Alpharetta Real Estate Homes for Sale

A friend told me the other day they were going to finish their basement. He told me the guy doing the work was cheap, did a good job and had done many basements in the neighborhood already. Best of all, he was going to save money because the guy was not going to pull any permits to do the work. I gently informed my friend that when he goes to sell his home, which he says he wants to do in three or four years, that he will need to complete a Seller’s Disclosure form and on that form is a specific question asking if the required permits were obtained when any alterations were made to the structure. My friend kind of swallowed hard and thought about it. We discussed the pros and cons of having a disclosure marked that permits were not obtained. A potential buyer can inspect the property, but they can’t open up walls and see the wiring and plumbing, so they must judge condition based on a visual and operational inspection. My friend was also concerned that maybe that he could get fined at some point in the future by revealing that he had not obtained the proper permits. I told him I doubted that was true; that the question is on the disclosure as information to the buyer not to catch past offenders. The lesson was to be aware that when you make structural modifications to your home be advised that you must make disclosures about this when you sell your home and that could affect the marketability of your home. Permits, while I’m sure they are a hassle, surely can’t be that expensive. Particularly if you are spending a shinny penny on finishing a whole basement. In fact, chosing a contractor who routinely pulls permits might be one of your decision criteria in selecting a contractor.

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