Re: Building Permit - Posted by Frank Chin
Posted by Frank Chin on May 27, 2005 at 10:34:23:
Scott:
I’m not an attorney, I would pay the buyer and be done with it.
Here in my area, they’ve gotten very strict with stuff like this, and even with alterations done years before, the authorities insist on having permits on file, and also approvals before they’ll let you sell. Nowadays, I even hired people to look up public records, and tell me what need to be done to be in compliance.
In one case, I’ve found that alteration done by prior owners is not up to par, and because approvals weren’t given, current codes are even stricter, and I now have to get approvals based on current codes.
While often times the P&S contract governs, where I am, there’s a clause in the deed that calls it “Bargain and Sale Deed with Covenants against Grantors Acts”. I’ve asked what the phrase “Covenants against Grantors Acts”, means.
I’ve been advised that this applies in situations where the seller had done an act that diminishes the value of the property, or cause the buyer to suffer a monetary damage that is the result of what the seller has done, the seller is responsible. This does not even have to do with a question of negligience.
I don’t know what your deed says, and what the laws in your state are, or even what’s on your P&S contract, but if you think about it, the fact that the buyer now has to shell out $1,000.00 can be traced directly to your failure to obtain a permit, something that you’re supposed to do in the first place. This situation had nothing about the seller owning the place for less than a year.
By the time you get an attorney and fight this, it’ll cost more than $1,000.00. Take care of this so you won’t have a lawsuit on your public records.
Frank Chin