The Dangers of Open Permits Discovered at a South Florida Closing

Close Permits Fast Inc. wants to help you enjoy a quick and painless transaction of your home

Why close permits with Close Permits Fast, Inc.? It ensures a smooth transaction when you decide to sell your home in Broward, Palm Beach or Martin County.

Preventing embarrassment at your closing

Any real estate broker or attorney in South Florida will tell you it is not uncommon to discover the existence of open building permits in residential closings. It is routine due diligence prior to closing, and the closing attorney or title agent will find open building permits more frequently than anyone would like. Merely having an open permit might not adversely affect title. Sometimes a distracted closer will overlook or ignore it, or not even search for open permits. However, that is a gamble, as an open permit can cost a buyer time and money in the future and knowing that can result in further negotiations and headaches for everyone.

How does it happen?

Open permits are often the result of the permit work not being completed and the general contractor never closing the permit, possibly because the city never approved the work, or the owners changed their minds, or a payment dispute occurred.

Another reason might be that the work was completed, but the general contractor did not take all the steps required to close the permit. This might include failing to schedule the final inspection, failing to process the final paperwork for the city, or failing to pay the close out fee.

It is also possible the work was completed, the final inspection occurred, and the paperwork was processed, but the city did not put it into the system.

What happens then?

The good news is that any of those scenarios can be remedied. As for who is responsible, the purchase agreement provides the best guidance. Florida residential transactions using the standard FAR/BAR contracts clearly requires the seller to do all the work necessary to close open permits at the seller’s cost up to the “Permit Limit” set forth previous in the contract (see  Paragraph 12(d)(ii))/ In an “AS IS” form contract, the buyer assumes responsibility for open permits, however the seller is required to cooperate and provide documents and information to assist the buyer.

If the buyer does nothing and ignores the open permits or does not search for open permits and there’s an issue, the buyer will be unable to pull a permit for work on the property in the future until the prior permit is closed. This may come as a significant cost and delay to the buyer. The seller would be out of the picture and unavailable to attempt to recover costs from anymore. If the new work is urgent, the time required to close the old permit could be debilitative, from the standpoint of both cost and convenience. 

After the Fact Permits

Permit searches are a standard part of real estate due diligence, and open permit searches can be handled at the same point as normal lien searches at nominal incremental cost. There is literally no reason not to obtain open permit searches for every closing. That said, there is actually a process for obtaining a residential After the Fact Permit (ATF) for incomplete and completed projects.

Getting an ATF permit is similar to the process to obtaining a regular permit but there are differences you should know of and which the team at Close Permits Fast can help you with throughout South Florida.

The fact is, even the most minor home improvement project may require a permit, and Close Permits Fast has over 25-years of permitting experience. We know, for example, if you are planning the building addition in Boca Raton, Delray Beach, West Palm Beach, or any other city in Palm Beach County, you should read the building code standards and ULDC requirements *before* planning your project, and consider hiring a building and zoning permit consulting company, like Close Permits Fast, Inc.

We will get your building permit quickly so you can start working on your home additions the correct way and in less time and won’t have any uncomfortable moments during your future closing. Call 888-905-4436 with any questions, or contact us here.