The upside to keeping it legal is that you won’t have to spend a lot of money to raze what you’ve built or on lawyers in a drawn-out court case that you probably won’t win. The downside is that the municipality will be aware of everything you do and will likely raise your assessment and your property taxes.
And remember, if you get an inspector on a bad day, nothing your contractor does will make the official happy. Permits ensure that your contractor does the work properly. Although requirements vary from place to place, permits are typically needed for structural changes to your house or its mechanical systems—installation of central air-conditioning, for example.
Permits also establish standards. They tell you how your project should comply with building codes, what kinds of materials are acceptable, the proper way things should be installed, and structural requirements.
Remember, local codes rule. While these codes are typically based on current national and international codes, they may not follow them to letter. For example, the code in one town might say that only basements with eight-foot ceilings can be finished as bedrooms, while the next town may require nine feet and the next one seven.
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