Bought a house with a decade-old "open" building permit; now the county inspects and fails it. Whose's responsible? (for sale, real estate)

[MikMal]

I have a friend who bought a house 2 years ago here in Charlotte Co.. He is the second owner; the first having built the house in 2008.
Several weeks ago a county building inspector came knocking on their door and explained that there was an "Open" building permit on the property from 2009 and that the county needed to inspect it in order to close it out. End result is that it failed inspection because of one beam being heavier than what was in the drawings. He now has to have new plans drawn up and signed off by an engineer to match what is in place.
My question is; is it now his responsibility? When I was talking with a neighbor about this, my neighbor said that the county is supposed to sign off on any realty transaction, confirming that all permits are closed. Does anyone know if that's correct? Also, would that be part of the responsibilities of the title company? Their realtor will not take any blame, nor do I know if they should.
It just seems desperate on the county's part for them to go searching for decade old permits in order to find "open" ones. I could understand if my friend had applied for a new permit for something and that's when it was discovered, but that's not the case. Any insight would be appreciated.

[95vbuild]

Something seems strange here....i would look to the Title Company as to why there is an open permit not dealt with. But the inspector is on a witch hunt. The approved drawings will show an acceptable beam for the work required. A larger beam would be accepted by any inspector. Now if the beam was smaller, that would be an issue.

[SeaRay35]

Welcome to Charlotte county inspections.

[pjcinmi]

When we bought our USED home last year. The Title company found a open permit on it. They could not get any resolution from C.C. So I called C.C. find out what to do.

C.C. Yes there is a Open Permit.
Whats it for?
C.C. We don't really know. We think it's something in the pool / pool area. We changed Computer Systems and we no longer have the actual permit.
Well I want it inspected and closed.
C.C. We don't know what we need to inspect.
Well then please just close it.
C.C. We can't close it, till we inspect it!
Huh ... ???

We ended up getting a copy of the original owner C.O. (Certificate of Occupancy) The permit in question was dated within that time frame of the build, so we are just using that as all was good. As per the County you can't get a C.O. with open permits.

[MikMal]

Originally Posted by pjcinmi

When we bought our USED home last year. The Title company found a open permit on it. .....

We ended up getting a copy of the original owner C.O. (Certificate of Occupancy) The permit in question was dated within that time frame of the build, so we are just using that as all was good. As per the County you can't get a C.O. with open permits.

Good point about the C.O. and open permits. I'll let him know to check that out.

[pjcinmi]

As a side note: Up north we had a new Furnace and A/C installed TEN years ago. Last year the city sent me a nasty letter stating I never had the furnace install inspected.

Dear Mr. xxx It is a Health, Safety, and Fire Hazard. You have 10 days for us to inspect this install or we will have the Gas and Electric shut of to the property. O yea... and We now charge another Fee to come out and inspect.

Boy did they get a Ear Full!!! They were so concerned about MY Health and Safety they waited TEN Years to inspect it.

[TamRE]

Typically the title company will do a search of permits. Sometimes the inspector will look at the permits too to see what year the roof was replaced or AC, etc. This type of thing happens all the time. The current owner bought a home and there may have been an open permit, expired permit or even work done without a permit which was not caught when they bought the home. Then they sell it and a new owner goes to get a permit for a fence or shed or something and the county finds out there is an open or expired permit. Now it becomes the responsibility of the new owner to get it inspected and closed and pay any fees associated with it. The County warns that is the buyers responsibility for any open or expired permits or unpermitted work once they close on a home.

It is always advisable to read the contract before signing. Both the As Is contract and Regular real estate contract have clauses in them related to permits. See wording from the contracts below.

If the buyer used a Florida As Is contract it states: Except as may have been disclosed by seller to buyer in a written disclosure, seller does not know of any improvements made to the property which were made without required permits or made pursuant to permits which have not been properly closed. If seller identifies permits which have not been properly closed or improvements which were not permitted, then seller shall promptly deliver to buyer all plans, written documentation or other information in sellers possession, knowledge or control relating to the improvements to the property which are the subject of open permits or unpermitted improvements.

If it is a regular Florida Contract for Sale and Purchase then there is a clause in that contract which states: Buyer may, at Buyer's expense, inspect and examine records and documents to determine whether an open or expired building permits or unpermitted improvements to the property exist. Buyer will, before the end of the inspection period, deliver written notice to the seller of the existance of such; and seller will remedy the reported items up to the permit limit and have final inspections completed no later than 5 days before closing. If final inspections cannot be performed due to delays by the governmental entity, closing will be extended for up to 10 days to complete final inspections, failing which either party may cancel this contract and buyers deposit will be refunded. At closing, seller will provide buyer with written documentation that all reported items have been remedied. If the cost to remedy reported items exceeds permit limit, either party may cancel this contract unless either party pays the excess or buyer accepts the property in its "as is" condition and seller credits buyer at closing the amount of the permit.

Link to Charlotte County permit site to search for permits: https://secureapps.charlottecountyfl...s/Default.aspx

[FlaNewbie2017]

Originally Posted by SeaRay35

Welcome to Charlotte county inspections.

It is absolutely ridiculous the power of these people. It is past time to reign in their power and make changes.



They did a similar thing to a neighbor that recently bought a house and then made him buy permits for work that was done in the 80's by a previous owner.

[SeaRay35]

Originally Posted by FlaNewbie2017

It is absolutely ridiculous the power of these people. It is past time to reign in their power and make changes.



They did a similar thing to a neighbor that recently bought a house and then made him buy permits for work that was done in the 80's by a previous owner.

I have said this mny times over, when you live in a no income tax state, they have to “find” ways for revenue unfortunately.

[Ron61]

Originally Posted by SeaRay35

I have said this mny times over, when you live in a no income tax state, they have to “find” ways for revenue unfortunately.

And they can be very creative I might add.