My municipality is one of a several cities which refuse to get involved in property sales. They won't permit it or send out home inspectors.
They told me home sales --the most hazardous product liability in my world-- is a private matter between buyers and mortgage insurance. When I asked, where do I get a private inspector, building official just shrugged his shoulders. Unbelievable!
there isn't any money in it for them. that has a lot to do with it.
the main thing is generating revenue.
where i live, the municipal trash service notifies the building department
of every trash dumpster delivery. 2 hours after the bin drops, the city
inspector is driving by, checking if work is being done, and if there is an
open ticket on the address... if there isn't..... "HI, i'm from the building
department..... is that a kitchen remodel you are doing? you are going
to go down today and pull a permit for that, aren't you? yes? good....
of course i KNEW you were, but i just thought i'd ask in passing.... here's
my card, and the number on the bottom is where you call to schedule
your inspections.... have a nice day......
they purchase new satellite overheads weekly, and when you go to
pull a permit on a fence or something, they look at where you say
you are going to put the fence, and then page back a few weeks to
see what was there before, if you've already demo'ed it.
i went down to pull a permit for one of my customers who had gotten
caught putting in 2x4 drop in's without a permit, and by the time the
permit fees, plan check fees, and admiinistrative penalties for working
without a permit were added up, the total fees were about $700.
for 18 drop in's in a t bar ceiling.
then there was the engineered drawing preparation, the engineer's stamp,
the title 24 load calcs on the entire structure, none of which would have
been necessary if a permit had been pulled before hand, as a minimal
remodel.
another $2,000
getting caught is 'spensive.
then, there is the inspector adding things he wants to see done that
aren't even in the scope of work, adding another couple days labor
and material to the project.... another couple thousand added.
most people doing home remodels around here have no idea of the
additional costs that will occur if they are caught doing work unpermitted.
i ended up getting a final for a lady down in the harbor who'd been fighting
with the building department for 4 1/2 *years* trying to get a final on a
kitchen remodel.
this is NOT the place to become the poster child for code enforcement.
you can run, but you can't hide.
