To Permit Or Not To Permit

To be honest or not to be honest? To be forthright or not be forthright? To disclose or not to disclose?

The answer is obvious, but sometimes people make the wrong decision.

Let me share a story about a listing that I was working on earning. I was contacted by the owner and ultimately mailed keys so I could walk the property. The inside was beautiful! Tastefully done and expensive. The work included an entry way, from the garage, that reduced the garage space from two cars to one. A wall was added as was lighting.

In the email correspondence, I asked about permits and the seller responded that the work was done without permits.

Although I can’t prove this, I don’t believe that the Homeowner Association (HOA) for this property was contacted, for their approval, either.

So, not only do we have a permit problem, we also have a potential HOA problem and an additional problem with parking. When any project is approved, part of the approval process involves providing parking for residents and guests. There is a minimum allowable number of parking spaces. In this case, the work on the garage negatively affected the unit parking space allowance.

The seller and I, ultimately, could not agree on a path to follow so I walked away from the listing.

So, how do you know if you need to get a permit? I asked Troy Rowan who is President of the Mammoth Lakes Contractors Association and he said “ In regards to building permits in the Town of Mammoth Lakes, home owners should know that this is a requirement for any additions or remodels. If there is a question to the limits of this requirement, the Town staff will be able to answer these concerns without trouble.”

So, my next stop on my due diligence journey was to the Town of Mammoth Lakes Building Department. There I spoke with Alex Ramos. I asked Alex a number of questions including the necessity of obtaining a building permit. Here is an excerpt from his response, “ Building permits provide the means for Building Officials to ensure health, safety and welfare of the building occupants. Building officials review the design and inspect the construction to ensure that minimum standards are met and appropriate materials are used. Building permits are essentially your agreement to do the work in compliance with current codes, like building codes for structural, electrical, plumbing, mechanical and other components of your home.”

Here’s the bottom line. If you live in a condominium/townhome project, contact the HOA first, with an overview of the work you want to do, and get their approval.
Next, contact the Building Department for your local community. Only a Building Official or Building Inspector is qualified to determine if permits are needed or not needed. They will promptly advise you one way or the other. Use their knowledge and services!
Final thoughts. If you’re the owner of a property where you have paid to have non-permitted work completed, you need to disclose this if you intend to sell your property. All parties to the potential purchase, Realtors -potential Buyers-Appraisers-local Building Department, need to be informed of what was done, by whom and when.

By getting this out in the open BEFORE you put your property on the market, all issues can be disclosed, discussed, inspected addressed, approved ( hopefully ) and the property sells without any surprises for the buyer, during escrow or down the road after escrow closes.

Here are some local contacts, in the Town of Mammoth Lakes, should you have any questions about the permit process:

1. Troy Rowan: President of the Mammoth Lakes Contractors Association: 760-934-2607
2. Alex Ramos: Town of Mammoth Lakes Building Department: 760-934-8990

Please share your thoughts by leaving a comment.

For more information on Mammoth Lakes real estate, please log onto my real estate website at www.easternsierraproperties.com

“ Good judgement comes from experience, and a lotta that comes from bad judgement.”-Cowboy’s Guide To Life