Elevator permit

If you own or manage a commercial property such as condos, apartment buildings, stores, or malls, did you know you need a permit to install, repair, modify, or remove an elevator?

Not just elevators. Lift devices consist of:

• elevators
• wheelchair lifts
• stairway lifts
• escalators
• moving walks
• dumbwaiters
• limited use, limited access devices

Get permits here for:
Miami-Dade
Broward
Palm Beach

Code violations harm property sales

Code violations can sink a real estate sale

What comes to mind when you hear the term "code violation"? If you're like most people, you think of a breach of the local building code that regulates minimum construction standards.

But that's only one of 70 or so types of code violations that can be attached to a property, according to Rudy Krupka of Code Violation Services, a Windsor, Colo.-based firm that helps lenders uncover code violations. Worse, any one of them can sink a real estate sale.

The most troublesome code violations are unpaid property taxes and homeowner association fees. But a growing number of hard-hit municipalities are aggressively flagging homeowners who don't mow their lawns, who allow trash to collect in their backyards and who don't take proper care of their pools.

Typically, these violations occur when the property involved is being sold under some kind of duress — a foreclosure, for example, or a short sale. But they can pop up even when the house is clean as a whistle and the sellers are Mr. and Mrs. Perfect, as opposed to a distant lender or servicer.

Often, the issue is cleaned up before the house goes on the market, so the buyer is unaware of it. But the ticket doesn't go away. At the closing table, the local government is there with its hand out, demanding payment in exchange for letting the deal go through.

Sometimes, Krupka says, what started out as a $200 fine that went unpaid when it was levied years ago blooms into a five- or six-figure penalty by the time the place is sold. In one extreme case, a Florida property had $684,000 in fines, most of them the result of a barking dog.

Usually, the sanction can be negotiated down to a more reasonable amount. But that takes time, and the closing is delayed until everyone is satisfied.

Admittedly, barking dogs and uncut grass are extreme examples of code violations. More common are liens filed for unpaid dues and assessments by homeowner associations.

In 16 states and the District of Columbia, homeowner associations hold "super lien" status, meaning that liens placed against a property by a homeowner association take precedence over all others, including those filed for unpaid taxes.

If an association records its lien, it becomes public record and the title company will find it. But often, the lien isn't recorded.

If the lien is recorded, the homeowner association will step up to stop the sale until it recovers what is due, or the parties agree to pay at closing. But if the association does not learn of the transaction and it closes without the lien being satisfied, the lien transfers with the property, and the new owner is on the hook for what's owed, with little recourse against the seller except to sue.

Sometimes, a property can be the subject of multiple homeowner association assessments, one by the main association and another by the golf or tennis club. In one unusual case in Florida, several separate but related HOAs lined up to present past-due notices.

According to CoreLogic, a real estate information and analytics firm based in Santa Ana, Calif., code violations tend to be a larger problem in the handful of states and markets with the highest foreclosure rates and negative equity — Florida, Nevada, Arizona and parts of California and Michigan.

Very large fines are common in Miami-Dade County, Fla. But CoreLogic has found that officials there are more willing to stop issuing new fines if they see someone attempting to correct existing violations, and sometimes they will reduce fines significantly.

San Francisco, on the other hand, "has little empathy" for attempts to correct violations, according to a recent CoreLogic white paper. Another jurisdiction that sometimes plays hardball is Maricopa County, Ariz., which has required significant structural changes to correct conditions that have existed through several previous owners.

Source: Chicago Tribune

Electrical Work

Planning on changing or upgrading the electrical work in your home?

When do I need a Permit?
Electrical permits are needed when installing or altering electrical service, wiring, or circuits in existing buildings. Examples include but are not limited to:

• Installing a new or temporary service
• Modifying existing service or circuits
• Relocating an electric water heater, furnace, or other electrical appliance
• An electrical plan may also need to be reviewed

Electrical permits are NOT required in the following cases:

• Appliance replacement without modification to electrical circuits, such as dishwashers
• Appliances connected to outlets with a plug
• Repair or replacement of motors, transformers, appliances, recessed or other light fixtures, switches, or control devices of the same type and rating in the same location
• Taping joints
• Removal of electrical wiring

Source: My Building Permit

Load Bearing Wall?

Simple projects do not require permits, but what about cutting a hole in the wall to make a pass through to the kitchen or living room or to change the existing space? That depends.

