NEED HELP - Property Built as Multi-Family without Permits

[Damon Allen]

I need some assistance. I purchased a multi-family property in Indianapolis, IN that is zoned as a D8 (can be a SFR or multi-family). It is a 4-unit multi-family, ~3k SQ FT, and it is a full rehab project. I am updating the electrical from one to four electrical boxes, my contractor went to get an electrical permit and was denied. The previous owner did not get any permits done for the property.

The title and property card says it a multi-family so do I need to get permits even though the property is said to be a multi-family?  (Sorry in advance for the n00b question)

The project has been at a stand still for 2-weeks and I have been bounced around from permitting department to plan review department to planning department without any luck.  

What the heck do I need to do to get this project back on track?!

D

[Ross Denman]

@Damon Allen to speed things up... you could have it marketed as utilities paid by the owner. Work an extra $100-150/mo/unit into the rent. Yes, this can certainly be problematic (like you would be responsible for over usage or electrical problems that will increase the utility bills.) While it's tenanted, continue to work on the permits and get the individual electrical boxes in but keep the utilities in your name. Either as the tenants leave or when the lease renews, lower the rent a little, but make the tenants responsible for the electricity in the future.

I would continue to reach out to the city. Sometimes you will get different answers from different answers from different people in the DCE office. Find out what it is that they need. They may just need to have it inspected to ensure that the work was done properly before they can update their files. I doubt that they will charge you for the permits for work that has already been done by someone else (but I have seen stranger things.) Your electrician will likely have contacts or relationships with someone in their office if he pulls permits very often, and electricians have to pull permits pretty frequently.

This is still somewhat confusing, I looked up the property in the tax records and the land use says 4-9 family dwelling. The building type says 6 family. I pulled the permit history on the home and there has never been permits filed for any work done to the home. There has been several code violations and fines over the years though. It looks like TriPro did the rehab and they didn't pull any permits, which isn't too uncommon. @Nick Walts can tell you, I always do a permit history search for almost all of my clients looking to purchase a home. Him and I just had a discussion yesterday about an opportunity for a home with neighbors who are constantly getting city fines for scrapping, abandoned vehicles, trash, dumping, etc. We didn't even have to drive the street to pass on what seemed like a pretty good deal.