Building violations, underground wiring, etc? (HOA, first time home buyer, buyer)

[JohnStein]

Hi,

Where can I go to find out whether a house or proerty has any violations in terms of building codes or structural? The title search will only turn up liens against the address but not the violations, correct?

Also, how can i check whether there are pipes or other utility wiring in a lot? I am thinking about adding underground sprinkler systems, if there are lines running below, it'll also prohibit if i want to build a detach garage too, right?

Thanks, am first time home buyer here, any help would be greatly appreciated.

[Cbink]

You can get services to come out and mark the utility lines for you. I've just had it done (to put a pool in).

[trbstang]

Are you in the city or county? The city might have records of permits and stuff on your house, but I don't think the county has it. I know when we added on to our garage we just had to get the HOA approval only since we are in the county.

As for utility stuff, you call 811 to have your underground pipes and lines marked. http://www.call811.com/ If you want to add a garage, where it could be located would be determined by your survey and any HOA first, and the permit application second. You can't build on any of the easements where the main utilities run, or places they need access to reach them, but generally the lines and pipes that are in your yard can be relocated if they interfere with where you want to build, you just have to pay for the relocation. The easements are usually like 8' across the back of your yard and 3'-5' on the sides, but that would show on your survey. And you might have certain setback limits for your lot so you can only build say 3' or 5' from the edge of your lot. But for us, our driveway could go all the way to the property line if needed.

Good luck!

[carryyourbooks]

you probably ain't gonna find any violations. your house has to be approved before you can live in it. so what? if they failed an inspection from the city, they would have to fix it before you can live in it.

for digging, you need to call 811 before you dig anything. keep in mind, 811 doesn't mark private, they only mark utilities.