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I have posted on this subject before,I did 14 by 40 addition in 2001,sold in 2008.
1)appraiser picked it up,stopped sale
2)had to get civil engineer to inspect and draw up blueprints,paperwork to cover state and county code,10-12 pages,extensive blue prints cost $1500
3)Licensed electrical inspect cost around $100
4)since it was added living space,Health Dept inspect to check size of tank,leach field and distance to well cost near $400 for permit and inspection
5)Building Permit around $400 had to have proof,receit for soil treatment for termites under slab.The building dept inspector did follow up with final inspect signing permit I had to place on door.I could have been made to correct one way or other.
Everything passed,lacked one gfci outlet.
Thanks for this timely post. Was it worth the trouble not getting the permit in the beginning when the work was done?
Thanks for this timely post. Was it worth the trouble not getting the permit in the beginning when the work was done?
Actually being in a rural and 24 miles from city hall and most everyone doing as they please,didn't give it a thought.They are life long residents.Having to follow blueprints and multiple inspects,maybe I still did o'k.
But still serious consequences for not getting permits,never again.
I have posted on this subject before,I did 14 by 40 addition in 2001,sold in 2008.
1)appraiser picked it up,stopped sale
2)had to get civil engineer to inspect and draw up blueprints,paperwork to cover state and county code,10-12 pages,extensive blue prints cost $1500
3)Licensed electrical inspect cost around $100
4)since it was added living space,Health Dept inspect to check size of tank,leach field and distance to well cost near $400 for permit and inspection
5)Building Permit around $400 had to have proof,receit for soil treatment for termites under slab.The building dept inspector did follow up with final inspect signing permit I had to place on door.I could have been made to correct one way or other.
Everything passed,lacked one gfci outlet.
Great post Dan, good to have someone with a real world example.
In my long ago youth I used to build decks part-time with a buddy. We hired out as day laborers to the home owners, all legal, paid taxes, etc. We built to code (actually better than code because code isn't really high quality for decks, but thats another thread.) Lots of dummy home owners resisted getting a building permit, going through the inspections, etc. If they wouldn't pull a permit we wouldn't take the job. From our standpoint we didn't want the hassle of doing illegal work and it was stupid on the part of the homeowner.
What usually got the homeowner's attention was when I explained to him that if you put a non-permitted addition on your house --- your entire homeowner's insurance took a walk. It doesn't matter whether the addition is built to code or not. It doesn't matter if the addition had anything to do with a subsequent insurance claim. If you have a non-permitted addition on your property you just killed your insurance. Read the micro fine print in your homeowner's policy or ask your agent. That's the way it works in Maryland and I'm willing to bet its true in most, if not all other localities. Insurance companies don't like to pay claims. If you don't play by the rules - good luck. I wouldn't touch a property that doesn't have permits for every little thing that's been done. Its not worth the potential hassle. JMO
Last edited by Pilgrim21784; 07-03-2010 at 07:05 PM..
Someone please explain the insurance thing to me. From what I understand, if a claim has nothing to do with the addition, then everything should be fine. Say my house caught fire and I file a claim. They investigate and determine that the fire came from the kitchen. Then they pay. And that's that.
Nope, not to my knowledge, you'd have a problem. I'm not an expert, my info came from a friend here in Maryland who was an insurance agent. The way it works under your insurance policy is that you are bound to follow local laws regarding any modifications to the property. If you don't, you void your policy. Best to check it out with your own agent. Hopefully an insurance pro will chime in, although there may be differences between individual company policies.
[quote=davidt1;14785239]A seller is selling a 3 bedroom house with one extra room that was added without a permit. Country records show this house is a 3 bedroom house.
I'm sorry, but how do you know that the extra room is not grandfathered in?
I've had appraisers say a room is not a bedroom without a closet. I've also had appraisers call an obvious library with glass doors as a bedroom.
When was the county appraisal done? In many places, the county often appraises without entering the home so any remodels are a guess on the county's part based on exterior visual and past records.
I received a response from the county permit office.
Me:
"Please help with a question about residential permit compliance. A house listed for sale had a bedroom added without a permit. What steps must the buyer take to make this property in compliance. Thank you."
County:
"Under Texas state law, the current property owner is responsible for any unpermitted development. In your situation, it will be the buyer’s requirement to get a permit. It is fairly easy process. We require a site plan, a completed permit application and an estimated cost for the addition."
They are saying the buyer is responsible for getting the permit. There is no mention of a penalty or fine. It's not so bad after all.
I don't think you are reading this correctly. It says "it will be the buyer's REQUIREMENT to get a permit", not the buyer's responsibility to get a permit. In other words, you can require the current owners to have the space permitted.
I recently has buyers that were buying a house with an unpermitted 3-season porch addition. The owners honestly thought it had been permitted. I discovered it in my research. We required the porch to be permitted. If we had not, then my buyers would have had to do it later on when they sold the house.
It did cost a little more than it would have if it had been permitted from the beginning, but not much. You should ask the sellers to have the space permitted.
edited to add: I am somewhat confused by the OP's posts. OP - are you the buyer or seller? If you are the seller, you should permit the property before selling it. Well, I suppose if the buyer knows it isn't permitted and is willing to buy it, then you are ok. I might may sure I had something that said that the buyer understands that the space is unpermitted.
If you are the buyer, then you should insist the seller permit the property or be willing to walk if they won't.
Do not buy an illegal house. My sellers don't have a CO for their finished basement and basement bath. I am making them get the permits and won't sign a contract until a) the CO is granted, or 2) they agree to put money in escrow for any government requested fees, fines or renovations. If one of these two doesn't happen, I walk. The local authorities told me governments are cracking down more on violators these days. Either it's a safety issue or the municipalities need the extra money. Inventory may be low, but there are still enough legal homes for sale out there.
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