Unpermitted bedroom addition

[Timothy G Dunson]

Hey everyone,

im under contract on a 5/4 duplex. I just found out that they turned the dinning room into a 5th bedroom in one of the units. The house is for sale as is. It seems to be priced as a 5/4 and not a 4/4. The seller didn't mention an unpermitted bedroom in the seller's disclosures. 

My question is. What should I do? Ask them to get it permitted? Ask for a credit? Ask them to change it back to a 4/4? Ask for a price reduction? Or just pull out of the deal? 

[Bruce Woodruff]

Originally posted by @Jonathan Greene:

I don't what differential in permitting everyone is talking about...... so maybe I am confused as to what is happening here.

Yes.....I came across this a lot when I did Home Inspections for a while. When I would discover (or suspect)  that some part of the house was non-permitted during my inspection, I was usually asked to sit in (and give advice) on the conversation with Realtor and Buyer. There was always the concept that they were not going to pay living space prices for non living space. Or bedroom prices for a dining room. Similar in a way to the rule that a bedroom must have a closet. It makes sense if you think about it. At least to me.