Old work with no permits, any advice?

[Jonathan Tavarez]

Hi BP Fam,

I wanted to share a recent experience with an inspector in PG County MD because in almost 4 years investing I have never run in to a situation like this and I’m hoping others can provide advice or learn from my experience. I have been working on a property recently and we were getting ready for our framing inspection for new ductwork and even though this is the only “change” we were doing that wasn’t cosmetic the inspector came in and told us that a lot of the work that was previously done in the house (almost 12 years ago) was not permitted and he plans on making me responsible for it. For example the house has a section that used to be a sunroom or screen porch and was added many years ago as part of the house and somehow none of this work was done with papers, also the basement was finished with a bathroom, kitchen and non-compliant bedroom but the entire basement is around 6’8” instead of 7” (minimum per code) so inspector is saying that the entire basement was not suppose to be finished and it sounds like he wants it all removed or to apply for a variance that he is letting me know upfront most likely wont be approved. At this point I’m dealing with the issues as they come and will take all necessary actions that I can to finish the project the right way but the lesson for me is I guess in the future look for the permits pulled for a house over the years and try to factor in potential work that was done without permits and add that as a risk factor. Anyone else with similar experience that can provide some constructive advice?

[Jonathan Greene]

Yes, this happens when you close without doing your due diligence and doing an OPRA request on the property and comparing any permits pulled and closed (or not pulled) to obvious work done on the home. We don't close in NJ without confirmation that all permits have been opened and closed for what has been redone and confirmed at the final certificate of occupancy inspection. If the town came out to the property prior to you closing on it and granted a certificate of occupancy for transfer (if you have that there), you may be able to argue that it is now grandfathered in. Otherwise, they can do exactly what they are doing.