You say you are buying the house. You should ask the sellers if all work was done by permit and if so, they can be obtained from the local building department. Some title insurance policies cover the cost of correcting unpermitted work. If the work was done without a permit, the local building department could order it torn out! Especially in the case of the garage where it may not even be a legal conversion! Talk to your real estate broker about this.

This is what will happen: The inspector will come out and check the progress on your new bathroom a couple of times. That's all. No problem. End of story.

Ok, now you are scaring me:( I have a call into the real estate broker... On the disclosures, the owners answered the question about permits. The question is "Have any additions or alterations been made without required permits?" They said No. Also, when we pull the county tax records, it shows the square footage correct, with the additional square footage. Does mean they got permits? I guess I could call the county and see if they have the permits... But then again, I don't want to draw attention to property... This is a short sale, almost foreclosed on, so there is no way I would get anything from the owners if I sued. I would like to get a permit like I should, but I don't want to open a can of worms.

If the tax records account for the addition, then the town or county has accepted the addition.

Complete the sale, do all your future modifications under the umbrella of a permit, and enjoy your house.

"This is what will happen: The inspector will come out and check the progress on your new bathroom a couple of times. That's all. No problem. End of story.

Not true in our township, or many others.

That said, is the additional square footage of the game room shownÂ..or, does it also show the garage square footage as living space as well?

How is the home listed in the tax records with regard to bedrooms? If the number listed includes the garage bedroom, then it seems that the permits were obtained.

However, bear in mind that a permit does not mean a final approval. In our town, the tax assessor counted our basement as complete and added it on, even though we did not have out final as of yet.

Bottom line, never assume. In addition, each town/city is different, so what may be the case in one place is not necessarily the case in another.

If an attorney is handling your purchase, he or she should advise you to obtain the permits and final approvals from the seller.

Also, if the CO has not been updated with the conversion and addition, it will reflect on the appraisal, and the lender will catch it and ask for the documentation. This can hold up your closing if you wait until then to ask for the paperwork.

Best bet, just ask the sellers to give you the documentation. Then, you will know what the real story is, without having to alert the township, and, you will be prepared for any questions that may arise.

All building permits etc. are public record. If you go to the building department with the lot, block & zone, you should be able to request a listing of all permit and their status (final inspections and certificates of occupancy) on the property. You can also look at the plans on file for the game room. Compare the list to the existing conditions at the house. If it matches all is okay, if not, you can take the information to your attorney.

The title search will not detect the change of use for the garage, and may or maynot address the game room addition.

Once the building inspector is in your home, he can request corrective work or permits on anything he sees. If there is no garage door (for the car) and it is obvious that it has been converted, he can catch you there, but if there is a garage door (for the car), and you keep the interior door closed to that space, he will not know it was finished.

Speak to the buiding department and ask your questions. I found they were very helpful when I was buying my house.

Good luck.

The inspector may come out and no problem. ( Very Likely)
It 's also very likely from your description that the township already has this included. If not it is possible hat you'd have to tear down. ( VERY UNLIKELY though) Most likely if that was the case you'd have to get an architect to draw it up and pay for the CO, which shouldn't be too costly

Guys, Isn't something really important getting overlooked here? A lot of the permiting process is to ensure that the building is done to code and the code is there to ensure that the building is safe. If significant work was done without a permit, it might not be safe. Better to ask when the work was done (the garage conversion), if there was a permit and if a there is a CO. If the answer is problematic, get an inspection and then decide what you want (need) to do.