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FIX AND SELL YOUR UGLY HOUSE YOURSELF! PART III Are you asking yourself, "If all these other guys are making money fixing up ugly houses to resell, why can't I do the same thing with my house?" Well, maybe you can. In this series of articles, I will discuss the possibilities and how to go about fixing your "ugly house" yourself. PERMITS: One thing to be sure of before construction is started, is to make sure that your builders are pulling the proper permits for all of the work that needs to be done. There is sometimes a general permit that needs to be pulled and then under that, electrical, plumbing, HVAC, structural, etc. In some cities the enforcement and restrictions on what kind of permits you will need are very strict, while in other cities they are practically non-existent. If you are doing your rehab with the thought of selling your home, then it is a good idea to get permits for all the work to be done, whether or not building permits are enforced in your area. It has often happened that a builder said they are getting permits for their work, but then do not actually get them and they may just figure you won't know how to check up on it. This is a fairly common scenario and one that goes back to choosing the right contractor and making sure you know what they are going to do. It is very good idea to include language in your contract stating that, "Contractor (name of contractor) will get required permits from responsible jurisdictions for all work to be done on the property. Contractor will supply final permit to home owner after all final inspections have been completed. If contractor starts, or completes work without the proper permits, contractor will be in default of this contract and home owner may..." Many building authorities have sites online where you can go and look up the building permit, be sure and get the specific details of the permit from your contractor so that you can look it up online to verify it yourself. Without a phone call and or, verifying the permit online, it's only worth the paper it's printed on. Do you need a permit and what kind of permit you will need? These are all easy to find out with a call to city hall, who can then refer you to the responsible jurisdictions and or, building permit authorities. It is a good idea to find out about the necessary permits and what will be required while you are still in the planning stages of your project and certainly before you have signed a contract with any contractor. Some contractors may not have the required license to obtain the permit for the task to be performed. Though they may have the ability to do the job, without the ability to pull permits you will have considerable problems. Another important detail, is to make sure all of the required inspections are completed throughout the stages of your rehab. Otherwise, you may find yourself having to tear out walls and ceilings that you have completed, because one of the inspections to view the plumbing, electrical, or other covered items, was not completed. If you have different contractors working on your house, this can especially become an issue. |
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