Building with No Permit?

[MarkP]

I know a guy who recently sold his place in Orchidland and bought a house in Hilo. One of his major concerns was that he had built unpermitted and now it looks like the county may start cracking down. He had originally spoken with the bldg dept and basically been told not to worry about a permit. I don't know how that conversation went but relying on the advice of the people in the county office came back to bite him. Hard to believe. I guess not even the county thought anyone would care about the law.