Flipped houses - no permits?

[Iris Guzman]

Hi BP fam. I recently pulled out of what seemed like a workable great deal because a total rehab was done on the property without permits; Electrical, plumbing, tree removal, driveway all require permits in this area. Inspection actually came back pretty solid, but there were plumbing unknowns. On top of that, this was a duplex that seemed to have lost its legal non conforming status in SFR zoning, so it had to have some work to convert back to a SFR, essentially adding sq.footage and again no permits.
It was a difficult decision to pull back but ultimately I was not up to the risk, challenge and liability of dealing with the county to go back and figure out permits as I was hoping to house hack right away. 

My question here - are lack of permits a red flag for the rest of you? Even if it seems to be quality work? 

Would also love to hear from the ATL community. Has anyone had experience with this in Dekalb county Georgia? Lots of flips here and I’m wondering how common/uncommon for these houses to have all the required permits. 

[Account Closed]

Quote from @Iris Guzman:

Quote from @Ben Firstenberg:

I've seen it a few times. Not even flips necessarily, just people want to put a deck in, do it themselves and just don't pull a permit. In that particular case, our inspector said fixing it would be as easy as installing some screws and a couple supporting boards. 

Sounds like what you saw was much more extensive, so I don't blame you for backing out. I think it depends on the situation. Also depends on the county... some are more difficult to work with than others. 

 Right if it was just a simple thing, I could maybe work with it but this was extensive. I don’t have experience with the county either so I don’t know how difficult they would/wouldn’t be. I couldn’t get anyone other than front desk on the phone but I have heard sometimes you can just walk in and ask. 

If you can't sleep at night over it, don't buy the property.