Sound Off:

How important are permits when selling?

A: There are so many facets to consider when you talk about permits. For example, is the property located within the city or county limits? Are you doing a kitchen remodel or are you expanding the footprint of the home?

This is where the rubber meets the road. If you are expanding the footprint of the house, you should supply the city with a professional plan and make sure the calculations are correct.

Let’s say you just want to do a kitchen remodel; then you should make sure your contractor installs everything to code and disclose, disclose, disclose when you decide to sell your home.

If you are located in the county, you will have to speak to a knowledgeable contractor in addition to the county to see how it will affect your private septic system. Even if you are only planning to build a pool cabana, the county will require you to do a site evaluation to ensure there is room on the property for a reserve area for the leach lines.

What does a permit get you? You get a city inspector to come out and make sure everything was done professionally to code, and they sign off on the work and it becomes public record. This does add peace of mind, especially when square footage is added to a home.

Agi Vermes Smith, Pacific Union Real Estate,

(707) 363-9896, agismith@pacificunion.com.

A: Permits are a way of ensuring that renovations in a home are up to code and done safely.

In our seller’s market, you can sell a home without permits, but it will discourage some buyers who are not experienced renovators or who are new to our market.

After the walls are closed up, you have no way of knowing if the work was up to code.

It’s especially important with plumbing, electrical or structural modifications where improper work can even be a hazard.

Unhappy tenants may also report you for work done without permits.

If a buyer decides to do renovations legally, the inspector may see that other work had been done without permits and require you to bring it up to code, although these days inspectors tend to be so busy that this is rare.

Permits to expand the size of a house or add a floor can take more than a year to obtain, so a house with expansion potential that already has approved permits is much more desirable to buyers who can begin their renovations as soon as they close and still choose their own finishes.

If possible, it’s best to have closed permits when selling your home.

Maitri Ratanasene, Paragon Real Estate Group, (415) 215-5505, maitri@paragon-re.com.

A: The correct permits when selling your home provides buyers with the confidence and security that the seller is a responsible homeowner.

When a seller has permits, work that has been done on the home has been signed off on by the city.

Permits give confidence that the plumbing and electrical work was done properly, and the building is up to code.

Without a permit, it is more likely that future problems could arise with flooding, electrical issues and even fires.

Homeowners find that the selling process is cleaner when they have obtained the proper permits, which allows buyers to move more aggressively when it comes to price, without the due diligence that would be needed without permits.

Most of the time, buyers support the price of a home if permits are obtained.

Alexis Taylor, Sotheby’s International Realty, (802) 779-4024, alexis.taylor@sothebyshomes.com.