Jim Foster

If you are in need of architectural support, I would absolutely recommend Jim Foster. Jim was recommended by a local contractor in Alameda where I was in the process of starting a small renovation project. Jim made himself available to meet me to discuss the project and start the same day measuring the space. He completed drawings for me within a couple of days and delivered them to me where then he walked me through the plans and the process for getting them to the Building Dept. Unfortunately, due to the high demand for contractors, I was not able to get the project completed in the originally plan time since I needed to find a new contractor. Once I was able to get everything submitted the Building Dept for review, additional information was needed. I again called on Jim for assistance and two days later he was able to provided me with the additional information as well as suppling me with new plans. Jim has been very easy to work with. He is fast, reliable and responses very quickly.

I found Jim Foster via his posting on Craigslist about 3 months. I need an architect who also has experience in building inspection to help draw the architect drawings to legalize the work I had done without permit in my property in Fremont. The city of Fremont allows property owners to submit application for permit to legalize their prior remodel work done without permit because they want to have all the remodel work recorded in their systems.
Jim agreed to meet me at my property on Saturday when I called him on Friday afternoon. I also contacted 3 other architects before but did not feel good with their response. He outlined the scope of work based on the work that I showed him and gave me an estimate of his fee which is very reasonable. After we signed the contract, he worked with me all the way from creating the plan/​drawings for me to submit with legalization permit to incorporating the additional documents required by the Fremont city development office until the city finally issued a permit to me. One good thing I should point out is that the city accepted his plan/​drawings as submitted, they only asked us to fill out the additional regulatory paper work. He also went with me to a meeting at the city development office to discuss the remodeling and add-​on options that I can do with my property with the city officials. He is also very flexible to incorporate the changes that I requested after the original plan/​drawing was completed.
Jim is a very knowledgeable architect with good experience in building inspection. He knows what the city would require in my situation and provided the plan/​drawing that the city approved the first time. He is an honest no nonsense kind of guy who gives me his professional advice and opinion in straight talk fashion when I need it. His scope of work ends when the city issued the permit to me. I then went on to schedule the inspections with the city building inspector and got the unit legalized a week ago.