New Milford CT Real Estate.... keeping the real estate drama to a minimum!
I like my drama on the TV screen, not in my work space. And I can assure you, I am not on a real estate reality show! So what is the point of getting a permit for work to be done to your house? So that it will close, without drama and trauma!
Any good buyers agent will hit the town/city hall to see if you obtained the necessary permits for work that was done. If not I can bet that they will be asking for you to get the permit AFTER the fact. Which can mean that the town official will actually want to see the wiring BEHIND the walls, or want to get up underneath the deck to make sure it was done properly.
After the fact just isn't a boatload of fun. Often times it will cost you more money to have someone come in and do it the right way.
If you are going to get work done on your home, ask the following questions of the contractors you are interviewing.
Do you have a current license?
Be careful with this one, realize that although your friend is a licensed electrician, only an E-1 license can actually apply for a building permit. An E-2 cannot. So if Larry is going to rewire your house for you and he has an E-2 license, the drama is all yours.
Do you carry insurance?
Think about this one. You hired Darryl and his other brother Darryl to re-roof your house. They bring their third brother Darryl to the job and he falls off the roof... and pulls Darryl #1 and Darryl #2 off the roof with him, and they didn't have liability insurance! Let alone any other type of insurances. Guess who gets sued? Check on bond insurance too. I know in New Milford the contractor who applies for the permit must show the town a certificate of insurance for the job.
Does your price include the cost of the permit?
That's one way of finding out if they were going to pull a permit in the first place!
Is the work guaranteed and will it transfer to the new owner?
If a permit was required and it wasn't done, or your contractor isn't licensed, you can bet the answer will be NO. More drama on the way....
Remember, it might get past the buyers agent, but you still have the home inspector and the appraiser to go. Skip the real estate drama, get a permit for work being done on your home!
If doing any repair work is a condition of the sale, then you can bet that you will have to provide documentation to the buyer's attorney, and they weren't born yesterday. They want to see permits that are signed off on, they want to see receipts from REAL contractors. And often times an appraiser or home inspector will have to go back to reinspect the completed job.
Leave the drama on the television set where it belongs. Hire a licensed contractor for those repair jobs on your home, make sure a permit is pulled where required and make sure the permit is signed off on by a town/city official when the job is finished!
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