Expert: liznarr - 2/21/2005

Question
Hi.  I'm thinking of listing my home for sale in the near future.  I live in Maryland.

I renovated my basement into a rec room and office 3 years ago.  I did all of the work, except the electrical.  There was no plumbing involved.  I did some of the simple electrical, and hired an electrician to do the more complex items.  I never got a building permit for any of the work.  

So far as I know, it is all according to code, with the only exception that I did not place electrical outlets every six feet, because I did not have a need for that many outlets and it was expensive.  There have been no problems for 3 years.

Do I need to disclose the lack of building/electrical permits to potential buyers?  Should my sales contract have any special wording to protect me from a future lawsuit by the new owner?  Again, I am not aware of any problems.  Thanks!

Answer
Hi Scott,

Yes, I would definitely disclose exactly what you have written to me.  

If there is any question as to whether or not any of your renovations are not to Code, I would address that issue now by having a qualified, licensed home inspector or other professional look at your basement/rec room and render a written opinion.  If deficiencies are noted, you should be prepared to correct them.  Any deficiencies corrected, along with the inspection report itself, should then be disclosed to potential purchasers.

All County and State requirements for permits can possibly vary from county to county and state to state.  I know of some counties that have not previously required permits when work on an owner's personal residence was done by the owner himself, and along with the fact that the work was under a certain dollar amount.  You may want to verify this with the permitting authorities for your area.

Good luck to you, and write again if you have additional questions.

Regards,
Elizabeth Narr