Do I Need a Permit When Finishing Off My Basement?

Recently one of my client’s posed this question to me…”Do I need to get a permit from the county when I finish off my basement?” When getting bids from contractors, most were pushing back on this as it creates so much of a hassle for the contractor and adds delays and expense to the process. My client was concerned about whether not getting a permit would impact them when it came time to sell their house.

Here has been my experience with basement permits….rarely have I seen it come up as a question from a potential buyer as to whether or not the remodeling was permitted….especially if it is professionally completed.

It was also implied in the original client’s email to me that the contractor(s) thought not obtaining a permit could impact the square footage calculation upon resale of the home. That was news to me, so I also called an appraiser/past client of mine to get his take. He confirmed that they never take into consideration whether or not a basement has been permitted when assessing a home’s value on an appraisal. At the same time, finishing a home’s basement may not carry the same value as the main living spaces of the home…it all depends on the quality of the finishes.

However, the one person that would take permitting and square footage into account is the tax assessor…which is why people often do not get permits, they don’t want to increase their tax base because their s.f. has increased.

I think the more important thing to do is ensure that any contractors that are hired to finish your basement are qualified guys that will build to code. Should you go to sell, there is a question on the Seller’s Property Disclosure Statement that asks if there was any work done that was not permitted. You disclose it there and just indicate that you used professional contractors that built to code (I have not really seen this typically questioned by buyers even if disclosed as such…again, if it looks professional). If the Buyer still has questions, they can conduct their own general inspection as part of the normal home buying process to ease their concerns.

Ultimately, the decision is yours as to whether or not you require permits and the amount of risk/expense that creates for you as a result. In my real estate experience the only time I have seen the question of permits come up has been when there is a poor quality of construction (like on an older home that was remodeled) or perhaps a deck that was built near a flood plain or something like that.