Permit questions

[Rob Kulp]

I've spent a good (bad) part of this evening reading about the nightmares that can result from not pulling permits, crazy inspectors, pulling permits and opening a can of worms etc...

My question is...how long to do you keep those permits that you've pulled?  If you're doing a flip do you keep them forever in case an owner somewhere down the road has an issue and discovers a problem with something you did and tries to come back on you?  

If you have rentals I'm sure you're keeping all paperwork anyway for as long as you own the property.

I'm near South Bend, IN and I did remodeling for a company for a number of years but I never had to deal with permits so I don't know much about them.  I'm trying to learn about them now so I don't get blasted when I do my next flip.

I'm sure there's a list out there of what specific things require a permit and what does not.

FYI...if you ever want to bum yourself out, spend an evening reading about permits and building codes.

[Karen Margrave]

@Rob Kulp PLEASE do not take the advice of @Justin Escajeda he's exactly the type of contractor that cause problems for the rest of us. Here's the thing Justin, permits are NOT optional, based on whether or not you or anyone else feels like pulling one or not. We don't get to decide what permits we do or don't need, we pull permits when they are required by the authorities, PERIOD! You not pulling permits when they are more than likely required because you think it's too much trouble, or costly, expose every homeowner that you do work for to HUGE LIABILITY! Should a permit be necessary and you didn't get it, all the work done can be required to be torn down or redone. So please, if you are a licensed contractor, adhere to the laws of your state. Also, don't advise people to break the law and expose themselves to huge fines! Learn your responsibilities as a LICENSED CONTRACTOR, and stop giving the rest of us that adhere to the laws a bad name.