Ask the Architect

Closings sure are complicated

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Q. After watching friends go through problems when they closed on their first home, we don’t want to repeat them. We want to know how to avoid them. Our friends found out after they closed that they needed permits for a finished basement, an air conditioner, a bedroom in their garage and a kitchen that opens to the living room. They did make the seller get a permit for a deck and a shed, but why did their title company and their lawyer not insist on the other things? They want to add an upstairs, and this will now cost more and really take money away from the job. How do we avoid this?

A. There’s one thing all the items you mentioned have in common, except the air condenser unit. The improvements are all interior. Chances are slim to none that a title company or your lawyer knows the specific local code requirements or will compare the house with the plans on record at the local building department because, as most people tell me, they “thought interior changes didn’t need a permit.” This assumption is expensive and wrong, but at the closing “mills,” where the most expensive thing you’ll ever buy is treated like a commodity, they want to rush you through and you can pick up the pieces later.

As I am trying to legalize code-deficient work in the process of designing a dream renovation or addition, I invariably turn to the distraught owner, who is already saying they wish they could afford to sue their attorney or title company, and tell them that nobody mentioned in architecture school that we would have to legalize what others got away with and take responsibility for it, but that’s what happens. “I’ll let somebody else worry about it” is the most often heard statement by people who leave you holding the bag.

You can avoid this by doing a record search and carefully comparing building department plans with the house. Go a step further and hire a licensed professional — not the home inspector, unless he’s a licensed architect or engineer — to compare the plans and go over code deficiencies that will come up if you make improvements to the building. Over 50 percent improvement, for example, will require you to lift the house in a flood zone under FEMA regulations and re-window to increase the sizes for fire escape under state law.

The basement height, the size of beams, basement window wells and plumbing … the list of potential problems is extensive. Add in the new energy requirements and the cost you thought you were budgeting suddenly jumps. The consult with someone who’s familiar with the codes is well worth it. You can save an average of $30,000 not having to reconstruct or improve things you thought were legal, if the seller agrees; otherwise, make sure there’s enough time and money in escrow to cover the remedy.

© 2017 Monte Leeper. Readers are encouraged to send questions to yourhousedr@aol.com, with “Herald question” in the subject line, or to Herald Homes, 2 Endo Blvd., Garden City, NY 11530, Attn: Monte Leeper, architect.