Contractors who skip the permit process are asking for trouble

Had a neighbor hire a guy to add a deck last summer, no permit pulled. Town inspector noticed during a routine drive-by, and now they're facing a $2,000 fine plus having to tear half of it down. Has anyone else seen this backfire on someone they know?

2 comments

2 Comments

wood.noah14d agoMost Upvoted

My uncle thought he could sneak a garage conversion past the county. He even painted the new walls to match the old ones. Inspector came by for something else entirely and noticed the new window. Ended up having to pull permits retroactively and pay like $1,800 in fees. The worst part was he'd already framed everything wrong for the way the county required fire separation. Had to rip out two walls and start over. Definitely cheaper to do it right the first time.

dakota16014d ago

Add to that - even if you get away with it for years, it screws you when you sell. Buyers' lenders will flag anything that looks off in the appraisal. Then you're stuck discounting the house or scrambling for retro permits while under contract. Your uncle's lucky he only lost $1,800 in fees. I've seen guys have to tear out entire illegal apartments and just eat the cost. Insurance won't cover anything either if they find out you hid unpermitted work in a fire or flood. Whole thing's a gamble that almost never pays off.