If you are a homeowner and are fiddling around with the idea of adding onto your home whether it be a sunroom or a whole second floor there is one word you should memorize.........PERMIT. It always amazes me to see homeowners making major improvements to their homes, but not taking the time or small amount of money it takes to go to the courthouse and apply for a permit.
A number of things could happen if you don't permit and certain things may depend on the State, County and/or Town you live. For instance .......and the most important consideration to be made is resale value. I have run into quite a few homeowners listing their homes for sale and assuming that the addition "counts" as square footage. Square footage is what drives the price of the home along with age and LOCATION. According to the NCREC (North Carolina Real Estate Commission), and it would be wise to obey their rules, you cannot count/advertise square footage that is not permitted.....unless you disclose it's not permitted. It used to be that if you had a house with 1,500 square feet and an added 500 square feet unpermitted you could only advertise it as 1,500 square feet and then make a comment on the MLS that there is an "extra" 500 square feet of space not permitted. NOW you can advertise it as 2,000 square feet, BUT you must immediately disclose that the 500 is unpermitted. The problem with that is even if a reputable construction company did the work and you didn't pull or want them to pull a permit because it was extra money, Buyers.....and remember...they are the ones that determine Market Value and BUYS the home from you...are scared to death of the word UNPERMITTED. In other words, even if the addition looks great, buyers are going to shy away from an unpermitted home/addition. There are other downsides to not permitting which would be a whole different blog, but the gist is if you are going to add space to your home, pull a permit and save the headaches. For more information about your local Real Estate Market visit us here.
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