Can you be sure that the area you are planning to cut has no wires running through it? Slicing through your own phone, internet, or power cords sure would make your face red and be inconvenient!

Also, is the wall load bearing? What's a load bearing wall, anyhow? We asked the Natural Handyman, who had much to say on load bearing walls, and why doing anything to them is going to give rise to the need for a permit.

Look at the structure of the house and ask the following questions:

1. Is there a significant load above, such a built-up (multi-board) carrying beam or another wall? Is there a full floor above it, or just an empty attic?
2. If you can view the joists in the attic, is the wall parallel or perpendicular to them? Generally, load bearing walls are perpendicular to the joists they support. If two separate floor joists or ceiling joists intersect over a wall, that wall should be considered load bearing.
3. Is it an outside wall? You should consider all outside walls load bearing. If the house has been remodeled, a former outside wall could now be an inside wall. Examine the foundation to find these "stealth" outside walls.
4. Look at the beams and posts in the basement. In multi-floor dwellings, posts and beams in the basement indicate bearing walls above them, even up two floors. Be aware that these multi-floor bearing walls may not be directly above each other.
5. In complex, large homes, the basement can be a jungle of carrying beams and posts, crisscrossed and interlocked. Careful inspection is necessary to determine how this maze of beams supports the house, and its effect on the walls above.

If you have any doubts about the strength or loading status of the wall, GET PROFESSIONAL ASSISTANCE! You may even be able to get your local town building inspector to stop by and take a look around!

Thinking of skipping the permit?

What happens if you don't get a permit?


If a permit, when needed, is not obtained before construction, you have violated city codes and regulations; you'll be subject to fines and penalties. You'll be required to obtain permits for the work and it must pass inspection, or you'll have to return the structure or site to its original condition.

Remember... construction codes were created for safety reasons. Work built without a permit can be unsafe, no matter how good it looks.

Using a Contractor

From last week's blog, you learned that many things around your home require a permit. If you hare having a contractor do the work, we suggest you contact them prior to work beginning with a few permitting questions. A knowledgable contractor will have the answers for you, and will see you as an informed consumer for asking.

We and Florida Impact recommends you ask the following:

• Will all the work be done with a permit?
• How much does the contractor charge for permitting?
• Is that cost inclusive of the city/county permits or is there an additional charge?
• Verify that the name of the contractor you hired is the same as the contractor named on the permit. Generally, the paperwork needs to be left near the work being done and you can check there.
• When the installation is completed, will the contractor will schedule the final permit inspection with the city?

Do I Need a Permit?

The construction process can be confusing for people who do not use it everyday. Experts like Your Permit Solution helps you figure it out in simple everyday terms. You may not have even heard of a permit until your contractor included it in his fee.

The purpose of a permit is to ensure that work is done "up to code", which, to further complicate things, varies by county and state. This means that the work that is done on your property meets the most current and specific guidelines of its kind in your area. So what work requires permits?

In the Herald Times Online, Monroe County Building Department, Building Commissioner Jim Gerstbauer says:

Any construction activity that includes new space, or changes the use of existing space, requires a permit.

That means a permit is necessary for any new house construction, any additions that enlarge the square footage of a house, any modifications that require changing headers, beams or walls, and any remodeling which changes the use of that space within existing building (converting an unfinished basement to a family room, for instance). No permit is needed to replace drywall, cabinets, and other non-structural fixtures.

The guideline is “like into like.”

“If you’re replacing like with like, generally we don’t get involved,” Gerstbauer pointed out. Therefore, it’s usually fine to replace old roof shingles, or install new windows or new siding, without a permit.

But if you’re altering a room in such a way that occupants will use the space in a completely different manner than before, it requires a permit. For instance, converting an unfinished garage to finished living space would require a permit; as would adding an all-new bathroom where none existed previously. This is because the new elements are unlike the original elements.

Some changes are too small to merit permits.

“Changing electric receptacles, adding ceiling fans, or adding a plug, we have no problem with people doing that,” Gerstbauer continued. “We don’t want to get involved with every maintenance aspect of every house.”

If you're not sure, it is best to call us and find out. We know the most current laws for your area and can advise you. As contractors say, it is always better to "measure twice and cut once" to avoid fees or penalties for work done without a permit.