Temp electric and no finaled permit

[jerry]

I seem to recall that there are an estimated 6,000 similar situations. If Helco begins to crack down, it could become a major political issue. If this is just an isolated indecent, then you have to wonder why? Did this person make someone mad?

Jerry

[Carey]

Jerry, most likely she did nothing to make anyone mad (single semi-retired lady - nothing we know of that would cause anything (her family - sisters & father- have been here for a couple of decades - each with a homestead...) She also has done nothing on her house that would raise a flag (that was my question to her).... She did get a generator today - after stopping off at the building dept.... she is more nervous about what this will entail after that discussion!

[Seeb]

work is drying up so it may be union guys trying to drum up biz for there buds.( just speculation here and i still think like a new yorker sometimes ) i've seen it back east when work got slow you would see guys from the union cruising neighborhoods and work sites and stoping by the building dept going thru permit logs.

[Sandra A.]

Well I've been in the mortgage biz for 23 yrs. Unpermitted properties are impossible to finance with conventional financing (the good interest rates & programs). Even if you don't need financing yourself, the day you want to sell it is when you will see the repercussions when buyers are unable to obtain financing. There have been a few cases where an appraiser slips up and misses the fact that there is no final. But their guidelines have been tightened up allot with the recent crisis in the mortgage industry.

Also, those of you who think it fine to add on to your homes without a permit. Again, down the road, the appraiser is required to do the research to confirm that all s.f. is "permitted" space. If some of it isn't, they will indicate it on the sketch, citing how many s.f. "no value given, unpermitted". This if you refi or want to sell, once again.

An architect can inspect the property and draw it up as an "as built" and stamp the plans if he sees that it was built properly and feels comfy with it. However, the permit still has to pass the plumbing & electrical depts and in some cases they will cut into the walls to see a sample of wiring or plumbing. But I have seen it done many times.

Yes, the changes in the bdlg code can be an issue.

[Hotzcatz]

Just a note, there seems to be a recurring thought throughout this thread about a structure possibly having a finaled building permit because taxes are being paid on the structure. Taxes paid on a structure have absolutely nothing to do with whether there is a permit or not. The tax office does not talk to the building department and they do not share databases. If they were ever to share databases there would be thousands of unpermitted structures out there to be brought up to code.

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"I like yard sales," he said. "All true survivalists like yard sales."
Kurt Wilson

[Kapohocat]

quote:

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Originally posted by Seeb

work is drying up so it may be union guys trying to drum up biz for there buds.( just speculation here and i still think like a new yorker sometimes ) i've seen it back east when work got slow you would see guys from the union cruising neighborhoods and work sites and stoping by the building dept going thru permit logs.

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I would tend more to agree on this one then disagree (???) [] I think we are going to see more and more of these types of things as the business slows way down. It is to Helco's benefit though to keep you on temp power (additional cost over "final" power) but maybe they make up for it in other ways during the construction process.

I wonder what would have happened if a lic elec contractor had shown up at Helco and talked to them and with the temp power permit app for Helco? She may have gotten some time to pull it all together....

These type of situations generate money for the construction trades and the COH in general - bringing the project up to speed - not just the electrician.

[Carey]

Our friend found out last week that Helco reported the work was due to a car that hit the temp pole (the accident did happen, & was reported & the drivers insurance paid to replace the old temp pole with a new pole... 2 years ago!)

Amazing, in that they (Helco) changed over the electric wiring to the new pole, yet now state that it was not approved...

So it was not anything more than a snafu that took a couple of years to find... but it was strange that it took a couple of years & she had 1 1/2 days notice that the line would be removed. She is now in the middle of all of the paper work & such to get this mess resolved...

Still is something to think about if you do have a long term un-permitted structure on temp power.... how fast it can all change, & do you have the where-with-all at hand to get everything back up & powered?

Just her refrigerator & freezer alone was a potentially large financial lose, she was able to run power from next door....

[Hotzcatz]

There is a lot to be said for living off the electric grid. It may be just about as expensive to run a line of solar panels on your roof to get electricity as it is to get connected to the grid. Even if the solar panels cost a bit more, there won't be any monthly electric bills to pay.

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"I like yard sales," he said. "All true survivalists like yard sales."
Kurt Wilson

[Bullwinkle]

Solar alternative:
The Big Island residential rate of 30 cents a kilowatt hour makes solar more and more appealing, not to mention the frequent outages.

I still can’t figure out why in Oahu they sell the same electricity for 20 cents a kwh…. Something about fuel storage justifying the rates is the HECO song and dance, another rate increase on the way by the way.

Good time to buy more HECO stock - grin

Aloha