We undertook a pretty major renovation of our home earlier this year, including a gut rehab of an 800 square foot, two-story addition, and three full bath renovations. Most of the final inspections were completed months ago, but evidently the final inspection for plumbing was never done. The inspector is coming on Thursday but we can’t find our permit. It was taped to our front door for 6 months, accumulating signatures, but now it’s just gone.
Am I (the homeowner) screwed, or is my General Contractor going to have to deal with this? Both? Neither?
It might be hard for anyone here to answer this, since there are so many differences between localities. In my area, a quick call or visit to the appropriate department (Planning & Zoning, in my case) would get a friendly and definitive answer, but YMMV. Have you tried that?
(2) I agree that the issuing agency will know that a permit has been issued (and therefore the fees paid) for the work. But I don’t necessarily think the issuing agency will know which elements have been signed off. I kept my permit packets close at hand in case I had to prove to some new inspector that things had been completed.
(3) Being in physical possession of a successfully completed building permit may be beneficial if or when the property is sold. Some buyers want to know if everything they see has been permitted and approved. At the very least the holder can deny price reductions if a buyer brings the question up.
Every time I’ve asked a contractor about obtaining a permit (for a deck, roof, porch addition, septic work, new windows, etc) I’ve been told not to worry about it, since the house cannot be seen from any road. I figure I’m doing my part in asking, but apparently around here “it’s not a thing”.
It’s fine to skip permits on permit work if you don’t ever plan to sell the house or make a significant homeowner’s claim. In those cases, routine title-checking and home inspection showing additions or significant plumbing or electrical work can bite you in the ass, big time.
No. No it isn’t. The point of getting permits and inspections isn’t to screw the owner out of big bucks or waste their time, it’s to make sure that the work is being done by someone who knows their ass from a hammer and that the work will actually hold up.
ahh…that’s the problem!
Where I live , there’s no such thing as a “quick trip” to city hall. It’s a monumental bureaucracy, and once you open a file on yourself, you’re trapped.
But , yeah, you have to do it —if you want to sleep well at night.
