The Town Building Inspector Is Your Friend

Email|Link|Comments (7) Posted by Rona Fischman April 13, 2009 02:21 PM

Sam Schneiderman, Broker-owner of Greater Boston Home team continues his weekly series:

Last week, I discussed renovating my first single family with my fiancé. Like many renovators, we did most work without permits except the kitchen installation, which we understated on the permit to save a few dollars on fees.

I was still a real estate dummy and thought that permits were a formality that allowed the city to track improvements and increase my taxes based on those improvements. Now, after 25 years of brokerage and appraisal experience, I have a very different perspective:

Over the years I’ve seen numerous sales either that cost sellers money or fell apart due to lack of permits. More than a few wood stoves were removed due to hazardous installations. Countless decks have separated from buildings because they were attached with nails instead of bolts. Water damage is common when flashing is not used properly. (In one case, the entire corner of a building, including porches and walls suffered extensive structural damage because flashing was poorly installed.)

Another seller had to cut two feet off a deck before the town inspector would sign off on the permit so they could sell. The worst situations occur when bedrooms are added without adequate emergency exits and there is a fire later or when improperly installed heating systems leak deadly exhaust fumes into living spaces.

This week, I learned about a two family with an electrical problem that prompted a tenant to call town building inspectors after the landlord was unresponsive. Along with makeshift work, inspectors discovered the illegal apartment and condemned it. Since it’s illegal to collect rent on an illegal unit, courts have ruled that tenants can receive all of their rent back for as long as they’ve lived there. Typically, illegal and “in-law” apartments also become problems when applying for a mortgage.

While municipal building, plumbing and electrical inspectors are sticklers for small details that might increase the cost of a job or slow it down, these examples illustrate how inspectors can be your best friends when they insist on compliance for health and safety reasons.

Always remember that applying and paying for the permits is just the first step. You’ll often get a lot more than your money’s worth when the town inspector inspects the work before “signing off” on the permit. In some cases, it could save your property or your life. At the very least, it could make it easier to sell your home later.

Have you tried to buy or sell a home that required getting the town inspectors involved? If so, what was the outcome?

If you’ve renovated with permits, what was the positive or negative side to working with the town inspectors?

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7 comments so far...

When we bought our house, there was an addition added some time, maybe 20 years ago. As part of the disclosure, it listed that it was UNK if building permits were issued (i.e. thus they were probably not). Was not an issue for the sale to go through. Actually, I am not really sure if building inspectors were involved in the sale at all. They certainly were not on the buyers side (i.e my side).

We've done a number of small things that technically require permits (a new dishwasher requires a permit, for example). However, as we plan an addition, we will certainly get permits. Not worth any hassle in the future.

Posted by bv April 13, 09 02:40 PM

Requiring a permit seems fail. However, requiring that licensed plumbers & electricians perform all plumbing & elec work is unfair, and can only be the result of the trade unions. In other states, those trades may be performed by the homeowner, and the inspector will hold them to the NEC/plumbing standards, so the result would still be work that's up to code.

My recent purchase did not require the inspector to get involved. The home is riddled with electrical & plumbing work that does not meet code.

Posted by ABC April 14, 09 09:03 AM

Sam - I have known hundreds of Building Inspectors over the years and I cannot think of one who was a friend. I will not comment on the numerous shakedowns that I have experienced as this could fill a book.
I have found that these public employees are generally underqualified and generally do not do their jobs properly. The most important factor is that in MA is that they have no liability for their actions. I have seen buildings that were approved by Building inspectors that have collapsed.
The Building Department has evolved into a revenue generating operation rather
than an inspection operation. I can remember paying a permit fee of over $5000 to build a new house in a North Shore town and the Building inspection spent a grand total of less than an hour at the site.
The Globe did a spotlight series on a builder a few years back and it clearly indicated that the building inspection process was defective.
The building inspection system in MA is broken and requires a complete overhaul. This group of public employees fits the general nature of MA public employees.

than an inspection operation.

Posted by RE maven April 14, 09 11:27 AM

RE has it right. Having 20 yrs in the industry, working in many states i have seen the same things. Permitting is simply a revenue generating for the state. I have permitted 2million plus projects. The fee on a project of this size would be around 14000 dollars. Inspectors do not show up for appointments, have god complex and no responsibility. Take a look at the fire in RI a few years ago. Did the building inspectors or fire inspectors (same story) have any blame in the fire.

Posted by MM April 14, 09 02:53 PM

I bought a 2 family fixer upper 8 years ago, and used permits for everything. I've dealt with inspectors in both Belmont and Arlington. I heard stories about town inspectors making a homeowner 2 doors down from me rip out an illegal apartment shortly before I moved to the neighborhood.

However, I think defining them as a "friend" might go a little far---it all depends on the town. At times, it does definitely seems like all it is solely a revenue function for the town.

Inspectors have come in and contradicted each other when doing rough and final inspection, but you do need their sign-off. I had 2 different inspectors contradict each other on electrical requirements. My electrician almost blew a gasket, but we resolved it and got final sign off by the electrical inspector.
I just had an issue last summer where we were rebuilding porches. My contractor said he knew the inspectors well, would pull the permit, and ask them if he could start the work right away. Turns out he NEVER spoke to the inspectors, but when they came by he told them my husband or I would go down and apply for the permit on Monday. My husband had to take a day off work and ended up getting lectured by the building inspector. He was not happy, and needless to say we will not hire that contractor again for anything.

However, at the same time we had a dumpster at the end of our driveway, and turns out one of the inspectors was on the street, and called the cops when he saw someone illegally dumping something in our dumpster....I'm not sure what happened to the guy-he was trying to dump hazardous materials in there, which would have been a problem for us.
The thing that gets me is that some people do pull permits, and some don't. For example, the house next door to us was bought a year ago, and the new owner almost had to gut the inside, because it had a lot of deferred maintenance...however, they somehow managed to get away with not applying for any permits. Most of the work was on the inside.
However, where we live now, if permits were not pulled for work, I have seen it noted in the realtors description when the house goes on the market.

Posted by mml April 14, 09 03:21 PM

Cinton's Building Inspector is not a friend. We had an addition added back in 200 0 and because there were no boundary markers on one side and the back of our property, the contractor said he would check it out, and came back with a building permit and said the town said it was all set. Now we learned two years ago that our addition is 3 feet on our neighbors wooded land and we have to get a variance for a land swap. To add insult to injury, we discovered that 2 feet of our pool shed (built 20 yrs ago) and 6 inches of one section of our fence is on another abutters wooded lot. The bldg inspector is threatening steep fines if the shed and fence is not removed by end of April for which the town approved?????

Posted by gizmo April 15, 09 10:21 AM

Friend Indeed…

I have dealt with building inspectors in a number of towns, and have found none to be competent. They have often been wrong on basic parts of the building code and have no liability for their decisions. On one project the local inspector wanted me to rip more than half the project out due to a complaint from an abutter on a permit that he had already approved and signed off on the second phase. I tried to get help from the state building inspector who’s position was that it was “easier” to do what the local guy wanted than to come out and approve a compliant job himself. In other town’s the only thing I have gotten from an inspector is an open hand expecting a bribe to sign off on a permit, I don’t do business that way so I end up jumping through lots of extra hoops and expenses to get things done. Many other contractors have just given up, either they do not do business in particular towns or they pay the bribes. It is not fair or right to be sure, and the homeowners do not end up any better off since the inspectors are out for themselves. They are the only game in town though so it is play along or get out.

Posted by Enman April 15, 09 11:58 AM