[NewJeffCT]

In most cases, you should be fine without having to get a permit.

That said, I've known a few people that were veterans and applied for VA loans and the VA is very strict about having every improvement/update/upgrade to the home have a permit for the work and a passed inspection afterwards. (VA Loans are otherwise a great deal for our vets, but it can cause delays in closing if a seller needs to get a finished basement or a new roof permitted and inspected or both)

[PamelaIamela]

Banks won't lend once a home is flagged as deficient, either not up to code or unpermitted.
In 2012 my sister entered the gates of hell as she spent many tens of thousands of dollars remediating a cape cod on LI, as the Town of Hempstead hit her with 4x permit penalty fees, she engaged an expensive 'expeditor' but still had to open up walls and ceilings and pay for endless code upgrades. Took over a year, she developed colitis, but eventually the nightmare ended.

Not sure about CT, but finding a cash buyer may solve the problem.

good luck.

[Stepfordct]

Originally Posted by PamelaIamela

Banks won't lend once a home is flagged as deficient, either not up to code or unpermitted.
In 2012 my sister entered the gates of hell as she spent many tens of thousands of dollars remediating a cape cod on LI, as the Town of Hempstead hit her with 4x permit penalty fees, she engaged an expensive 'expeditor' but still had to open up walls and ceilings and pay for endless code upgrades. Took over a year, she developed colitis, but eventually the nightmare ended.

Not sure about CT, but finding a cash buyer may solve the problem.

good luck.

Be interested to know what was done in this instance that was not "permitted".

Redoing a basement as described by the OP to the extent she listed is quite minor.

It's doubtful it will be an issue.

I remodeled a whole house with out permits with friends when much younger. Zero permits. My realtor had a fit!
Again she was most concerned with a smooth closing.
Read, getting paid quickly.

In the end it sold, everyone was happy. Life went on.

Do I recommend not permitting. No. My bad.

[BGCTFL]

Speak with your intended closing attorney. If you did not do the work and the house was sold with a mortgage ( ie appraisal, inspection, etc.) it is a very good possibility that the work could be "grandfathered" in.
With it being grandfathered in, the bank might only give a mortgage based upon the value of the home without counting the grandfathered portion in. But, if it is unfinished (no heat, etc) it should not make much of a difference.

[hunterseat]

They're going to want the walls opened up.
Selling agent shouldn't have said anything about that. Most people don't care about that.
(per my contractor other half - he's licensed in CT)
How large is the room?

[SailCT]

Originally Posted by movinagain2018

Thank you, Cambium. The Agent called town hall as a courtesy to us to see what we'd have to do, but she didn't give our address, so I suppose we could still go the route of offering the new buyer a credit at closing as you suggested. But, as I'm writing this, I'm realizing that this Agent I'm working with now has obviously never been through something like this either if she's needing to call the town to ask these questions. Ugh. But, at least she's willing to ask questions, I guess.

You are working with an inexperienced realtor, oh well.
Just list it without a finished basement. In most towns people do not want to pay the extra taxes.

[minna_reid]

I would bet most finished basements in CT don't have permits at all - especially if there's no plumbing or heating involved. Seems silly to go looking for a problem ahead of time. If my sellers aren't sure about permits on something like this, I generally advise to deal with it IF it becomes a problem, not before.
If you go asking the town if they want permits for anything the answer is always yes.
Reminds me of the time I had a closing in Norwalk held up because some GC pulled a permit - TO SWAP OUT A FAUCET, and it was never closed properly. Added an extra week to the transaction to get the town out to reinspect etc.... because once you open that can of worms....