All Forum Posts by: David He

@David He your bigger problem is when you put the door in does that only allow you to rent it when you live there or can you rent seperate units when you move out.   Some areas will allow you to rent a mother in law suite if the home is owner occupied. You run across problems when you to try to rent both units when you decide to move out. Just make sure what you are getting by putting the door in.

Quote from @David He:

The key piece to this is you need to issue a permit to install that door, and to memorialize any floor plan changes that may have already occurred. Why? Because 10 years from now when the rules have changed, or they are interpreted or enforced differently you want a record that this condition was approved. I know it may seem silly, but I've seen Land Development issues that were 'ok' a decade ago, and now are being questioned. So the client has to dig up documentation to that effect. The 100% best way to ensure the documentation happens is to get it into the permit record, then it isn't only on you to keep track of the record. 

Every city is different and the Realtor (assuming the person isn't anything else other than just that) isn't qualified nor should say anything on the subject.

Generally the city doesn't care if you owned it or not. The reason being is because their focus is health and safety. If work was completed without permits, how do they know (or you for that matter) if it was done to code and in a safe manner? This includes electrical, plumbing, etc.

Unfortunately whatever the city says goes. You can attempt to go after the seller in the event they knew they did work without permits and didn't disclose. 

Uhhhh... don't ignore the county and hope they go away. Bad advice. Do anything BUT that.

Regarding the county v. homeowner's rights... Could you imagine what would happen if everyone could modify their homes as they see fit? Taking out a load bearing wall to open up the floor plan could be disastrous - especially if someone does the work and passes it on to the next owner. End of the day, there's a good reason counties have building codes and inspectors that enforce the codes. Your rights to do whatever you want inside your home do have a limit...

If the cost is low, just pay and move on. 

If it's going to be expensive, see if you can appeal to the empathetic side of the county rep you're talking with. Tell them your realtor gave you bad advice and now you're stuck in an unfortunate position. You want to obey the law and make things right, but  Ask if there are any other options available.

I just don't understand how you had all the right information -- no permits -- and still bought the place. 

And, yeah, you don't get legal advice from a realtor. 

You need to talk to a local attorney who understands code enforcement stuff. 

@David He first of all your realtor doesn’t seemed qualified to give you any advice at all based on what you’ve said.

As for your conversation with the supervisor, I would keep it as cordial as possible and don’t go in with any high expectations. I also wouldn’t expect the supervisor to tell you something the building department/code enforcer did not. Chances are the supervisor will diplomatically deflect all questions back to the building department since that is their job and they know the rules. You may actually be running the risk of souring your relationship with the building department by attempting to go over their heads.

Personally I would stay really far away from words like "my rights, culpable, lawyer etc."

I would simply ask the supervisor what he would recommend to do, then listen to what he has to say.

Can you get the current work inspected and move on if it passes?

What happens if you want to just pay the fines? Will they make you tear it all out, or take the money and call it good.

Treat the guy across the table as your partner, he is the one who can fix your problem so be respectful and deferential and you just might get some good information and a bit of leeway.

See what the supervisor says, but be prepared. If you try pushing your "rights" on them, they may well come back swinging with a baseball bat ,so be warned. 

Is it the Realtor that was your buy, that told you to ignore? Keep good documentation on your relationship as it sounds culpable. 

The question now isn't why, but what, as in what needs to be done. Maybe you'll get a pass. Can you apply for a relaxation? Supervisor should be able to outline the options, or at least answer your questions in regards to. Are your ready. If your case is your rights, it could be a painful process.

I'm speaking from my experience in Idaho, but many jurisdictions are similar.  If you (or the previous owner) did work without permits, the penalty is typically paying double the cost of the permits.  Most permits for small remodels are quite cheap, so it shouldn't be very expensive.

Theoretically they could require you to expose any covered work so they can inspect it, but this normally doesn't happen unless you've really gotten in a terrible relationship with them.  Since a previous owner did the work without a permit, beg for forgiveness and pay for the permits (or maybe double the permits).

Your agents idea to just ignore them is a terrible idea.  You will ruin your relationship with them and some cities have the ability to shut off your water service if you run afoul of their permit/zoning process and just tell them to pound sand.  They can also fine you and some jurisdictions have criminal offenses for ongoing zoning/permit violations.  You don't want to go down this road....

Your agent is not qualified to provide any advise here, and is incompetent in what they've said so far. Obviously for any work you do you need a permit. The same was true for the owner before you, which by not getting the permit and selling to you you've now inherited that unfulfilled obligation. Now he may be correct that depending on the location this could all just 'blow over'...but it's less likely now that everyone is aware of it. Also if it does 'blow over' the problem isn't gone, just not being enforced for now. Which will likely become an issue someday when it's most inconvenient for you....