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I have been looking at a property that is still under construction with open permits for building, electric and plumbing. When I did a rehab on my current home I had to have all rough/framing inspected before any other work was completed. And the inspectors signed off on the framing/rough on the permit card from the building department. On the property I am looking at the County Tax website, all I see are the open permits but no other inspections. A few of the walls have been sheetrocked already. What are the steps? Are they different than my mainland experience. How do I know if the framing, plumbing or electric rough was ever inspected? I don't want to buy something with multiple challenges with the building department. I would appreciate any clarification of the process that any one can offer. Thanks so much.
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Chuck, Rough Frame Inspections are SUPPOSED to happen here, but...well...sometimes...esp. if the builders are couz...well...
We bought a house with fully permitted & finaled addition, that we found did not have window or door framing for any of the doors & windows (inc. the remodel larger windows they put into the initial house...) (we found this out after the earthquake in 2006, when all of the new doors & windows failed in our newly purchased home...BTW earthquake damage is not cover in most insurance policies here & is a little harder to get from most carriers...)
So here, the permit & final are just pieces of paper. Some inspectors will have owner builders jump through hoops here...others...not-so-much... and licensed builders, it seems it all depends...
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@Carey. Thanks for sharing your experience and insight. I realize that they might just be pieces of paper. But, don't you have to have the pieces of paper somewhere along the way in the process?
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For a mortgage & insurance, most likely yes, you will need a permit (or get an after-the-fact "as built". But here, there are homes that are built & sold without permit... There is no requirement for non-permitted structures to be removed at sale or title transfer, as there are in some areas of the country.
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no requirement for non-permitted structures to be removed at sale
Correct -- you can buy/sell unpermitted real estate, but unpermitted structures may prevent a permitted project from receiving its final, at the inspectors' whim.
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quote:
Originally posted by Carey
For a mortgage & insurance, most likely yes, you will need a permit (or get an after-the-fact "as built". But here, there are homes that are built & sold without permit... There is no requirement for non-permitted structures to be removed at sale or title transfer, as there are in some areas of the country.
I just image that the building code may have changes since the permits were originally pulled. So, if one goes for a permit "as built" then wouldn' it be considered new and have to meet any new requirements? I am just worried about ever being able to pass an inspection and get a building finalized.
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Have you called the Building Dept? They are very helpful and can probably answer most of your questions.
(808) 961-8331
