Ask A Realtor: Is A Permit Necessary?

We’re finishing our basement and replacing an old water heater with a larger one.  I know a water heater and basement are technically supposed to be permitted, but we don’t see the need for paying for a permit just to put in a new water heater, and we don’t want the county to know the basement is finished and increase our taxes accordingly.

Are we hurting ourselves when it comes time to sell?

The vast majority of people buying a home today elect to have a professional home inspector look at the home prior to purchasing it.  As a general rule, most of these inspectors will compare permits on the home with the home itself and report discrepancies as problems on the inspection report.

So in the case of your water heater, the permit is only a nominal charge and is well worth not having that ding on the buyer’s inspection report.

The lack of a permit for the basement would be a major concern for most buyers and will devalue the finished basement by thousands of dollars.  On the other hand, the increased taxes if the assessor updates the record for your home will likely be less than a couple hundred dollars per year for a typical Springs area home.

When it comes time to sell, you are always better off to have done things the right way the first time around – this includes getting the required permits.

Jeremy Isaac is a Colorado Springs Realtor and the husband of Springs Bargains!  If you’ve got a question about buying or selling a home that you’d like to see answered here, contact him and he’ll be happy to help you find an answer.

Jeremy’s website allows you to search the Colorado Springs MLS with no registration required!