Carport to room renovation without permit

[Yoni R.]

I am rehabbing a house and want to turn the one car open carport into a 3rd bedroom. I spoke with quite a few contractors and friends in the business and was told that if I get a permit and use a contractor it will cost me between $10,000-$15,000. This is way over budget for me. So I need some good ideas from the experienced pro’s here. There are a few options: 1. Build the room without a permit and hope not to get caught. Will this make an issue when trying to sell the house? 2. Enclose the carport with a garage door and on the other side of the garage door put insulation and drywall. From the inside it will be a room but from the outside a garage. For the garage door no permit is needed. Do you think a potential buyer will frown upon this or as long as it looks good from inside that will be enough?