Those who are looking to take advantage of the many homes on the market need to secure copies of the permits on the property and Los Angeles property records before they buy. You may be buying illegal construction.
“Any issues with the properties from illegal additions to code violations become the responsibility of the new owner”, said Mike Robinson, President of Permit Place, a land use, entitlement and permit expediting firm.
“Many people think that just because the price is low it’s a good deal, but many properties including foreclosures and distressed properties can have illegal additions, sub-standard work or code violations that the new owner can make responsible for correcting the problem”, states Robinson.
Homeowners should ask the seller or the seller’s realtor to research the property and find out if building permits and certificates have issued occupancy for any new additions.
Why Los Angeles Property Records is So Important:
The seller should provide the buyer with copies of permits confirming that the square footage on the property matches all existing permits on the property.
For example, if the property built in 1999 has two bedrooms and a bath and the seller added a new bedroom and bathroom, the buyer should check to see that the original permits and certificate of occupancy show the original square footage and that the permits show the new, correct additional square footage.
For those located in Los Angeles not comfortable with completing the research on their own, Permit Place provides a service to research building permits and provide copies of these permits for you or your broker.
The service to starting in the City and County of Los Angeles costs $60.00 plus the costs of copies, gives those selling properties a chance to find out what permits and certificates of occupancy have been issued on the property or will verify which additions on the property have been permitted.
Permit Place has been providing property research for commercial and residential property since 2001. For more information, please contact Caitlin Hallerman at 818-786-8960.