Issue with Fairfax County Zoning and Title Insurance (home, construction)

[dave2972]

So basically, we moved into the home 5 years ago and had to get a lot of permits/special permits for additions the previous homeowner made without obtaining permits.

Went and got it all done, then filed a claim with Stewart Title Insurance.

They requested documentation for a few items on the claim proving that we had to get the fence and deck fixed to meet compliance for a permit that which was ultimately granted by the county.

My brother went to the Government Center and requested all paperwork related to the property as well as made a FOIA request through the mail. None of it notes any of the orders to fix the fence/deck as we were verbally told by county inspectors that it was needed.

Inspector gave us his card and said he's willing to speak with the insurance company. Insurance company says that's nice but they need something in written form. Inspector says to make a FOIA request or to look up inspection history (already done both and none have the information the insurance company needs).

It's been months now since I initially filed the claim and would like to close this out and move on with other pressing matters and life... Anyone have any ideas who I can contact or how to go above the inspector to get what I need?

Thanks for any advice.

TLDR;

-County work order given to fix fence/deck
-Repairs done, contractors and permit applications paid for
-Permits approved
-Filed homeowner title insurance claim
-Insurance requests lacking documentation for some work ordered by county
-FOIA request and visit to county office do not result in needed documentation
-County inspector unwilling to type up or provide documentation proving work needed for compliance
-Insurance company unwilling to accept verbal confirmation by contacting inspector
-Need help figuring out who to contact or what to do

[rmm0484]

You may need to ask the inspector about why he is reluctant to provide you with the required documentation. If the permits cite the building code for FFX county, look up the codes yourself, but ask the insurance company if references to the Code (and copies) will suffice.

What documentation does the insurance company want from you?

[dave2972]

Insurance company:

"You will need to submit written verification from the county indicating that the work was required by the county. While I appreciate the contact information for the inspect and it may prove helpful once the documents are submitted if I have any questions, the first step is the provision of the written documentation from the county."

Inspector:

"The only suggestion I could give you is to get the inspection history off of our website or have the foia the info from the county."

-----

I then informed him that the FOIA request / inspection history came back with nothing relevant to the documentation the insurance company is asking of my family on June 16th. He hasn't responded.

I assume the the insurance company is looking for something similar to the "Corrective Work Order" we received taped to our front door by the Sheriff initiating the process of needing to get things corrected and obtaining applicable permits.

[rmm0484]

"So basically, we moved into the home 5 years ago and had to get a lot of permits/special permits for additions the previous homeowner made without obtaining permits."

How did you know that you needed to have this work done? Who or what notified you?

You can send an e-mail to "Public Works and Environmental Services, Department of Program or Service:
Permits, Building & Construction" that explains your problem:

https://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/contac...px?agId=100262

You can also try here:
When a Permit is Required*- Fairfax County, Virginia

[dave2972]

Sorry, had been away for a bit with lots of stuff going on.

We were notified via a sheriff (?) that left a Corrective Work Order taped to our door. No one was ever around to see who actually stuck it to our door; whether it was a sheriff or a county worker.

The issue is that we were told verbally by the inspector that visited us to check work being done that other things needed to be corrected that were not originally noted on the Corrective Work Order.

Hence all the trouble I'm going through now to try and find out who to contact to get some sort of written documentation proving to the Title Insurance company that it was required work and thus should be covered by our insurance policy. Likely typical runaround by insurance companies trying to weasel out of paying out.

Just sent an e-mail to the Public Works link you provided. Hopefully they can help.

I had my brother leave a voice mail with the County people we had worked with (not the inspector) to see if they can help as well. Haven't heard back yet.

[dave2972]

Brother heard back from the Property Maintenance / Zoning Enforcement Inspector (I think that's her title) that was named on the original work order.

She claims there's not much she can do as she's part of a different department from the actual inspector. Seems like just more useless runaround.

I'm going to be leaving the other gentleman who is listed as Technical Assistant to the Building Official (he's part of the Department of Code Compliance) another message as he never responded to my brother.

May have to run out to the County again and ask to speak to the person above the Inspectors as this is bullsh*t.

They're quick to hound us incessantly and threaten to take us to court while we were doing everything we could to get into compliance within a small time frame and now that we need their help they just shrug their shoulders.

Sorry, just utterly annoyed at this whole situation.

[rmm0484]

Here's a thought ---- ask the Sheriff about the process for Corrective Work Orders. Do they keep records. Also, did you keep any of the "hounding" documentation?