily basis.

Your Existing Daily Writing:

Average Emails Written Per Day:  10
Average Social Media Posts:  10
Average Text Sent:     10(studies show it is significantly higher)

30 writings/posts per day x 7 days per week = 210 per week

Average Words per Writing:  20
Average Words Written per Week:  20 words x 210 writings/pots = 4,200 words
Average Time to Write a Message/Pots:  1 minute

1 minute x 210 postings per week = 3.5 hours per week or 1,200 words per hour

This example is very low.  Stats show that we write substantially more words per week than this and spend much more time on social media.  But let's use these low numbers to make a comparison.

Lets look at a 200 page book.  This would be your average 1/2" thick paperback book.

Here is the breakdown:

1 - book page is approx 250 words

200 page book would be approx. 50,000 words

50,000 words ÷ 1,200 words per hour =  41.67 hours or  1.04 - 40 hour work week

Approx. 20 mins per page


Broken down further:

1,000 words = 4 - 8.5" x 11" Letter size pages, double spaced, book formatted

Each Average Paragraph = 100-200 words

Approx. 2 paragraphs per page

Average Time per Page = 20 mins ÷ 2 Paragraphs per Page = 10 mins per Paragraph


So, do you have enough time to write a book?

Well, let's see;

Per the post http://flipthiscity.blogspot.com/2015/10/dont-have-enough-time-to-improve-your.html

1 - hour on Saturday and 1- Hour on Sunday = 2.6 extra weeks per year to write.

You need 1.04 weeks(41.67 hours) to write a 200 page book.

The reality is this:  you have time to write, to put your ideas on paper.  You are already doing it, and writing more than you think.  Its just directed to the wrong places. If the time used for that snarky post or that comment on the puppy dog video was used instead to write a paragraph, you would be well on your  way to reaching the goal of publishing.

We have just proved that you have more than ample time to write.  You can write one paragraph in 10 minutes.  If a journey starts with one step, a book starts with one word.

Right now, start typing your first word, then the second, and write that first paragraph.   Editing and perfecting is for another day and time.  JUST WRITE!!!!