Buying a home with finished basement and no permit (Tiger: assessors, water heater)

[emma31]

Folks -

House hunting right now and running into a couple of homes with finished basements for which permits were not pulled.

Does anyone have any experience with this type of situation. Any thoughts on purchasing such homes? Should I be requiring the seller to do something here? Are their special requirements in Cobb County regarding this?

I have no knowledge or experience in this area, but I'm hoping someone does and can provide some objective advice.

Thanks.

[Joe Kelley]

Just make sure that you have the home inspected by a Certified Home Inspector. You want to make sure that the basement was built to code specifications.
Many basements are finished without a permit. If they get a permit then they would have to pay additional property tax. Not saying that it is right/wrong, just is a fact.

Joe Kelley (ASHI & ICC Certified Inspector)
Avalon Home Inspections Inc.
AvalonHomeInspections.Net

[BobKovacs]

I'd call Cobb County and see what their requirements are for a certificate of occupancy- if they're required to come out and do an inspection on the house prior to closing and they find a basement that wasn't permitted, your deal can end up going south at the last minute. I don't believe they require the inspection, but I'd check to make sure.

Aside from that, I'd say you've got some bargaining power with the seller. I'd bring in an inspector that specializes in new construction inspections (most home inspectors won't touch anything "code related), and make sure that things appear to be up to code. There will obviously be things that can't be seen (electrical wiring in walls, etc.) but basements are prime locations for code issues- improper firestopping/draftstopping being the one that's most critical, but I can also see there being potential issues with egress, inadequate ventilation and natural light, and combustion air issues for the furnace and hot water heater.

Do you know if the homeowner did the work himself, or did he hire a "contractor"?

[emma31]

Originally Posted by BobKovacs

Do you know if the homeowner did the work himself, or did he hire a "contractor"?

They said that they used a contractor and that everything is up to code. They've even offered to have a structural engineer inspect the basement and provide a document certifying showing everything is up to code.

[BobKovacs]

Originally Posted by emma31

They said that they used a contractor and that everything is up to code. They've even offered to have a structural engineer inspect the basement and provide a document certifying showing everything is up to code.

It's not a structural issue that would concern me- that's like having your auto mechanic certify that everything is OK with your hot water heater.

[emma31]

Originally Posted by BobKovacs

It's not a structural issue that would concern me- that's like having your auto mechanic certify that everything is OK with your hot water heater.

[AUTigers19]

I would suggest getting your own structural engineer. ~$400, have them pay for it. Call county and crosscheck everything. Not a big deal.

[emma31]

Originally Posted by AUTigers19

I would suggest getting your own structural engineer. ~$400, have them pay for it. Call county and crosscheck everything. Not a big deal.

Crosscheck what exactly?

[southgeorgia]

Originally Posted by emma31

They said that they used a contractor and that everything is up to code.

Of course they did. And the homeowner would know.

Originally Posted by emma31

They've even offered to have a structural engineer inspect the basement and provide a document certifying showing everything is up to code.

I'm a little confused here. I'm not sure what a structural engineer is going to find out looking at covered walls. The code requires certain size and type lumber, and a certain number of nails per board. How's he going to check that? I'm curious . . . . . is the ceiling acoustical tiles?

Unless they removed structural supports to finish the basement, it should be fine, because the integrity of the structure would've been checked during the construction of the house.



I would have the electrical inspected by an actual electrical contractor, etc. . . for each mechanical.



If I were you, I'd would probably deduct what they say the value of the finished basement adds in the offer.


You can't add their sq.ft. size in the appraisal anyway in GA.

Also, if you purchase the house, you may want to go ahead and call the assessors office. They can hit you for back taxes if they find it later. I'm not sure if they do it in your area, but down here, they sometimes make random visits to see if you've made improvements to the property w/o buying a permit, and they do it every so many years anyway as a reassessment.

[emma31]

Originally Posted by southgeorgia

Of course they did. And the homeowner would know.




I'm a little confused here. I'm not sure what a structural engineer is going to find out looking at covered walls. The code requires certain size and type lumber, and a certain number of nails per board. How's he going to check that? I'm curious . . . . . is the ceiling acoustical tiles?.

I thought the same thing

Originally Posted by southgeorgia

Unless they removed structural supports to finish the basement, it should be fine, because the integrity of the structure would've been checked during the construction of the house.



I would have the electrical inspected by an actual electrical contractor, etc. . . for each mechanical.

For each mechanical?

Originally Posted by southgeorgia

Also, if you purchase the house, you may want to go ahead and call the assessors office. They can hit you for back taxes if they find it later. I'm not sure if they do it in your area, but down here, they sometimes make random visits to see if you've made improvements to the property w/o buying a permit, and they do it every so many years anyway as a reassessment.

I'm new to the area so I really don't know what they do (or don't do). I'm not sure why I am calling the assessors? Please explain.

Thanks for your advice!!