Currently under a contract for 5BR single family home in Seattle. We found the seller added 5th bedroom without permit by adding a non-load bearing walls in a large living room located in basement. They also added lights and a closet.
We inspected the new bedroom and look like it meets the code. There are two windows in the new bedroom with the right height from the ground which was there before. There is also a hvac vent, smoke detector etc there.
Number of bedrooms is reported 4 in the county website that does not match the listing.
I am inclined to ignore this issue and move ahead. However I am not sure what can go wrong in the future with such a discrepancy between country websites and the house.
Can I get into trouble when I want to sell this house?
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No, you can’t really get in trouble. Theoretically, someone could call code enforcement and report you, but soooo many houses have unpermitted work. It usually isn’t a big deal.
When selling, you’d have to disclose that the room isn’t permitted. It might not be a big deal, but it might turn off some buyers.
I’m sitting in an umpermitted room in my house, and I really don’t care. This is all up to you and your comfort level.
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I would not worry about this at all. A big reason is that improvements that take place below grade are generally for the enjoyment of the owner and often do not add true market value. Where I live, if you had a three bedroom home and sectioned up your basement into five more bedrooms, you would still actually have a three bedroom home. Below grade space does not even count in the official square footage.
I would not expect load bearing walls to be needed, I mean, the house is already being held up correct? What kind of a load would those walls need to bear? All they need to do is divide the space.
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Not sure about Seattle but in Illinois with high property taxes it’s common to have work done by code without permits. All to keep taxes low.
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Not sure about Seattle but in Illinois with high property taxes it’s common to have work done by code without permits. All to keep taxes low.
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I’m in a different state, but anything in the basement doesn’t count as a “bedroom”. I’d have to still list as a 3 bedroom and add that the basement has additional room that can be used as a bedroomt or something along those lines. Technically, someone could live in my basement, kitchen, bathroom, office, living space and bedroom, but none of it adds that much value because it’s below grade.
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I have built on office in the basement, with a closet and it happens to have a bed for those days I’m tired. Also I did put in a sliding window large enough to bring in drywall sheets and firewood; so what do I have?
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