# Closing on a house, going to do the work myself. Permits? yay, nay? **URL:** \ **Category:** NYSpeed Off Topic\ **Created:** [February 18, 2016, 3:47pm UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/closing-on-a-house-going-to-do-the-work-myself-permits-yay-nay/273630 "2016-02-18T15:47:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![snowracer101](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/258eb7/32.png) [@snowracer101](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/snowracer101)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2016, 10:06am UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/closing-on-a-house-going-to-do-the-work-myself-permits-yay-nay/273630/21 "2016-02-19T10:06:24Z")
> [@ubengineering](#): > > Since my body is trained to shit at work, I seriously haven’t used my toilet in about 6 months LOL boss makes a dollar, i make a dime. thats why i poop on company time ---
**Author:** ![ubengineering](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forums.speedlife.net/ubengineering/32/5171_2.png) [@ubengineering](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/ubengineering)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2016, 10:57am UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/closing-on-a-house-going-to-do-the-work-myself-permits-yay-nay/273630/22 "2016-02-19T10:57:16Z")
True dat^^ ---
**Author:** ![rugsr](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forums.speedlife.net/rugsr/32/7474_2.png) [@rugsr](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/rugsr)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2016, 11:18am UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/closing-on-a-house-going-to-do-the-work-myself-permits-yay-nay/273630/23 "2016-02-19T11:18:38Z")
> [@snowracer101](#): > > boss makes a dollar, i make a dime. thats why i poop on company time đź‘Ź ---
**Author:** ![ultradriver10000](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forums.speedlife.net/ultradriver10000/32/7397_2.png) [@ultradriver10000](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/ultradriver10000)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2016, 4:13pm UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/closing-on-a-house-going-to-do-the-work-myself-permits-yay-nay/273630/24 "2016-02-19T16:13:07Z")
I only use my own toilet on the weekend or if I’m sick. ---
**Author:** ![1QIKZ](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forums.speedlife.net/1qikz/32/6112_2.png) [@1QIKZ](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/1QIKZ)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2016, 4:38pm UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/closing-on-a-house-going-to-do-the-work-myself-permits-yay-nay/273630/25 "2016-02-19T16:38:21Z")
Inevitably, all threads must come full circle to shit. ---
**Author:** ![slo\_ride](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/49beb7/32.png) [@slo\_ride](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/slo_ride)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2016, 7:57pm UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/closing-on-a-house-going-to-do-the-work-myself-permits-yay-nay/273630/26 "2016-02-19T19:57:38Z")
Having done several significant remodels myself your biggest issues depend on what you plan to do with the house. if you plan to live there for the foreseeable future your biggest concern is insurability. That said simply self performing the work and not pulling a permit is no guarantee of forfeiting your coverage. Typically they have to show the work wasn’t performed to acceptable standards. Such a situation could just as easily happen with a pro working under a permit. The only difference is that your insurance company can maybe sue the pro. The permit itself is no real guarantee of properly executed work. if you plan to sell then the sellers disclosure will require you to disclose that work was performed without a required permit. This can scare off some buyers who don’t want to deal with someone’s DIY mistakes down the road. as for FHA, the lack of permits will raise flags but it isn’t a deal breaker. FHA isn’t the permit police, they are concerned with the work being completed in a “workmanlike manner”. My wife is an FHA appraiser and I’ve seen work done by homeowners without a permit that looks more convincing than some of the stuff done by the pros. If you have confidence in your abilities and understanding of the work you are doing, just get the permits. They don’t cost much and they save on headaches down the road. Typically the cost of the permit is based on the cost of the work completed. Make sure when you get the permit to only include the cost of work that requires a permit to begin with. just because you are doing $10k in work doesn’t mean it is $10k in permitted work. The carpet doesn’t require a permit, the paint doesn’t, the trim doesn’t, etc etc. ---
**Author:** ![JustinH](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9fc29f/32.png) [@JustinH](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/JustinH)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2016, 5:38am UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/closing-on-a-house-going-to-do-the-work-myself-permits-yay-nay/273630/27 "2016-02-20T05:38:18Z")
> [@tpgsr](#): > > Ok so here is the low down on this. > > I may have gutted and rebuilt several properties. I may have not used permits. I might have also finished “bonus” space (basements without proper egress) without permits. I may have replaced tons of services without permits. Is this legal, not really. Do I care, nope. Why then should you? > > You should care because your insurance company sure does. Go read your homeowners policy. Look for statements like amateurish work, unpermitted, illegal work. Insurance companies are not in the business of writing large checks and they will try to find reasons to not pay you. Say you remodel the entire kitchen and mess up the gas connection ever so slightly. This causes a fire. They will come in and notice all of the new work and then run right off to the town to check for permits on the work. This is a pretty reaching example but it could happen. > > More common would be that big garage or wide open basement. It could make a nice living room or a great extra space for a bar or whatever. They WILL check for permits for these “Illegal living spaces” and they will deny claims based on that clause in your policy. > > So this has never actually scared me for some reason and I still do