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Not sure if this belongs in the house forum or this one. Over the years, we've constructed two decks without permits. How will that affect resale? We have no plans to sell the house anytime soon, but maybe in the future. If it would be an issue, is it ok to go down to the county office and get permits after construction?
If your area requires permits for decks, then yes, it will become an issue for re-sale. Depending on the city, you may have to pay a fine and have it inspected. Can be become expensive.
There are two potential sticky wickets here. Both have to do with selling the house.
The first is the appraiser who will appraise the house. If you didn't take out permits then the town has no idea that the deck is there. That means the property card sketch of your home may show no deck or may show the original if anything was there. In reality you may now have a huge deck. The permit will also usually show on the property card ( in my neck of the woods it certainly would) The appraiser will know that what is there is unpermitted and may note it on the appraisal report. Not necessarily as something that needs to be rectified but just to note the fact. Or could require an inspection/permit. Buyer could get upset.
You'll also likely have a home inspection when you sell. If the deck isn't to code, this will be noted on the inspection report. Again, the buyer will be upset.
It's also possible that when you sell, no one will say anything about it. It's a roll of the dice.Your choice as to what you should do about it.
Depending on how large they are and if they are attached to the house, you could face fines, be required to tear them down etc. We had a case near here where a guy built an addition without a permit, and once the house went on the market, the city found out and placed liens on the house when the owner wouldn't pay the fines.
Our city makes a big deal about how they won't issue building permits after the fact. The city is liable as well and could lose its insurance etc.
Your town may have minimum size requirements that are allowed to be built without a permit. I would check that first.
One 'bureaucratic fiefdom' or another would probably require a permit and TAX for breathing, if they could figure-out how to regulate it. Yes, I understand about 'safe building codes' and 'proper inspections' ... but, don't you sometimes wish the government would extract its inefficient-self from trying to micro-manage (and tax) every little thing aspect of our lives (and backyards)?
Thomas Jefferson said something along those lines: "May God protect us from government bureaucrats who take our money under the pretense of 'taking care of us'"
One 'bureaucratic fiefdom' or another would probably require a permit and TAX for breathing, if they could figure-out how to regulate it. Yes, I understand about 'safe building codes' and 'proper inspections' ... but, don't you sometimes wish the government would extract its inefficient-self from trying to micro-manage (and tax) every little thing aspect of our lives (and backyards)?
Thomas Jefferson said something along those lines: "May God protect us from government bureaucrats who take our money under the pretense of 'taking care of us'"
Yeah, everybody says this until there's a pothole in front of their house or a burglar coming through the window or sewage backing up into their home or roadkill next to their mailbox.
Yeah, everybody says this until there's a pothole in front of their house or a burglar coming through the window or sewage backing up into their home or roadkill next to their mailbox.
We don't worry about the roadkill around here, the turkey vultures will take care of it. Unless it's an armadillo, then we have to run over it a couple times with the truck or tractor so the turkey vultures can get to the innards. Can't touch those things cuz they carry leprosy. But the rest of the roadkill is no problem.
And the burglar is sol as he wouldn't make it to the window without the dog(s) getting a piece of butt or waking up gramps with his sawed-off. Sewage? Heck, it's not the county's problem - just have to call the honey truck in the morning to get the tank pumped out.
We don't have much in the way of permits around here, either.
We don't worry about the roadkill around here, the turkey vultures will take care of it. Unless it's an armadillo, then we have to run over it a couple times with the truck or tractor so the turkey vultures can get to the innards. Can't touch those things cuz they carry leprosy. But the rest of the roadkill is no problem.
And the burglar is sol as he wouldn't make it to the window without the dog(s) getting a piece of butt or waking up gramps with his sawed-off. Sewage? Heck, it's not the county's problem - just have to call the honey truck in the morning to get the tank pumped out.
We don't have much in the way of permits around here, either.
I remember the harrowing story of your search for a pool contractor.
You need to find out what sort of language is in the standard real estate contract for your area. Our contract has a clause where the seller affirms that they are not aware of any unpermitted additions to the property. Even then, a buyer might not actually care if no permit was taken out so long as the job was professionally completed.
I remember the harrowing story of your search for a pool contractor.
LOL And that is all behind us, thankfully. We are now searching for a new contractor to gut/rebuild the bathroom. But at least it's not long distance and it isn't a rush. Right now I'm thrilled with the shower we installed outside (that is my biggest complaint about the bathroom) and with using the pool daily, fixing a small leak in the roof is a priority. We have someone coming to do that next week.
Since we moved: the deck and pool have been completed; there is a privacy fence along one side of the deck, there are 2 new storage sheds which also provide the privacy along the front. And we are loving living in Mayberry.
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