Pulling permits at the start of a rehab

[Lenzy Ruffin]

Is there any reason not to pull all the necessary permits as soon as you take ownership? 

I'm working on my first rehab and the contractor advised to pull permits as we got close to the work requiring permits rather than just pulling all the permits at the outset. Is there any good reason to do things this way? It just seems like a way to create an opportunity for a work stoppage if the permits aren't immediately approved when they're requested. If pulling permits as you go is the right way to do it, I'd like to hear that, too (and why). Just trying to learn the right way to do these things with this first house so I'll be straight going forward. 

[Russ Draper]

My opinion: Always pull permits at the start!

However, there is a legal liability if YOU pull them versus the contractor.  If you screw up the permit, its your fault and you are liable (and how could you even know what to put on it, you aren't a pro).  If they do it then its their fault and their insurance should cover it.  I'd have the GC pull all the permits from the get-go.

FYI - in MA, there is a difference between a general contractor and a handyman, the handyman license typically can't pull contracts for investors, only owner-occupied houses.