Permitting for Dummies

[Falcon67]

Your locality has rules all its own. You are the one who lives there, do your homework with the locals.

This. In my town, $50 gets a receipt - that's your building permit. Next town over, you have to complete a homeowner electrical course before you can pull a permit to do any wiring inside your house.

Our building department told me you are required to get a permit for ANY type of repair work no matter how minor. It's all about tax revenue. They charge you for the permit and then your property taxes go up. To that I say FU!

For example:
The previous owner of my house built a deck for $2000 in 1995, permitted and inspected.
It caused the property taxes to go up about $100 a year.
The $100 goes up an average of 3.5% every year.
A total of $2800 in property taxes paid on a deck that cost $2000 to build that is pretty much rotted after 20 years.
This is why people around here avoid permits.

Having owned houses and paid property taxes since 1974 I seriously doubt that the deck is the primary source of increase. And if it is and you haven't protested the valuation or increases, then it's on you not the tax authority. My shop build was initially assessed at $24K. I protested the valuation, presented receipts and discussed - $10,000 knocked off the valuation.

 

[DCarr2]

in my old town u needed a permit to install a hot water tank, if you put it out at the street and the inspector saw it youd get a visit and they would come in and write down everything thats bad and had u a huge bill.

heres my question, on what authority does a building inspector have to enter your premises with out a signed court ordered search warrant?

with that said, as long as your DIY everything, no permit needed. Which is actually pretty common around here.

 

[Rock knocker]

heres my question, on what authority does a building inspector have to enter your premises with out a signed court ordered search warrant?

None.

 

[Falcon67]

None.

Typically, here's one opinion for FL. Your state may differ. You cna refuse entry but if it's a code enforcement or fire code deal you can bet they will come back with a warrant easy enough.

http://myfloridalegal.com/ago.nsf/Opinions/486093F9C929D04A85256583006C8F9C

 

[Rock knocker]

You cna refuse entry but if it's a code enforcement or fire code deal you can bet they will come back with a warrant easy enough.

Maybe, but if their probable cause is a water heater out for recycling, then maybe not.

 

[Falcon67]

The city had a city manager a few years back that hired a code enforcement person. Yes, little town west Texas has a lot of safety issues, trashed yards, poor housing and such for sure. Apparently told the guy hired to be fairly aggressive in identifying issues and trying to right things up. Lasted maybe 6 months or so before the near lynching came to a head.

 

[engineer2]

I seriously doubt that the deck is the primary source of increase. And if it is and you haven't protested the valuation or increases, then it's on you not the tax authority.

The previous owned told me this and I confirmed it by checking the tax records. No idea if he protested it with any luck. I didn't bother because it was 5 years later when I bought the place.

For appeals, our county basically tells you one of 3 things, No change, You're not paying enough, Or they give you a token $100 decrease for 1 year.
A rotund county official once bragged on TV "We can't lower taxes, we have a county to run." I appealed mine this past year because they are hitting everyone with a 9.5% increase and got a $0 decrease. Our county does not allow you to hire outside companies or lawyers to help fight your property taxes.
It's no wonder thousands are leaving Illinois. The tax system is seriously messed up.

Yet here we have you insult a whole town because you think they're low-lifes and (worse yet!!!) immigrants (I assume by that they have not made the mistake of being pastie white like you).

I never said "Worse yet". This was told to me by residents of that town, (I avoid the place because of crime), and their "redneck engineering" (local guy from Houston's words, not mine) is why they need so many FT inspectors. The folks that are new in the country have no idea about codes and such and others are just scraping by. Plus many of the homes are cheaply built summer cottages converted to year-round use.

Bottom line is every part of the country is different with regard to code, code enforcement and documentation thereof and discussing it here is rather useless.

 

[justanengineer]

heres my question, on what authority does a building inspector have to enter your premises with out a signed court ordered search warrant?

Just a point of reference to my hometown in Orange County - ~20 years ago my folks were finishing putting a new stick built shop on top of an existing foundation. The building inspector came up 300' of driveway, through a heavy screen of woods, past several posted signs, and started in with demands to see the inside of the unpermitted building and threats of a stop work order, fines, etc. My mother called the police who came out and escorted him off the property as illegally trespassing. A letter from their lawyer and a few days later they had an apology, a building permit, and assurance that no inspections were necessary.

JMO but I would not let them push you around, my understanding is that there is no legal authority for anyone other than police and firefighters to trespass or obtain warrants to do so. There was an old water heater in your shed when you bought the house.......so what?

 

[Rock knocker]

, my understanding is that there is no legal authority for anyone other than police and firefighters to trespass or obtain warrants to do so

Unlikely. Although likely they would be escorted by the police, tax authorities have full warrent authority when graned to sieze records and computers during an investigation. Here is the USC granting the OSHA the right to request a warrant:

1903.4(a)
Upon a refusal to permit the Compliance Safety and Health Officer, in exercise of his official duties, to enter without delay and at reasonable times any place of employment or any place therein, to inspect, to review records, or to question any employer, owner, operator, agent, or employee, in accordance with §1903.3 or to permit a representative of employees to accompany the Compliance Safety and Health Officer during the physical inspection of any workplace in accordance with §1903.8, the Safety and Health Officer shall terminate the inspection or confine the inspection to other areas, conditions, structures, machines, apparatus, devices, equipment, materials, records, or interviews concerning which no objection is raised. The Compliance Safety and Health Officer shall endeavor to ascertain the reason for such refusal, and shall immediately report the refusal and the reason therefor to the Area Director. The Area Director shall consult with the Regional Solicitor, who shall take appropriate action, including compulsory process, if necessary.