Pulling permits without a contractors license

[Brandon Hardy]

Hello BP. We are fairly new to REI. On our first couple rehabs we were working in a city that allows the home owner pull the building permit even if it isn't their primary residence. We got the permits and acted as the general for the projects. All our sub's were licensed and pulled there own permits for their particular trades. Things went well.

Now we are looking into a project in an area (DeKalb county) that requires a GC to pull the renovation permit if the house is not the owners primary residence.

Aside from getting a contractors license, is there any way around having to hire a GC for the job?  With budgets so tight, we have been able to save money by acting as the general ourselves.  I know this is risky, but my partner and I both have extensive construction backgrounds, and we only use quality, licensed sub's.

Do we just have to bite the bullet and hire a general contractor for the project, and ourselves fall into the role of project manager?  If so, do GC's generally always want to use their own subs?

Thanks in advance for any advice!

[J Scott]

Yes, you'll need a GC to pull the permits in DeKalb.

That said, you could try to find someone with a GC license who will pull the permits for the fixed fee ($500, for example) and then bring in your own subs.  The GC will be on the hook for the work, so he'll have to be comfortable that you're doing everything correctly and he'll probably want to verify the work before it's inspected, but that would be an inexpensive solution to your situation.