Permits & selling house

We bought our house that had an existing shed, but it's only 1.5 feet from the property line. The town is now saying that it's illegal and we have to get permits for it. How do people sell their homes with things that aren't permitted?

We have a deck that's also not permitted, and we're thinking of selling our house. How do we do that? Do we have to have the permits complete before we sell, or do we put in the paperwork and the new owner finishes it up?

Re: Permits & selling house

We are in contract to sell my moms house... it has been sch a headaches bc nothing had permits or COs!

The big one was the finished basement, basement outside entrance and steps, and bathroom in basement, We decided to get the COs for these things.

Everything else was listed as "gifts" meaning there were no permits/cos and if there was a problem from the inspectors or bank that these things would not be included. We would knock them down rather than spend the $$$$$ to get the permits/cos/variances. The "gifts" were a shed, a carport, and finished garage. We ended up reconverting the garage when we went into contract as a negotiation with the buyer. The carport was knocked down bc the town inspector for the basement co wrote this up and we had to remove it to get our co. The shed slid by so far and the buyer is choosing to take it "illegally".... deck also has no permits but laws in our town have changed. at the time the deck was put up the regulation was 18 inches didnt need permit, and the inspector from the town thankfully said it was obviously an old deck and grandfathered in.

We have had soooo many interested buyers and to be honest it was the lack of COs that turned so many people away.
But its expensive and time consuming. I would recommend getting the ones you think are important and then listing the other things as gifts.

Re: Permits & selling house

When you are selling, you either get the proper permits/COs to make the changes to the property legal OR you are clear up front that you don't have the COs and aren't getting them.

If it's a true selling point for the house, most people choose to get the COs, despite the time/cost involved. Many sellers will choose to hire an expediter to work with the town and speed the process. In the past, you could close a deal if the sellers were in the process of obtaining COs, as long as they put money in escrow. Nowadays, many banks won't let you close with money in escrow; everything must be obtained before closing.

If you decide NOT to get the COs, it's easier if you have a cash buyer. If the buyer needs financing, the lender may or may not make an issue of it. It depends on what it is and how conservative the bank is. If the bank won't close without COs, then the "problem" has to come out. This can still present delays because then a town inspector needs to come confirm that the deck, shed, illegal kitchen, etc. is out.

Either way, it's always better to know what the situation is and be candid with your realtor (and with potential buyers) upfront, rather than have CO issues crop up late in the game and cause unexpected delays.

Re: Permits & selling house

Most contract riders that I do state that seller will not get a c/o for sheds or decks and if a bank insists on it then seller will take them down.

It happens all the time and sellers usually have to take them down. The buyers know it up front. If it was something like a garage that was converted to living space then I would say start the process now of getting it legalized.