It seems like you have decided you can’t live with it without permits. That seems like the smart way to go.
I see a point a point to wanting to know the costs of construction but it seems the thing to do is find out if it is possible to get it permitted first. A contractor cannot scope that job properly without some feed back from the authorities no matter how good it looks. If you just want confirmation that it is built well or pretty much approaches current code that is a different story.Anyone moderately knowledgeable in construction can assess that.
I think generally the difficulties of curing it, plus the risk of not being able to( even if initially it seems doable), have to be removed from the price , no matter how nice the property is, if the risk falls on you. Time frames to investigate these things don’t always suit the buyer and seller so the price better suit the buyer.
If you end up wanting to look into this further find out what the potential for city approval is first.You can get people to point you in the right direction for this investigation. You can hire someone to do this.
Someone doing this type of consulting could be and contractor, drafts person, architect or anyone smart and motivated.Some people have lawyers familiar with the building trades and building jurisdiction policies, handle some aspects of these issues. You could try to get your realtor to do some initial “water” testing. It might help if that person is seen as a legitimate “consultant” in the eyes of the people who can answer the questions at the city. I think the lawyer approach could have some benefits if it were the right one.
Some of the people who I have seen have relative success dealing with code complaince got lawyers. It might be helpful in a struggle for getting an approval here and there but might be completely unnecessary too. You don’t want to pay a lawyer to fight the city to let you get your way. It would be to have as much legitimacy as possible to confront any laziness or incompetence you might encounter in city employees. They are good at putting obstacles in front of goals that are completely permissable by zoning rights … so don’t be a pushover when trying for something a little more complicated.On the other hand be ready to know when to quit.
Anyway, doing some investigation gives you more legitimacy in negotiating the price down. I would think this activity is for enterprising investment types or someone trying to dig themselves out of a hole,as opposed to someone looking for an owner occupied home. Of course some combination of those qualities/agendas do exist in the same person from time to time.Be careful.
