It's Cheaper To Pull A Permit Than To Pay Legal Fees!!

Another bonus when selling new construction is being confident that the builder has pulled a permit before starting the construction!! How many resale properties have you shown that have had many updates to bathrooms, kitchens, heating systems, electrical work and outside improvements such as decks and screened porches and no one has provided a signed off permit?

Do you know for a fact that all of the improvements in those homes have been inspected by the building department? Do you know if a permit was pulled? Do you investigate or just assume? Listing agent, do you rely on the word of the seller?

Permits are required for almost every improvement. Do you know that a plumbing permit in the town of Franklin MA is required for every plumbing change except a faucet? Local codes are much more stringent than state building codes.

The responsibility of investigating and confirming that a permit was pulled for major improvements is on both the listing agent and the buyer agent. The listing agent must confirm what the seller has disclosed and then feel confident to go forth and disclose it to potential buyers.

The buyer agent should be confirming the information that the listing agent has provided. If a permit has not been pulled for the work performed, the seller must visit the building department and pay the price to correct this misjudgment.

Building departments will inspect and may have to cut an opening to view what’s behind the wall. Other building departments require total dismantling!! The fees will be increased and penalties added. Both are better than a lawsuit after closing.

Too often we are finding homes where the seller has made significant improvements without applying for a permit or hiring a person in the trades to improve the property without applying for a permit. Permits are required for the future safety of the occupants. Rather than thinking about safety, the homeowner is focused on the increase in the tax burden that will be realized in the near future because of the improvements to the property!! We all want to have our cake and eat it too, but we also need to follow the rules for safety.