Renovations without permits Brooklyn

amother

Amaryllis ↓

Tue, Feb 20 2024, 12:02 pm

What kind of renovations?

I would be hesitant if major stuff that involved electrical or plumbing was done without a permit. I did a major remodel which includes kitchens, bathrooms and electrical upgrades was needed to handle the new appliances.

I am not in Brooklyn but in a major city. Everything was done with a permit and was inspected by the relevant departments. I know because I was there for one of three inspections by the people who inspect the bathroom plumbing at various stages.

I don't know if it is relevant but there was a recent collapsed home in BP that was being renovated without a permit which killed one of the workers. I wouldn't be surprised if the city starts cracking down given the death of a worker.

amother

↑ OP ↓

Tue, Feb 20 2024, 5:06 pm

amother Amaryllis wrote:

So what were they thinking?
How are they going to sell it?
Who would buy it?

amother

cornflower ↓

Tue, Feb 20 2024, 5:08 pm

Don’t do it. If it didn’t have permits you can’t be sure it’s done to code and safe. And if the city finds out it’s all on you. You would pay huge fines and deal with the massive headache. Run the other way.

amother

↑ Amaryllis ↓

Tue, Feb 20 2024, 5:09 pm

amother OP wrote:

So what were they thinking?
How are they going to sell it?
Who would buy it?

The house is collapsed so selling it is the least of their issues. 🤷‍♀️

I imagine they are facing criminal charges.

amother

Natural ↓

Tue, Feb 20 2024, 5:37 pm

We had no issue selling our house that was renovated, and no issue buying our house that was renovated. Just like with any house you need to make sure the work done was quality and everything works well. Ask who the contractor was and see if it’s somebody who had a good reputation. In Flatbush I would consider it a blessing to buy a house where the work was done already and it’s in move in condition. If you are worried, ask your mortgage broker if he’s ever heard of any issue with this. They know the landscape. The only issue I’ve ever heard of is an illegal extension making it hard to get a mortgage. You can also ask Karen Behfar who is a major re broker here. She is very honest. Report back. I do think those saying to the contrary are not in Flatbush and not familiar with what goes on here. And yes the boro park thing might lead to more scrutiny by dob but dob has nothing to do with buying or selling houses.

amother

↑ OP ↓

Tue, Feb 20 2024, 6:25 pm

amother Amaryllis wrote:

The house is collapsed so selling it is the least of their issues. 🤷‍♀️

I imagine they are facing criminal charges.

I meant the sellers of the house I am referring to not the collapsed building in bp

amother

↑ OP ↓

Tue, Feb 20 2024, 6:30 pm

amother Natural wrote:

The Behfar team is actually the broker. Their trying to sell the house, isn't it in their best interest to sell it rather than tell me whats in my best interest? (It was an extension as well.)

amother

↑ Natural ↓

Tue, Feb 20 2024, 6:33 pm

amother OP wrote:

The Behfar team is actually the broker. Their trying to sell the house, isn't it in their best interest to sell it rather than tell me whats in my best interest? (It was an extension as well.)

She stands to gain pretty little by not being honest. If the sale doesn’t go thru she doesn’t make money. I trust Karen. She steered me away from several situations that were problematic for us for various reasons. I would also check with a mortgage broker experienced in this area. Do you have one?

amother

↑ Amaryllis

Tue, Feb 20 2024, 6:33 pm

amother OP wrote:

The Behfar team is actually the broker. Their trying to sell the house, isn't it in their best interest to sell it rather than tell me whats in my best interest? (It was an extension as well.)

An extension that isn’t permitted?

That is pretty risky. It is one thing to renovate a kitchen with new cabinets and flooring but an extension probably also violates zoning laws. Most deeds have a description of the house and so the footage couldn’t be legally counted.

arn ↓

Tue, Feb 20 2024, 6:36 pm

On my block, about 20 people I know of renovated their houses, most also extended their homes in the back. About 5 of those had permits. Since then several of these homes have been sold. I didn’t hear of any issues.

amother

↑ Natural ↓

Tue, Feb 20 2024, 6:41 pm

[quote="amother Amaryllis"]An extension that isn’t permitted?

That is pretty risky. It is one thing to renovate a kitchen with new cabinets and flooring but an extension probably also violates zoning laws. Most deeds have a description of the house and so the footage couldn’t be legally counted.[/

Do you live in Flatbush? Did you ever hear of such a thing happening in Flatbush? Who is checking on such things during a sale??

amother

DarkGray

Tue, Feb 20 2024, 7:02 pm

My friend bought a house that was illegally converted from two family into one family. When a title search was done they found out this happened. The house had a bunch of violations.took months to clear up before they could close

amother

↑ OP ↓

Tue, Feb 20 2024, 7:13 pm

amother Natural wrote:

What do you mean she stands to make little? She only gains if the house sells.
Why shouldn't she push the sale?
The more im digging, the house isn't selling, so it may be related...)
(To be clear - I don't know her so it's not personal. You just mentioned her and she happens to be the agent)

If the sale goes through, what realistic problems can pop up?

amother

↑ Natural ↓

Tue, Feb 20 2024, 7:45 pm

amother DarkGray wrote:

If a house had violations on it that’s different. That means they were previously caught for doing something wrong. That’s totally different than years later selling a house that happens to have had work done years earlier with no issue. Also the house we sold a few years ago was a two we switched to a one. We still called it a two family on paper. Nobody is coming in to inspect so how would they know?

amother

Peachpuff

Tue, Feb 20 2024, 8:15 pm

Its brooklyn its extremely common. Its not such a big deal. Its a little extra paper work & fees and it gets ironed out. My neighbor bought with an illegal extension, it was a while back but it is doable. You have a good inspector and no worries.

amother

↑ Natural ↓

Tue, Feb 20 2024, 8:49 pm

amother OP wrote:

Interesting… wonder which house it is! If you’re nervous to trust her as she’s the broker ask your mortgage broker. Or try a different re agent like Lasker and see what she would advise. She’s super honest and kind.