Why Building Permits are Crucial

If you are about to build a new home or are having your existing home remodeled, it’s crucial to make sure that your contractor has all the necessary building permits. Although some contractors may tell you that you don’t need building permits, don’t listen to them. That statement is not accurate, and any contractor that tells you not to get a building permit shouldn’t be trusted.

Protect Yourself and Your Investment

Building permits and the inspections that follow are solely for your safety and protection. It not only safeguards one of your biggest assets from being built to poor standards, but it’s also important for when you need to insure your home or if you decide to sell. A building permit will help keep your contractor honest. There won’t be any opportunities for your contractor to take shortcuts that will potentially affect your investment or your safety.

Free Inspections

When you acquire a building permit, you automatically receive free inspections of all the work the contractor does. These inspections will determine if your place of residence has been built according to safe and legal standards. Not to mention, those approvals go on record for the lifetime of your home.

Inspections done by a building inspector is different from those done by a home inspector. A building inspector works specifically for the municipality that issues permits and inspects your home at each critical stage of construction. The complexity of what you are having done will determine the number of times and duration of the inspections. Items frequently inspected include:

Before the concrete and foundations are poured the footing will be inspected and then once again when they are complete.

Upon completion and once insulation is complete, framing is inspected.

Plumbing and HVAC might require several inspections each.

Electrical also needs to be inspected separately.

Future value

The lack of building permits can often impede the sale of a property; buyers don’t want to purchase a property that doesn’t have permits. If you’re remodeling, it’s important to prove that any additions or basement finishes were built in accordance with local building codes or you may lose value. In addition, lack of building permits could skew square footage figures and it’s important to have accurate square footage, since that is a huge factor in determining price.