A VA refinance was rejected because of un-permitted work flagged during home appraisal
What Home Checkup Discovered With Our Permit Checkup Package
Upon investigation we found that not only was there three different areas where there was un-permitted work, there was also an illegal wet-bar where a laundry was supposed to be and a new laundry in the garage. Through our research we found the developers original plans and discovered that the wet-bar was an approved developer modification that was apparently never documented when the home was built in the 1980's.
How Home Checkup Helped
We had one of our subcontractors help draw the plans, route a permit and get the alterations approved, the permit issued and the work made legal. The permit was closed and the owner was able to refinance.
Lesson Learned
Just because an owner buys a home and no one finds anything wrong with permits it doesn't mean everything is permitted. This home had work that was illegal the minute the original permit is closed because the developer didn't route the "as built" revisions.
An owner decides to hire an unlicensed contractor to do their remodel, when they go to sell in today’s buyers’ market the interested parties want to see a permit for the work that was done
What Home Checkup Discovered With Our Permit Checkup Package
As soon as the listing agent realized there was an issue she called us in to assist. When submitting the plans, it was determined by language only DPP could see, that there was not one, but two lanais that had been constructed and subsequently enclosed. Only one enclosure had a permit and the other enclosure was illegal. This caused a very significant uptick in the cost to get the lanai, which had been enclosed, made legal; and the new lanai, which was still open, permitted as a lanai.
How Home Checkup Helped
The owner of this property was off island for the duration of the entire sale. Home Check up was not only able to figure out exactly what went wrong but we were able to assist the home owner in getting the work permitted with minimal effort on their part.
Lesson Learned
The owner knew there was a permit for a lanai enclosure, however what they didn't know was that permit only covered half of the total lanai. The listing agent even went down and got the plans for that permit and it showed a lanai being build and enclosed. However, old carbon copies of the actual permit weren't adequately transcribed into the new database and it was the carbon that held the clue. While DPP officials can click and see the document in a second, we regular citizens have to go dig.
Listing agent found out that there was an un-permitted room on a property she was trying to sell
What Home Checkup Discovered With Our Permit Checkup Package
This room was an option offered by the developer. It could be either a room or a third car slot in a stacked garage configuration. Upon inspection, we determined that the room was original because the slab for the room was the same concrete pour as the main house slab, so it never could have actually been a parking spot inside the garage. The developer didn't route the as built when the home was originally built.
How Home Checkup Helped
Our contractors helped the owner (who had already moved out of state) get their permit issued, the minor upgrades completed which were required due to code changes, and closed so a VA buyer could close on the sale. Because the VA won't allow ANY unpermitted work to be included in a VA lending transaction, this saved the deal from falling apart.
Lesson Learned
Even a brand new home, "with a warranty" can have unpermitted work if the developer fails to route the "as built" revisions. We have seen this a number of times recently in some of the largest subdivisions in town. Again, DPP will never "be at fault" even though the field inspectors are supposed to verify that the plans match the actual construction of the home. Once the inspector closes the permit, if the plans and the house don't match, the home now has unpermitted work and is subject to receiving a Notice of Violation from the Building Department.