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

[CBHvac]

Actually, IF work was done, that required proper permits, and they were NOT pulled, then, the local jurisdiction CAN have the work removed....fines will be issued in the least...here it is twice the original amount. IF the work was done by a non licenced person, in the event that a licenced person was required to do it, and no permits (of course) pulled, then the person that actually did the work can be hit with a felony charge, and jail time. Happens ALL the time in areas that follow the law...particularly here...in his particular area, it might not be the case.

[C G]

I'd love to be in the courtroom when you try to use that kind of argument.

[Tony Hwang]

Hi, Some folks have very interesting attitude towards law/regulations. Maybe law is there because of people like that. Very funny! Tony

[avoidspam]

did you ever consider that everyone didn't survive?

[avoidspam]

Apparently it is more than just a matter of "home inspection" in this case considerable construction modification were made to the property without pulling appropriate permits and having the work inspected by the appropriate code enforcement authorities - this is something that the seller should be expected to resolve before settlement and the closing on the property at the time of the sale!

[Trent©]

Where did anyone say 'entirety'?

Have a nice week...

Trent

Fighting for peace is like screwing for virginity!

[v]

As a practical matter, I agree to the extent that it would be OK with 'the bank' as long as the illegally finished area is not being relied upon to acheive the required value of the property. OTOH if the bank thinks it is mortgaging a 4-bedroom 3 bath home, but one bedroom and one bath are illegal in the basement, then they sure as hell WOULD care, IF their appraiser was on the ball enough to catch it, which he should, but often will not.

-v.

[v]

Then he will never buy this house. The seller will not agree to those condition, PLUS will hate his guts for turning him in to the city. And after he has to pay thos big fines and compliance costs, he will now want more for the house since the addition is now legal!

(Or, the city makes him tear it out; did the buyer WANT those features? Just shot himself in the foot!)

-v.

[v]

Here at my office, my landlord got summonsed in to court for letting me move in before the handicapped rails were installed in the bathroom!!!!

-v.

[C G]

How do you know what the seller will or will not agree to? The seller has put himself in a very bad negotiating position by making unpermitted improvements to his house. Who said anything about turning him into the city?

All based on your incorrect assumption that the city found out.

Might be better than buying a house with shoddy, unsafe modifications.

[Steve]

Actually, I was referring to the guy that stated that the tax man dont care if you dont pay taxes on the finished basement. For some reason, my newsreader didnt reply with his message.

[Trent©]

All the banks pretty much care about is if the building really exists...and if you have insurance on it for the amount of your loan. They don't care what the inside looks like. Many homes, of course, are sold for cash.

And very few rooms inside the house have any designated purpose. Special-purpose fixtures...like a toilet, sink, lack of window, etc...can sometimes designate the purpose. But other rooms can simply be designated as whatever the present owner wants to do with it.

My house is over 100 years old...and has gone from 2 bedroom to 4 bedroom to 2 bedroom about a half-dozen times...depending on how the current owner uses the various rooms. I now have a 2 bedroom...with a computer room and a large storage room.

My house will be advertised as a 4 bedroom when and if I sell it. It was listed as a 4 bedroom when I bought it...and it had 2 beds in the house when I took the tour.

Have a nice week...

Trent

Fighting for peace is like screwing for virginity!

[Trent©]

This time, either.

Have a nice week...

Trent

Fighting for peace is like screwing for virginity!

[Houseslave]

[Houseslave]

[C G]

[C G]

This is a bit inaccurate. The banks want to be sure that the house can be sold for at least the amount of the mortgate in case you default. This is part of why they insist on an appraisal, which includes an assessment of the inside and outside of the house.

Maybe in your mind, but not necessarily in the minds of the appraiser or the tax authority. Generally, if a room has a closet it is considered a bedroom. Many people get around a bedroom limitation on their septic permit by adding rooms which do not contain a closet.

You are talking about how you are using the rooms, not how it would be classified on an appraisal or tax evaluation.

Counting beds to evaluate the actual number of bedrooms is meaningless. I have a 4 bedroom beach house, which contains 5 beds. Should I have it reclassified as a 5 bedrrom because of the bed count? Of course not.

Chuck

[Houseslave]

The only party that is concerned with all the permits is the buyer and the buyer's bank. If the bank doesn't ask for the permits then the buyer has to make a deciscion whether or not they care. Many banks will tell you to cover up the stove so they can give the OK for the mortgage.

[avoidspam]

What sink and stove?

If you try to sell a house without a sink in my area you would never get a loan and if you tried that without a stove where I came from you would never get a c.o.!

[avoidspam]

Maybe in the rural slum where you have your hovel, but you can't get a C.O. without everything being up to code or grand fathered here!