If you’re a fan of taking on DIY jobs around your house, you might wonder about selling a house with unpermitted work. There are options for sales that may involve code compliance issues. At Wise Property Buyers, we can walk you through the process and explain your real estate liability.
Real Estate Liability Notifications Required During a Sale
When selling a home, you legally must disclose information about the property to potential buyers. You’ll sign several documents that verify you’re providing the most accurate information possible.
If a buyer does a permit history check during the sales process or afterward, you could have some legal ramifications for failing to make accurate disclosures. A couple of scenarios are possible to protect yourself if you have work done on the house without permits when you’re trying to sell.
Obtain Retroactive Permits
You might be able to ask the local building authority to give you a permit for the work now. The building inspectors would look at the work that was done and determine whether it matches local building codes.
Redo the Work With Permits
If inspectors refuse to give you a retroactive permit for the work, you might need to tear everything out and redo it with permits. This is an expensive process, and most homeowners try to avoid taking this step.
Perhaps a Permit Wasn’t Required
You might think a permit was needed for certain repairs, but it wasn’t. Building codes differ by location. Work that required a permit in your last city might be legal to do without a permit in your current city.
Check with the local building inspector to see whether a permit was required for the work.
Simplifying the Sales Process After Doing Work Without Permits
If you aren’t sure about selling a house with unpermitted work, you may want to consider an as-is sale. In this kind of sale, the buyer agrees to ignore certain disclosure requirements.
You might discover unpermitted work when you start the sales process. Perhaps a previous owner did not pull permits when doing an addition, and you had no idea until you put the house up for sale and found records about the work.
Unexpectedly discovering this kind of work can be unsettling when trying to sell your house. It could greatly lengthen the sales process, causing headaches for you. It may help to seek an offer from an as-is buyer who doesn’t care about permits and other issues.
Wise Property Buyers Can Help You With an As-Is Property Sale
When it’s time to sell your house and you’re worried that you have code violations from unpermitted renovations and DIY work, Wise Property Buyers can help. Selling a house with unpermitted work is not challenging when you rely on us as partners.
We purchase homes in any condition by offering a fair cash price and a fast process. To receive a cash offer or learn more about our process, contact us today at (313) 513-8824.