Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Hi all,
Need some answers to this question if anyone knows. The quick version is this. My house is from 1925, pre CO's. So no CO on the house which I bought 2 years ago. There is a deck with no CO which mortgage company had sellers put money in escrow for me to get one. Went to town to see how to get one and they told me they have no record of the house so how could they give me a co for a deck on it. So I gave up money in escrow for deck co and never heard anything else about it.
Now I would like to build a detatched garage. There was a delapidated garage on the property but I took it down. (was just a place for neighborhood cats to live) That garage is on the tax bill.
What happens if I don't file for a permit. I will get plans for the garage and build it to code. 20 years from now who will tell me that it wasn't there when I bought the house the town has no record. As long as it is legal as far as its construction and I don't get ratted out I should be good. Right?
the town can come and halt the work immediatly and possible fines can ensue.
Yes, if someone turns you in. I have a neighbor who just loves to turn people in. She made sure our neighbor had to rip pout and re-do hs driveway when she found out he never got a permit for it, even though it was years ago.
most of the time its someone ratting you out but the town does drive around and when they spot a home being worked on with no permit present, they will take action.
See the first mistake was taking down the garage....
my opinion, if the garage was still there, and you were essentially rebuilding it.... you're repairing a garage....... if you took down a garage and a year later you built a garage, you just built a garage and that needs a look by the town.
Frankly given that its a garage, its already on the plans, I would go to the town and ask to file a permit to rebuild your garage and see what they say.... your taxes won't go up, maybe a small permit fee, and an inspection. but you were going to build it right anyway, so shouldn't be much hassle.
I think the key is rebuilding..... ie not changing anything. If you took down a 1 car and want a 2 car, that opens you up to setbacks foundation inspections etc etc.
or just chance it, build the garage, if you get caught say.... well it fell down, I was fixing it...
if i put something large in the garbage at my house, the garbage men don't take it, and before I get home from work, someone has called it in to the town. Not sure what they'd do if I build a garage...
Thanks for all the info. The old garage was all the way at the rear property line so I was moving it anyway as it wouldn't be usefull there, and it was a 1.5 car I am building a full 2 car. I am going to see. Having an architet come by to take a look. He was saying something about charging $350 to file for non-conforming building CO. I don't really understand all of this. If you hire a contractor to do the job do they get the permits and the plans or do u still have to get that on you own? Was going to build it on my own with some help from friends that know what they are doing which will save me a bundle of money but now I'm worried about inspections and permits.
technically a contractor should get all of those things, although some don't.
Sounds like the architect knows what he's talking about. you could stop down at the town and talk to someone there. they should be able to tell you what you need, what inspections etc. TOHempstead is messey, but if you're persistant and nice they can be helpful. I wouldn't think the permits/plans would be much of a problem to get, ie failing inspection, its an accessory building, I can't see much nit picking as long as you know what you're doing.
other concerns are proprety coverage, height etc, this is all specified within the building code can be found online in the TOH.
Thanks for all the info. The old garage was all the way at the rear property line so I was moving it anyway as it wouldn't be usefull there, and it was a 1.5 car I am building a full 2 car. I am going to see. Having an architet come by to take a look. He was saying something about charging $350 to file for non-conforming building CO. I don't really understand all of this. If you hire a contractor to do the job do they get the permits and the plans or do u still have to get that on you own? Was going to build it on my own with some help from friends that know what they are doing which will save me a bundle of money but now I'm worried about inspections and permits.
You have to supply the stamped blueprints from your architect if the intended project is over a certain size -- which yours is.
Not all contractors handle permits as some cases are not cut and dry (such as yours.) Most of my clients use their architect, as you are. They usually establish a fee schedule based upon what the client requires -- is it cut and dry, or does it require variance hearings, etc.
Build without a permit and required inspections and the town might very well have you pull it down. We know of one man in the Town of Huntington who did not get a footing inspection. Guess what? Entire structure had to come down, as well as the foundation. Had this man hired a contractor in the first place, he would have had his inspections at the needed intervals, and he would not have had to paid to have the addition built twice.
FWIW Most towns issue a list of inspections, so if you're doing it yourself with an open permit, you'll know what to do, and when.
Make sure you have the old garage removed from your tax bill before opening a new permit. The towns can be a real PITA if they think there's another structure on the property.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
