What if they didn't pull a permit or have it inspected?

Question

In crawling the crawlspace of a $40-45k mill house (tiny, sort of subsistence standard of living), I noticed that whoever did the re-wire, most likely didn't do it to code or have it inspected.

I know that the current homeowner (who bought the house 10 yrs ago) didn't have an inspection or appraisal at the time he purchased. And I would probably try to avoid them as well (by using owner financing). So the current condition is sort of undocumented.

But what should I do about the electrical in order to have comfort that my tenants aren't in any imminent danger? Of course, I'd love a whole-home re-wire, but the $5-8k is a such a large percentage of the purchase price. And, as a landlord, do I have insurance or safety concerns I should be cognizant of?

I think the current homeowner/landlord is a little "fly by night." But I tend to overthink.

Thank you for any input you can offer!

Account Closed · Answer

@Brian Knox Electrical issues are the leading cause of residential fires; why put your tenant's lives at risk? Have a qualified electrician inspect the house wiring and follow his recommendations.

Don Meinke · Answer

I agree with others about having a good and safe electrical system.  But you havent said 'WHAT' you saw that lead you to this conclusion.  Wire mis stapled, twisted,etc. bare wires,splices not in a connection box???

So if I understand correctly it has a crawl space under this house.  Is it all a single story house??  If so you have much of the work of a new wire job on easy terms.  ALL the floor plug ins should be easy to locate and redrill from the crawl.  Take your boxes loose inside, switch boxes.  Run a chase or two to the attic and put  your ceiling lights  on them.

A helper or two, preferable with small hands that is old enough to see and hear a loose wire in a cavity is a real plus.  Cut the wires off very long,,,especially on the box end,,,it takes alot of wire to loop the box.  OH and dont forget to label each and every wire where you strung them to,where they go and what they get hooked to

Andrew S. · Answer

Yes, as Art says, there are huge safety concerns!

As far as insurance, there is no concern - you simply won't have any insurance coverage (regardless of whether you pay the premium or not), because your carrier will refuse to pay claims once they figure out you had improperly installed electric wiring

Marcia Maynard · Answer

Yes! And not only this, it is also in your best interest to have the entire structure inspected. Hire the services of a qualified home inspector. Seek knowledge about the property condition and then address the deficiencies. To do less would be irresponsible... foolish at best and negligent at worse!

Rob Myers · Answer

It's not worth the risk!  Also, since you just posted this issue on the internet your insurer can claim you knew about the issue and refuse payment should their be a future claim.

Have you had a licensed electrician go through the crawlspace and evaluate what it would take to bring it up to code?

What if they didn't pull a permit or have it inspected?

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