Tri-Valley Wine Country Homes ? Karen Crowson ? Are Permits ...

Posted on August 29, 2012 by Karen Crowson in Home Improvement,Sellers

Everyone is cost-conscious these days, and permits do have a cost. But before making the decision to skip that step, read on to see what things happen in the field, catching sellers off-guard.? Sometimes these short-term savings have a much higher cost in the long run.

Do-it yourselfers assume that they are saving money by skipping the permits for room additions or modifications.? Another motivation is the assumption that improvements will trigger a tax increase.

What many people find out the hard way is this:

• Unpermitted rooms may have no value from an appraiser?s point of view. While you may have saved from paying taxes on that improvement, your property may not appraise when the appraisal doesn?t count that additional square footage. And if the appraiser won?t give it credit, the buyer is less likely to want to pay you for it.
• A buyer may be spooked by the lack of permits, even if the quality of improvements were done in a workman like manner
• Inspections may cast light on the fact that the property was not done up to code and cause a buyer to pull out of contract
• A buyer may decide to proceed, providing the seller makes the appropriate corrections to defects in workmanship or code, ALONG WITH proper permits. These after-the-fact corrections may be much more costly and wipe out any perceived savings.

Even worse, when a property falls out of contract, the seller may need to make those needed repairs anyway OR disclose those material facts to the next buyer.? That costs time on market, often leading to a reduction in price, or a stigma that there is something wrong with the property.

The fact of the matter is simple ? it is what it is. If you don?t have a permit and you plan on selling your house, do some investigative work.? Prior to selling you could:

• Get a home inspection and find out if there are any defects or code violations. Then fix them.
• Get an appraisal and see what you?re actually dealing with
• Consider obtaining a permit after the fact and making any necessary corrections .
• Was the workmanship of subpar quality where this ?added space? is actually a deterrent to the sale? It?s possible a tear down might be less objectionable. If an appraiser can?t give value to unpermitted square footage, how will it help you sell your house?

Often times I see sellers turn a blind eye and hope that the problem will just go away. Well, that?s rarely the case.? Talk to the City, find out what is permitted and what is not, and take measures to rectify the issue, or at the very least, disclose it to the buyer upfront. Then when a buyer makes an offer on your property, you?ll know it is with a full understanding of what is permitted and what is not.

Source: http://karencrowsonhomes.com/are-permits-necessary-important-you-decide/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=are-permits-necessary-important-you-decide

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