Be careful of non-permitted. The work may not be up to building code. If it is a house that you really like, you might want to have someone inspect the non permitted add on.

Be careful of non-permitted. The work may not be up to building code. If it is a house that you really like, you might want to have someone inspect the non permitted add on.

You would also want to be careful if with non-permitted if you plan to make other changes to the house. When we bought our first house we were getting an HVAC installed (it didn’t have one at the time) and the city inspector would not sign off on the HVAC system until we agreed to tear down an existing grape arbor/patio cover that was not permitted. That is probably an extreme example (the guy was a real a$$) but if you plan to do any future work legitimately, the city or county inspectors could potentially take issue with the unpermitted things.

You would also want to be careful if with non-permitted if you plan to make other changes to the house. When we bought our first house we were getting an HVAC installed (it didn’t have one at the time) and the city inspector would not sign off on the HVAC system until we agreed to tear down an existing grape arbor/patio cover that was not permitted. That is probably an extreme example (the guy was a real a$$) but if you plan to do any future work legitimately, the city or county inspectors could potentially take issue with the unpermitted things.

You would also want to be careful if with non-permitted if you plan to make other changes to the house. When we bought our first house we were getting an HVAC installed (it didn’t have one at the time) and the city inspector would not sign off on the HVAC system until we agreed to tear down an existing grape arbor/patio cover that was not permitted. That is probably an extreme example (the guy was a real a$$) but if you plan to do any future work legitimately, the city or county inspectors could potentially take issue with the unpermitted things.

There are a lot of opinions on this James.
I have called my insurance company before and asked if un-permitted work on my owner occupied house would void my insurance if it were to somehow cause a problem and the woman I talked to said no. I think that would be a big concern. Then you have the concerns Jennyo spelled out. How upsetting and expensive would it be to be told to undo the un-permitted work and put the house back together if needed?
How much would you enjoy the un-permitted stuff compared to the risk it poses. An example, if it were a little “California room” would it be easy to get rid of all the while knowing you probably wouldn’t have too.

If it the house having un-permitted work doesn’t bother you make sure it is safe above all, especially the electrical. Code is different. Thousands of house are not up to code as code changes every year. The un-permitted work on an older house might even be more up to code than other things in the house.
Lots of people buying fixers don’t care because they are going to do an overhaul anyway.

Last thought for now, is never pay for the un-permitted work and if you are interested in a property with un-permitted work you might even try to drive the price down with that information if possible.

There are a lot of opinions on this James.
I have called my insurance company before and asked if un-permitted work on my owner occupied house would void my insurance if it were to somehow cause a problem and the woman I talked to said no. I think that would be a big concern. Then you have the concerns Jennyo spelled out. How upsetting and expensive would it be to be told to undo the un-permitted work and put the house back together if needed?
How much would you enjoy the un-permitted stuff compared to the risk it poses. An example, if it were a little “California room” would it be easy to get rid of all the while knowing you probably wouldn’t have too.

If it the house having un-permitted work doesn’t bother you make sure it is safe above all, especially the electrical. Code is different. Thousands of house are not up to code as code changes every year. The un-permitted work on an older house might even be more up to code than other things in the house.
Lots of people buying fixers don’t care because they are going to do an overhaul anyway.

Last thought for now, is never pay for the un-permitted work and if you are interested in a property with un-permitted work you might even try to drive the price down with that information if possible.