selling a house with a finished basement has not permit?

[hominamad]

Originally Posted by YorktownGal

A buyer would have to pay cash. A bank will not allow a mortgage on a house without a current CO.

When we refinanced a half dozen years ago, we needed a permit for a small shed and a new deck before approval.

Would this only matter if the work done was something that changed the square footage or listing details of the house? i.e. if bathrooms and kitchen was renovated without a permit how would anyone know? I thought the CO would only matter if the living space was changed - i..e more sq footage, or extra beds/baths added to the listing.

[Ex New Yorker]

Originally Posted by hominamad

Would this only matter if the work done was something that changed the square footage or listing details of the house? i.e. if bathrooms and kitchen was renovated without a permit how would anyone know? I thought the CO would only matter if the living space was changed - i..e more sq footage, or extra beds/baths added to the listing.

As far as I know I don't think that you need a building permit to renovate kitchens or bathrooms when all that you are doing is replacing what was already there and you're not changing the plumbing or electrical work. Unless you're taking down walls to enlarge the kitchen or bathrooms or open up the kitchen into another room such as a living room or dining room. Then you'd be dealing with structural issues.

You'd probably need one for adding a permanent closet to a playroom as it would then be considered another bedroom. But then again it all depends on where you live and what the town's building codes are. Where I live in Arizona you need a building permit to replace a hot water heater in New York we didn't. However where we live in Arizona the plumbing contractor takes care of the permitting process before installing the hot water heater.

When we bought our home in Arizona we have a huge family room that was once a one car garage. If we added a closet it would be considered as another bedroom. I don't know how true it is but our realtor told us that if it was considered a bedroom we could be taxed a little more?

The best thing that anyone should do is call their town/city's building department if they have any doubts about what's legal or not before deciding to sell their home. It's better to be safe than sorry later on if any issues do come up.

All we can do on the internet is talk about our own personal experiences and sharing them with others. What we experienced could be a lot different than someone else's. Again: Call your local town/city's building department they will be the only one's to give a correct answer.

[YorktownGal]

Originally Posted by hominamad

Would this only matter if the work done was something that changed the square footage or listing details of the house? i.e. if bathrooms and kitchen was renovated without a permit how would anyone know? I thought the CO would only matter if the living space was changed - i..e more sq footage, or extra beds/baths added to the listing.

It depends. Changing from a electric stove to a propane stove would definitely require a new CO.

Changing cabinets wouldn't require a new CO.

[Lillie767]

Different towns have different requirements for permits. Definitely check with your local town hall.

[NYCresident2014]

OP should first decide whether deciding to sell with or without a permit. In many towns, the CO inspection is just counting smoke detectors. In some towns, it's a deep inspection for every light switch or outlet that was moved without a permit.

If OP is in one of the "easier" jurisdictions, better to hold off until far down the line on the sale and go "oops" if the deal falls through. Just make sure that your contract has a dollar limit on the amount of repairs that you are required to do to obtain the CO- you wouldn't want to be forced to bring it up to code only to earn the lower bid of an unpermitted basement. If you're going to be forced to permit the basement, you're going to want the deal to die so that you can relist with a higher square footage and get a higher offer.