Selling when renovations have been done without permits

We have made some renovations without permits and now need to sell our brownstone. What is the process of selling in this situation? The most problematic ones I think will be that we added a half-bathroom to the parlor level, added a wall to separate the ground two floors from top two floors (still two forms of egress), and moved a bathroom door from the hallway so the entrance is in the bedroom. We also moved the kitchen up one floor, but the original plans were not labeled where the kitchen was. Is there a possibility that these renovations won’t be caught at all, or will the buyer’s bank definitely find them when they come to inspect the house? If so, how do we deal with this problem? Can we wait to see if they notice or is it better to deal with before putting the house on the market? Can permits be applied for retroactively? How long does this process take? Thanks so much for any insight!

BklynDahl

in Roofers 10 years and 11 months ago

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arch007 | 10 years and 11 months ago

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I disagree, banks and especially title co’s are poring over documents and any deviation raises a red flag and can prevent a sale. We clean up messes like this all the time..call for info Dave 914-693-1159

BSDOD | 10 years and 11 months ago

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The flipping business is predicated on unpermitted work, I wouldn’t worry, the flippers certainly don’t.

daveinbedstuy | 10 years and 11 months ago

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Won’t be an issue. When I bought my house it had been completely renovated without permits. i added a deck and remodeled and expanded the bathrooms before ai sold it. No permits, no issues. bnaks are not concerned with floorplans, only that the units match the C of O, if there even is one.

BklynDahl | 10 years and 11 months ago

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Thanks for your responses. The house has an old c of o. We have no open violations and aren’t doing anything illegal with it. I was under the impression that a buyer would have trouble getting a mortgage if the layout didn’t exactly match the plans on file. I’m glad to hear that might not be the case. Thinking about it, it makes sense – as it seems that few people get permits but there are brownstone sales all the time!

rh | 10 years and 11 months ago

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If there is no C of O or an old C of O that doesn’t show where anything is, you should be ok. It’s a seller’s market. If one buyer gets caught up on that, there will be others.

resident2 | 10 years and 11 months ago

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I would guess that at least 90% of Brownstones being sold have these issues. So long as there is not a recorded violation and you are not illegally using it : IE using a two family as a three or renting out your “finished basement”. Sell it As-is. The new buyer will probably make their own changes as well. And if you get a buyers attorney that puts in a rider wanting you to swear that you have done all work with a permit…..go to the next buyer. Although in this market most buyers attorneys know not to bother with that one!