what I want. BUT there is one other concern. If the house is listed for sale and the buyer is seeking an FHA loan the FHA appraiser could/should note the probability of illegal work. The lender may or may not research further and could deny the buyer financing. I have never personally experienced this but I have also never done anything with FHA loans. > > I guess the TLDR version is do what you want but beware that there are very real and far reaching consequences. > > Edit: Here is a tip on doing a large gut without a permit and without a dumpster in the driveway. If the home has an attached garage you can toss all waste out there. When it starts to be a “full dumpster” load, run over to Budget and rent a 26’ truck for $150. Take 2 hours to load the truck, run to dump and unload then return it. Profit. You are exactly right. When the house burns to the ground, your insurance company is going to send an investigator over to find a way NOT to pay you. Oh, so you went to home depot and rewired the electrical yourself? Did you get a permit? I know people may say fuck Amherst with the water heater permit thing. What happens if the thing leaks CO into the house, and kills someone sleeping at your house (unlikely but just for example). Do you think that that family would sue you? What happens if the thing dumps water into the living space of your home, flooding 40 gallons of water all over? Think the insurance company is going to pay? Man that 20 dollar water heater permit inspection is looking pretty good now. I will give a little experience to the FHA thing that you mentioned. My brother is a real estate broker in Tonawanda. He goes through the FHA inspection process for tons of clients. He told me exactly what needed to be done to my house and what not to bother with. Basically you want to do the least amount of work possible to get the house to close, and make it someone elses problem. We had tons of asbestos piping in the basement of my house. Never touched. My brother said “leave the shit alone, don’t fuck with it”. FHA inspector said nothing about that. We had asbestos siding on part of the house, again nothing. Damaged chimney clay insert, with brick erosion all over the chimney. Nothing. I had painted some of the basement walls with DRYLOC a few years before the sale, and some of it had chipped. FHA inspector had a fit and said I needed to remove all chipping paint from the wall, and repaint it. Also strip and refinish paint on a window ledge. Nothing was mentioned about electrical code, or anything like that, but I’m sure if you have aluminum wiring dangling everywhere that may be a red flag, or cloth wire. ---
**Author:** ![1QIKZ](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forums.speedlife.net/1qikz/32/6112_2.png) [@1QIKZ](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/1QIKZ)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2016, 5:59am UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/closing-on-a-house-going-to-do-the-work-myself-permits-yay-nay/273630/28 "2016-02-20T05:59:10Z")
If you’re going to do the work right, especially electrical, plumbing, structural, why not get a permit. If something is done wrong, they’ll let you know. They’re not brutally expensive and really intended for safety and the prevention of future failure. I did many projects when I first started and even as a contractor, most inspectors were willing to point out minor issues and how to correct them. I learned a great deal. If you don’t feel your work would be acceptable, ask a pro for guidance. ---
**Author:** ![slo\_ride](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/49beb7/32.png) [@slo\_ride](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/slo_ride)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2016, 8:53pm UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/closing-on-a-house-going-to-do-the-work-myself-permits-yay-nay/273630/29 "2016-02-20T20:53:48Z")
> [@JustinH](#): > > I had painted some of the basement walls with DRYLOC a few years before the sale, and some of it had chipped. FHA inspector had a fit and said I needed to remove all chipping paint from the wall, and repaint it. Also strip and refinish paint on a window ledge. > > Nothing was mentioned about electrical code, or anything like that, but I’m sure if you have aluminum wiring dangling everywhere that may be a red flag, or cloth wire. FHA specifically requires remediation of painted surfaces on homes built prior to 1978 due to the possible presence of lead. Regardless of if the chipped or peeling paint was applied after 1978, they still require all painted surfaces be in good condition. if the house is newer than 1978 this doesn’t apply. most other FHA issues relate to whether or not the property is “safe, sound and secure”. This leaves a lot of the issues up to the discretion of the appraiser and the underwriter to determine if remediation will be required. in any case nearly every other issue you mentioned should have been disclosed on the seller disclosure. Usually issues not found during an FHA appraisal don’t wind up in court, but issues knowingly undisclosed by the seller very often do. ---
**Author:** ![bing](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forums.speedlife.net/bing/32/7211_2.png) [@bing](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/bing)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2016, 9:12pm UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/closing-on-a-house-going-to-do-the-work-myself-permits-yay-nay/273630/30 "2016-02-21T21:12:17Z")
i never did the work on my places myself but when we built a garage and when we build the next garage it will be permitted… electrical was also permitted. the bathrooms and kitchen though? nope. i had the roof done in the fall and i assume the company got a permit but i dont know for sure and i didnt do it myself. ---
**Author:** ![91MR2](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forums.speedlife.net/91mr2/32/7217_2.png) [@91MR2](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/91MR2)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2016, 7:37am UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/closing-on-a-house-going-to-do-the-work-myself-permits-yay-nay/273630/31 "2016-02-22T07:37:27Z")
This is a shot in the dark, but I would imagine the permitting is more closely followed in Canada than here in the US… [Previous page](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/closing-on-a-house-going-to-do-the-work-myself-permits-yay-nay/273630.md?page=1)