Colorado Springs Vintage Homes Blog

5 reasons lack of building permits cause big problems

Building Permits are Important 

I recently attended an inspection at a home in Colorado Springs for a client who lives out of state; and one of the first things the inspector said to me is that he noticed the basement had been finished without a building permit.   These are not words that any Realtor wants to hear, it can definitely cause some problems and discussions with a potential buyer.   Hence, I thought I’d type up my top 5 reasons that additions and basement finishes without permits can cause problems:

1. There is no way for a buyer to know if an additions and basement finishes were built/refinished in accordance with local building codes when a permit wasn’t pulled; which brings up a whole host of other questions.     One of the reasons the building code was enacted was to insure a minimum standard for construction, electrical, and mechanical work.   When permits aren’t pulled, safety and quality of workmanship can definitely be a concern.
2. The lack of building permits can often impede the sale of a property; buyer’s don’t want to purchase a property that doesn’t have permits.
3. The lack of building permits can and will come up during an inspection for a potential buyer.  In today’s real estate market, which is a Buyer’s Market in Colorado Springs, there are many properties for Buyer’s to choose from.  The lack of permits can cause a buyer to walk away from a property they want to purchase.
4. If additions and basement refinishes have not been done with permits, my opinion is that this should be disclosed when listing a property for sale.  It’s definitely not considered a positive selling point for buyers; but it’s better to disclose it up front vs. having it be a surprise during the inspection.   Inspection surprises are not a good thing.
5. Also, lack of permits can cause the square footage figures in the MLS to be different than the El Paso County Assessor’s office.  Accurate square footage disclosure is very important, as both buyers and Realtors often look at finished square footage in a house comparing it to the price of other houses in the same neighborhood.   It’s a good way to compare pricing. 

Many homeowners who do their own construction work don’t realize the importance of a building permit, they just see it as extra paperwork and extra cost.  Not so!

Additional Resources:

• Teller County Building Department
• Pueblo Regional Building Department
• Douglas County Regional Building
• Pikes Peak Regional Building

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It’s important to  utilize a Colorado Springs Real Estate Agent that specializes in Colorado Springs Homes.   Call Kathy Torline – Nordstrom at 719-287-1049, your real estate expert!

Email:  KTorline@msn.com

Tags: basement remodel, colorado springs area real estate, Colorado Springs Building Permits, Colorado Springs Real Estate, colorado springs realty, teller county building permit

This entry was posted on Monday, June 15th, 2009 at 4:14 am and is filed under For Buyers, For Sellers. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

1. Gretchen - LifeStyle Denver said at July 2nd, 2009 at 5:50 am

   Hi Kathy,
   You are so right on the money here. This is a big issue in Denver too. People don’t want to pay for permits, contractors don’t want to mess with getting them, and ultimately the homeowner thinks they’re saving a few dollars on property taxes. A few weeks ago, a local county (Jefferson maybe? or Adams?) enacted a rule that all houses with out permits now have to go back and pull them, have inspections and pay either back taxes or a fine. I can’t exactly remember the article I read, but it’s pretty punitive.

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