Definitely better to be thorough up front, even if it means a few late nights scrolling through PDFs...
Couldn’t agree more about the late-night PDF marathons. It’s wild how often something like an old garage conversion or a DIY addition pops up only when you start talking to insurance or lenders. Ever notice how some sellers seem genuinely surprised by what’s on record? Makes me wonder how many folks just never check their own property files. I always tell people—if you’re getting a letter about a sale, double-check for any open permits or code issues before you get too far down the road. Lenders can get twitchy about unpermitted work, and that can slow everything way down.
Yeah, the number of times I’ve seen someone blindsided by some random permit issue… it’s wild. I had a neighbor who found out his “bonus room” was never actually permitted, and it turned into a whole saga with the city when he tried to refinance. You’d think folks would at least peek at their own records once in a while, but I guess if everything seems fine, it’s easy to just assume all’s good.
I totally get what you mean about lenders getting nervous. Even the smallest thing—like an old shed someone forgot to mention—can hold up closing for weeks. It’s a pain, but honestly, I’d rather lose a few hours now than deal with a mess down the line. The late-night PDF scrolling is kind of a rite of passage at this point... weirdly satisfying when you catch something early and save yourself the headache later.
Honestly, I’ve seen deals fall apart over stuff like a missing permit for a deck or a garage conversion from decades ago. It’s wild how something that seems minor can snowball into a big issue with the lender or title company. Out of curiosity, has anyone here actually tried to retroactively permit something before selling? I’ve heard mixed stories—sometimes it’s straightforward, other times it’s a total nightmare.
