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 Dear Barry, We bought a three-bedroom, two- bathroom home and then learned that the master bedroom and bath were added without a permit. Does this mean that our home is legally a two-bedroom, one-bathroom dwelling? If so, what should we do? --Lisa Dear Lisa, The lack of a building permit does not automatically negate the legitimacy of the added bedroom and bathroom. Your first step in researching the matter is visit the county tax assessor to see if the home is being taxed as a three-bedroom, two-bath dwelling. If so, the addition may be "grandfathered," in which case a permit may not be necessary. If the assessor shows the property as a two bedroom, one bath, the solution could be to obtain an "as-built permit" from the local building department. But before you do this, an evaluation of the addition by a qualified home inspector will help you anticipate the kinds of reactions you may encounter from the municipal inspector and the advisability of proceeding with that approach. There are several ways the as-built permit process can go. The building inspector could: 1) Inspect the addition and simply approve it, as is; 2) Specify a number of routine improvements to bring the addition into compliance with the building code; 3) Mandate a number of major, costly upgrades to make the addition comply with requirements of the code; 4) Order that the addition be removed. Option #4 is unlikely but is nevertheless a considered possibility. This is why a pre-inspection is advisable. Invoking the powers of unpredictable bureaucracies is not a process for the faint of heart and should be undertaken with foreknowledge, preparedness, and trepidation. Copyright 2003 Barry Stone Distributed by Inman News Features |
