Buying a home with a converted garage

[Lauren Daly]

My husband met a laid off oil worker at a restaurant on Friday who needs to sell his house ASAP. The property is close to a junior college and in a very rentable neighborhood. I looked at the Google images before we went, and when we arrived at the house, I noticed 1-car garage had been enclosed to become a dining area and a separate laundry room. I checked Zillow's tax records and it shows 1,100 sq ft, which seems like it might be the square footage of the home not including the garage, once the garage becomes part of the home, it's probably closer to 1,400 sq ft. My suspicion is that the garage conversion wasn't permitted, so now we're trying to figure out our risks.

I have a few questions:

1) Are garage conversion permits required? Or, how can I look up that regulation in my local area of Tyler, Tx?

2) If garage conversion permits are required, how do I check if the conversion was permitted?

3) What happens if I buy a house where the garage conversion wasn't permitted? Do I have to get it inspected and fix any structural issues?