Any risk in buying a house with finished basement without permit -Please advise

[Basha]

Hi,

I am in house hunting for the last one month and found a suitable house recently. I am thinking of buying it. When I went to to get the survey map from the city governmemnt, I learned that they don't have a record of basement finished. The previous owner who actually completed the basement didn't get the permit for it. The basement has 2 bedrooms, one bathroom and a large family room with fire place. Is there any risk involved in buying this house?

You comments greatly appreciated.

Thanks Basha

[Matty]

I'd check with the city. If the owner didn't get a permit - the finished basement may not be up to city codes, i.e. city may require egress windows for finished basements, etc.

Better to be safe than sorry...

My 2c,

Matty

[Brad]

The main risk is that if they built right up to the foundation you will not be able to inspect it's soundness. That really has nothing to do with having or not having a permit, but that would be my concern. Any decent home inspector can tell you whether the job itself is sound or not.

[C.J.]

Aside from the points made by others, no bank/mortgage company will touch a property which does not have a Certificate of Occupancy on an extension, or in this case, a finished area. Ask the current owner if he/she is willing to do the legwork to get the C of O and pay the fines. It can get very expensive and time consuming. If he/she won't, walk away.

[Brad]

That's not true at all. I sold a house last year with a basement that I did off the books. I also know many people that have done the same thing and had no problem. It is quite a common occurrence, legal or not.

[CAStinneford]

It depends on the town. Our town requires that an inspection be done by their building inspector and a CCO, Certificate of Continued Occupany, be issued before a house is sold. They are looking for any open permits or work done without a permit. They recomend you make an application for the CCO a month before closing so you have time to rectify any problems before closing.

[Phisherman]

[Steve Stone]

Some areas may not require a permit to finish off an unfinished basement. Check with the town offices before panicking.

[Brad]

Our town requires the same thing, but they said nothing. I would bet good money that more than half of DIY basements are done off of the books.

[Patscga]

That does THAT mean? Pat

[Patscga]

Many houses have additions that were added without permits in order to avoid an increase in property tax. Not only do owners do it but construction companies do, too, to accommodate their customers. Legally, it makes no difference whatsoever to the owner of the property. Speaking from experience, the tax department doesn't care, either.

Pat

[Edwin Pawlowski]

I'd say about 99% are done that way. My old house was done that way and nothing was ever questioned.

My only concern would be using the rooms as bedrooms. Code requires a method of egress in case of fire. It the windows are of sufficient size, no problem. Ed

[Patscga]

When the house was originally built, it got a certificate of occupancy. That is quite enough.

Nonsense. People buy these houses every day.

Pat

[Patscga]

You're right. And the property assessment department couldn't care less. And the tax assessor couldn't care less, either. I speak from experience. Pat

[Tony Hwang]

Hi Insurance company may care if they know about it when fire broke out. Tony

[Edwin Pawlowski]

Possibly if there were code violations that caused the fire. If the entire house is destroyed, they'd never know anyway. When is the last time your house was inspected by an insurance company? Every 10 years the tax assessor makes a visit. Add a bathroom, pay more taxes because the value went up. No on ever asked about permits though. They just want the revenue. This year the evaluation was done over the phone. Ed

[Jerry Smoltz]

You're speaking solely of your area. Where I'm sitting, they do assessments ever 3 years, they base assessment on living area. A basement is not considered living area unless finished. Those that do not let the county auditor in for assessment, find their taxes sky high, and soon welcome the auditor back for a visual assessment after they file a lengthy and time consuming appeal.

[Brad]

It's a good thing they don't work on commission.

[Brad]

The soundness of the foundation. If you can't see the walls you won't see any potential problems. Nobody cares about the soundness of a basement wall. It's not holding anything up so if it looks plumb, it's good.

[Brad]

Likewise, houses with a CO and neglect can be much worse off than one that was added onto by and good DIY-er. Inspect, inspect, inspect.