There are certain things in life that belong together, some would say peanut butter and jelly (never been a fan), or mashed potatoes and gravy, while I would throw out there: Humboldt County and unpermitted construction. At first, I was shocked to see how many Humboldt County properties had unpermitted work, but now I realize how naive I was. Two years ago I would see an unpermitted grow room inside of a garage in 1 of 6 properties I showed. Now I'd say that ratio is down to 1 in 20 because of the legalization. This topic has been at the front of my mind for the last couple of days after showing a few under priced properties that were priced as such because of the amount of unpermitted work present. This issue can be of varying degress depending on the clients disposition as well as the amount, and nature of the unpermitted work. One of the houses from this week had 7ft ceilings, a slumping roof line and uneven floors. That combination presents a ton of red flags and unfortunately it's not an easy process to get to the bottom of being that it's unpermitted and has no paper trail. Don't get me wrong, I've had plenty of escrows with minor unpermitted work (additions, decks, fences, etc) that we still closed on. The key is making sure your clients fully understand the meaning of buying a property with those caveats. If your interested in a property which used to be a single family home, that was then turned into a duplex by adding an interior wall, you might want to check the permitting to ensure it's separately metered, or your investment might be a foolish one. The moral of the story? Plan for the worst and hope for the best, be prepared for anything so that nothing catches you off guard. I realize that is easier said then done, but having a game plan can make a world of a difference. Worst case scenario, just call me for help!
