Home Improvement Today?

not sure what's worse, the wallpaper or whoever did the blocking/bracing inside the walls.

 

When you are using a hand saw to cut everything you make the cutoffs you already have work for blocks lol

 

Looking for opinions.

I am having an Elitewood aluminum patio cover put in that will be attached to the house and will have 2 concrete footings (30"x30"). I am looking for opinions on whether I should get permits for it. It sounds like the permits will cost about $1000-$1500. Do I really need a permit? I have good neighbors so I don't anticipate an issue with them calling the city.

What would be the downside to not getting a permit? In the event I sold my house some day, I would need to disclose the fact that it is not permitted?

 

You do not need a permit to sell the house. However your HOA, if you have one, may require that you have all permits from the city as well as approval from them for the project.

I know during this pandemic a lot of folks have some some home improvement outside over the last year or so. My HOA president sent out letters stating he is keeping track of people who just did things (that range from patios, to fences, to in ground pools) without HOA approval and he will be paying them a visit. If they cannot show the permits the city and the county requires, then he will report them and they will have to do whatever it takes to receive the permit from the city which in some cases can mean complete tear down and removal of the improvement to prove it was done properly and allow it to be inspected. If people do not comply he will be placing a lien on the property which will cause hell upon the sale of the home.

So make sure you follow all HOA rules. You also probably want to get permits if you are doing any serious work that is going to lead to a neighbor calling you in.

I don't pull permits for little things I can get done quickly and stealthy. If I'm hiring a crew or it's a long project I will. Because I don't need a crew doing something that pisses off one of my neighbors and they make a phone call that causes me hell.

It kind of all depends on the exact project, how much privacy you have on your property, and how strict your HOA is as well as you county. The city I live in is a total PITA to deal with, they will bitch over anything they can.

It all depends on whether it's easier to ask for forgiveness or permission. If asking for forgiveness means you will have to tear half the project down because you get busted... well forgiveness can cost you more than the permission. If that logic makes sense.

As long as something is done correctly, when it comes to a home sale it's not necessary to have permits.

 

If you knowingly built it and knew it needed a permit, it would be in your best interest to disclose when selling, otherwise the buyer could come back after you if they ran into future permit issues.

Other potential issues:
-municipalities often charge an fee/fine/penalty for an "after the fact" permit, once already built
-if not permitted/inspected, municipality could make you take it down, especially if it meets their requirements for engineered structures, they can deem it a safety hazard
-could make you pay back taxes if unpermitted and considered an ancillary structure or significant home value improvement

 

What a prick

 

I'm pro him doing that. The rules is the rules. Don't like the rules go live someplace else. Free country right?

 

I don't have HOA, so fortunately that is not an issue. I appreciate the input!

 

https://www.simivalley.org/home/showpublisheddocument/55/637417246083170000
https://www.simivalley.org/departme...ntly-asked-questions-code-compliance#Nopermit
Just call it a detached accessory building instead of building onto your house?

 

call your building inspection department and ask them

 

This is why I avoid HOAs. It's my house, I'll do what I want with it.

 

I agree but disagree.

I wish I lived in an area with no HOA because that means what my neighbors do has very little to do with me.

But when I live in an area where your choices impact my property values, yeah I want an HOA lol.

 

Eh, I'm just waiting for the old guy in the house next to mine to move into a home so someone can come flip his rundown house and bring my property values up
I probably got my house as cheap as it was because of him, so when that thing is improved it'll jump. It's already gone up 20k.

 

I’m the reason HOA’s exist

On the other hand my neighbors can thank me for doing my part to depress our property values and associated taxes.

 

What year was the house built? Mine was built in 1942 and looks the same. Everything around my area was built that way.

If you're going to build it to code (e.g. the footings) then I'd permit it just to be safe. And if you don't then I'd photo-document the whole process to help with permitting it down the road if it's needed later. I'm also trying to decide to permit mine or not. Mainly I don't want them to force me to dig up the existing concrete to pour

Definitely do not do this, lol. Maybe Canada is different but down here you don't share anything with the building dept unless you have to. Even going in to ask questions could get you flagged for old and new projects alike. I came in to ask general questions once only to end up leaving needing to permit something from the prior owner. They pulled up a sat photo and said "oh, looks like this water heater was installed without a permit" you'll need to have that inspected and pay $XX. Luckily the inspection was quick, easy and not too expensive.

My neighbor wasn't so lucky. He was going to start planning a home addition when they found out he had an unpermitted room added onto the back of his garage. City made him tear it down and rebuild (presumably because it either wasn't to code or he couldn't prove it was). The cost to rebuild this room has now put a multi-year delay on his other plans due to costs and all the hassle.

 

I think my neighbor has you beat. Here's his backyard and side of his house. You can see where the leaves have killed the grass in my yard over time before I moved in.

 

Wow that’s a whole other class of yard jungle

 

I since put in a concrete pad and a shed over in that corner since the grass was already doomed. Considering chainsaw to everything along the fence line and then privacy fence with a mulch or rock bed along the perimeter. Maybe some bushes. Front is worse, he has a huge oak tree that dumps leaves all over the cul-de-sac. We just put in three bushes to try to keep back the tide of leaves.

 

you can ask what type of projects require a permit without telling them where you live

 

Yes of course you can but they'll ask that info and they'll likely not be as helpful if you don't provide it (based on my experience). These guys get people trying to fool them all the time, they've been around the block. And the OP's question about "do I permit or not" is not something you'd ask them anyway. OP knows the work requires a permit and is asking our opinion on how much risk there is in not permitting. That's not something you're going to get answered by the place that issues permits or enforces codes.