Buying a house that didn't get permits for the basement in Fulton County (contractor)

[bmw335xi]

We made an offer on a home in Fulton County. It's a two level home, the basement level is beautiful, but we found out that the lower level (basement) was done without permits or partially done without permits. The basement has a couple bedrooms, wet bar, kitchen, a couple bathrooms and sliding doors to the backyard.


The sellers said the same builder for the house did work for everything, but in order to save on property taxes, they didn't get permits for everything on the basement.



In Florida, appraisers cannot count any work that was done without permits toward the valuation, so this would have a big negative impact when it comes to selling the home, is this the same in Fulton County?



How would you proceed with this? Would you add a contingency that the sellers have to get everything permitted, would you lower your offer without dealing with the permits or is this no big deal in Fulton County and just proceed with the deal giving the house its full market value?



Thanks!

[AnsleyPark]

Originally Posted by bmw335xi

We made an offer on a home in Fulton County. It's a two level home, the basement level is beautiful, but we found out that the lower level (basement) was done without permits or partially done without permits. The basement has a couple bedrooms, wet bar, kitchen, a couple bathrooms and sliding doors to the backyard.


The sellers said the same builder for the house did work for everything, but in order to save on property taxes, they didn't get permits for everything on the basement.



In Florida, appraisers cannot count any work that was done without permits toward the valuation, so this would have a big negative impact when it comes to selling the home, is this the same in Fulton County?



How would you proceed with this? Would you add a contingency that the sellers have to get everything permitted, would you lower your offer without dealing with the permits or is this no big deal in Fulton County and just proceed with the deal giving the house its full market value?



Thanks!

Had a similar situation in Fulton, but the appraiser appraised the whole house, including the unpermitted basement. Good luck!

[bmw335xi]

Originally Posted by AnsleyPark

Had a similar situation in Fulton, but the appraiser appraised the whole house, including the unpermitted basement. Good luck!

That’s great to know. Thank you!

[ShenardL]

I'm thinking about finishing my basement (as my own contractor hiring out Framing, HVAC, Electrical, Plumbing, Drywall, Flooring - will do the painting myself). I was thinking about finishing without a permit but now that I think about it, it's worth the $250-$400 for when you sell the house... although property taxes may increase. I believe you just need to submit a floorplan to the city or county and have inspections for HVAC, Electric, and Plumbing and that's it.

[bmw335xi]

Originally Posted by ShenardL

I'm thinking about finishing my basement (as my own contractor hiring out Framing, HVAC, Electrical, Plumbing, Drywall, Flooring - will do the painting myself). I was thinking about finishing without a permit but now that I think about it, it's worth the $250-$400 for when you sell the house... although property taxes may increase. I believe you just need to submit a floorplan to the city or county and have inspections for HVAC, Electric, and Plumbing and that's it.

The reason the seller didn't do it was because of property taxes, but yes I think that is a good idea, especially if you are putting a lot of money into it.

[seussie]

Outside of permits and property value, it is my understanding that any unpermitted work that you request to be properly permitted would involve appraisal anyway, and that appraiser could then decide that any unpermitted work that does not meet x, y, z, expectations should be removed. Many people would not want that, because then you'd be paying for house work that honestly should have been permitted by a licensed contractor anyway if they were smart enough about this big liability.