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Is this an appearance ticket or notice of violation? Sounds like the latter as a result of an inspection performed prior to issuing the rental permit?
Take care of the issues. Both can be relatively minor issues. A basement converted into "finished storage" more easily than habitable space, as there are state regulations regarding ceiling height, egress, etc. Gas conversion shouldn't be an issue as long as someone licensed and competent performed the work.
I would recommend reaching out to an expediter to assist in handling. If the town only issued you notice, that means they're giving you time to handle it before moving on to more severe measures. Most code enforcers I worked with were very happy to hold off on an appearance ticket if they knew the issue was being handled... a retainer letter from the expediter is great here, and an application made within some reasonable time frame.
As far as sales... it's all in your negotiated terms. Now that the violation is issued, this will show up on a title search. Before that, it may have flown under the radar. Unless you had an active violation or permit opened and unsatisfied, the title company may not catch it. They won't come out to check the structure vs records, just anything on paper that marks the property as a loan risk.
Thankyou everyone/ spoke to inspector and it seems we have to demolish the cellar, is it better to demolish cellar or obtain architectural permit please advise
Is this an appearance ticket or notice of violation? Sounds like the latter as a result of an inspection performed prior to issuing the rental permit?
Take care of the issues. Both can be relatively minor issues. A basement converted into "finished storage" more easily than habitable space, as there are state regulations regarding ceiling height, egress, etc. Gas conversion shouldn't be an issue as long as someone licensed and competent performed the work.
I would recommend reaching out to an expediter to assist in handling. If the town only issued you notice, that means they're giving you time to handle it before moving on to more severe measures. Most code enforcers I worked with were very happy to hold off on an appearance ticket if they knew the issue was being handled... a retainer letter from the expediter is great here, and an application made within some reasonable time frame.
As far as sales... it's all in your negotiated terms. Now that the violation is issued, this will show up on a title search. Before that, it may have flown under the radar. Unless you had an active violation or permit opened and unsatisfied, the title company may not catch it. They won't come out to check the structure vs records, just anything on paper that marks the property as a loan risk.
Yes notice of violation - should we demolish the basement and get rid of the violation or should we just file permit for storage - need to understand the whole process
Yes notice of violation - should we demolish the basement and get rid of the violation or should we just file permit for storage - need to understand the whole process
As others have suggested maybe an expediter would be in order. Even if you demo'd the basement you still have to have the gas conversion inspected, and I am assuming that is in the basement. Essentially here is where you stand.
Regardless of the fact that you bought the house that way, that is of less than zero help to you now. I went through that with an a/c unit that was on the survey when the house was sold to us, AND, there when we did an addition and submitted the survey and plans when we got the permit, AND on the survey when we got a permit for a hot tub. All completed and not a mention of the a/c. It was in 2012 when we wanted to put a fence up, that it was picked up on the updated survey that showed the addition and hot tub as well as the original a/c unit. They put us through hell.
The bad news for you is depending up how long ago this was done they will need to bring it up to current code.
Gray area, I’m not a lawyer. If you never responded to the violation or signed, if it was sent certified where is the proof you got the actually violation? Plus when you close you pay the buyer $500 and sign a form saying you aren’t aware of any problems.
Quote:
Originally Posted by twingles
Why did you apply for a rental permit on a house you were selling?
No one can tell you what you should do now. Demolishing the basement may be easiest, but do you have a buyer lined up? Are they ok with that?
There's a lot missing in your story.
We wanted to rent the house, and get rental permit, we had the inspection done and simultaneously put the house for sale, we don’t have buyer lined up yet, no one is interested in buying the house, we have the violation now
When deciding demo or permit for the basement finish, have it evaluated for 1. Cost of the permit or any associated requirements to bring up to code if keeping, or 2. Cost of permit/demo vs effect on sale price.
As stated, gas conversion needs to be handled anyway. If there is any code issue with the basement finish, it would likely be cheaper to demo and take a small hit on the sale price.
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