Issue With Refi--Need Some R/E Advice (1 Viewer)

[chet]

We are re-financing our house. The appraiser sent the the refi person the following message:

Sorry for the continued delay, but I am still trying to figure out something on this one. Basically at some point the attic or 3rd floor was finished and there are no permits on file. This was done before the current owner purchased the home so I doubt he would have permits. Do you by chance have anything on file? I can show market acceptance of the attic, but the added square footage makes the house fall out of zoning compliance so I am still trying to figure out how that needs to be addressed. If you have permits it’s not an issue. Let me know

The attic was finished when we purchased about 4 years ago and this is the first time we've heard anything about the house being too big for zoning. The original owner was also the builder so I am sure he finished and built the attic without proper permits.

What should we do? If we apply and get permits for the attic, our property tax will increase because of the added square footage. What happens if the permits are denied? What if we do nothing? Will we have an issue selling the house? Personally, I think we should do nothing until we are ready to sell the house.

I know there are plenty of R/E gurus here so thanks in advance for the advice.

 

[Yankee23Fan]

As your very first step, if you have the paperwork from when you bought the house check through to see if you have a copy of the municipal certificate of occupancy / letter of no interest / wiaver of zoning review or whatever they call it in your jurisdiction - if you even have something like that at all. When you sell a house is New Jersey the township does an inspection basically to make sure the property is up to code and as part of that they do a zoning search to make sure there are no open permits or violations.

You can always do a public record request from your township construction office for all permits from your property as well. That might give you the information you need.

Beyond that though, I'm not sure why the appraiser cares on this one. His job is just to appraise the property. Whether or not there was a permit to do something years ago is kinda out of his job description. This is an interesting one.

As for applying for a retroactive permit - it happens a lot here. The towns are usually lenient in this kind of circumstance and will work with you to issue the permit. If you are out of zone and need a variance, again, it happens here a lot as well and again the boards are usually lenient, but you still have to go through their process if they demand it.

Finally, obviously, find your township land use zone. Most of them are online or you can go to your township clerk's office and get a copy. Figure out what zone you are in and then find out its requirements. It may all be much ado about nothing.

 

[Dentist]

why don't you just pay the whole thing off in cash and be done with it?

 

[(HULK)]

Since when do you need a permit to do internal work on a structure? Finishing an attic shouldn't require a permit at all.

 

[STEADYMOBBIN 22]

Since when do you need a permit to do internal work on a structure? Finishing an attic shouldn't require a permit at all.

If there's any electrical you might need a close in inspection.

 

[chet]

why don't you just pay the whole thing off in cash and be done with it?

Definitely not EV+ to pay it off. Come on Dent--I expected more from you.

 

[chet]

Since when do you need a permit to do internal work on a structure? Finishing an attic shouldn't require a permit at all.

You need a permit for almost everything in Chicago. There's a bathroom and additional bedroom up there.

 

[Dentist]

why don't you just pay the whole thing off in cash and be done with it?

Definitely not EV+ to pay it off. Come on Dent--I expected more from you.

sometimes eliminating a hassle and BS and factoring in your time can outweigh pure EV

SOMETIMES.. and this sounds like one of those times

 

[chet]

why don't you just pay the whole thing off in cash and be done with it?

Definitely not EV+ to pay it off. Come on Dent--I expected more from you.

sometimes eliminating a hassle and BS and factoring in your time can outweigh pure EV

SOMETIMES.. and this sounds like one of those times

Cheap money and tax deductions are always worth the hassle if you can get them in size.

 

[johnnycakes]

Since when do you need a permit to do internal work on a structure? Finishing an attic shouldn't require a permit at all.

Here in MA, any electrical or plumbing work requires a permit if done by a licensed electrician or plumber. Not sure if a private homeowners who would be inclined to do his own work would need a permit or not.

 

[ChiefD]

Since when do you need a permit to do internal work on a structure? Finishing an attic shouldn't require a permit at all.

Here in MA, any electrical or plumbing work requires a permit if done by a licensed electrician or plumber. Not sure if a private homeowners who would be inclined to do his own work would need a permit or not.

Here in the KC area, unless this has changed, a homeowner can do plumbing and electrical work as long as it is done to current building codes. But the permit is required no matter who does the work - it's the work itself that is subject to permit. And as far as what is permit worthy, refinishing an attic space would qualify, especially if electrical is added and a bathroom.

Been awhile since I had my contractor's license, but that's how it was then.