Should I pull a building permit for my house hack rehab?

Should I pull a building permit for my house hack rehab?

NC · Member since 2018 · 4 posts · 3 votes

I just graduated from college May of 2019 and soon as I did I bought a single family home to house hack. It's 2 bedroom 1 bath with an attached garage and an attached screened in patio. I have lived there about 7 months now and have had a tenant occupying the other room the entire time. The home is in a good location and I didn't have all too much trouble finding any of the tenants or charging good rent. Now that I have saved enough to begin some of the major renovations I plan to convert the attached garage into a bedroom then also rent that out. My question is, should I get a building permit and have the county recognize my additions or just do the additions and not have then recognize it. If I just go ahead and do the renovations it'll be alot cheaper, I don't have to pay the additional taxes on the value of the additions and it will be significantly faster that I can finish and put a new tenant in there to help me start collecting more rent. But in the other hand if I do need to refinance or try to sell the house way down the line all the value I added to the house may be more difficult for me to access. Any advice? If it helps my plan is to buy and hold while I continue to buy more properties.

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Contractor · Fairhaven, MA · Member since 2018 · 167 posts · 159 votes
6y

Always get a permit.  Especially anything to do with electric, plumbing or gas fitting...  Did you know most insurance policies are voided if improvements are not permitted?

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  • Specialist · Riverside, CA · Member since 2015 · 6k+ posts · 3k+ votes
    6y

    I'm always a fan of permits when doing major work, some jurisdictions are worse than others but some will make you undo the work if you haven't got permits and they find out.  You get your value down the line, and you ensure that you meet the legal requirements for a bedroom.  Either way you want to make sure your insurance provider is on board, because if they would deny your claim anyway were something to happen you might as well not pay the premium and gamble your life savings.

  • Architect · Wenatchee, WA · Member since 2018 · 843 posts · 907 votes
    6y

    Skirting around the law always works out until you get caught. Then things always get worse (more expensive) than if you just did it the right way to begin with. Your call. 

  • Contractor · Fairhaven, MA · Member since 2018 · 167 posts · 159 votes
    6y

    Always get a permit.  Especially anything to do with electric, plumbing or gas fitting...  Did you know most insurance policies are voided if improvements are not permitted?

  • Investor · Milwaukee, WI · Member since 2013 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes
    6y

    Get a permit.

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