Highland Beach is a quiet town located between Boca Raton and Delray Beach along the Intracoastal which has, however, a thighter administration abour building permit. A builder from Montreal has learned : the work carried out six years ago nearly cost him the sale of the condo. He tells us about his adventure.
"When we bought this condo, six years ago, I made several renovations that are usual: changing kitchen cabinets, ceramic tile, rejuvenation of the bathroom, replace the patio door and work minor adjustments on electricity and plumbing. Work that does not require a building permit in Quebec. We have lived happily for six years. We then bought a house in Deerfield Beach and sold our condo.
"A customer wants to buy and the inspection goes well. But a neighbor intercepts the inspector to tell him that the work had been carried out without a license and made by Quebecers who perhaps had not necessary skills. The buyer, an American, puts the transaction on the ice and we take steps to obtain permits without suspecting the complexity of it all.
"I thought I would explain my work to an architect and he would make plans accordingly. But no, he has taken all measures and was to resume work in the kitchen, bathroom and other filing with architectural plans and engineering to the municipality and inspections until the conclusion of the work must receive approval of the municipal government seal. Among other things, we changed the patio door to install a weather‐resistant and cost $ 8,000. We needed the label with the specifications of the door. We do not find, which would have required us to install another door of the same price. Fortunately, the label in question was found.
" When the contractor carries the burden of work that represents all the steps, he asked Salbo Construction to obtain permits and find professionals able to perform the work. It took three months between the first inspection and final approval of the work done and sale to be closed. It is fortunate that the city officials have worked expeditiously. In some municipalities, they can, when work was done without permits, put you back on the ice for several months to punish you.
The Montreal entrepreneur has also entrusted Salbo Construction renovation of the house he just bought on the Intracoastal in Deerfield Beach. This time, everything will be done in accordance with the Building Code with all required permits.
"We bought the house in December 2011, says the new owner, and we got the permit in October 2012, it will take another nine months before the work will be completed. Just the plans to renovate cost around $ 20 000 to roughly the same amount to get the permits. We gave the whole operation permit application and work with Salbo Construction that made us great service and has all the professionals to carry out such a major renovation project. "
Moral of the story: prevention is better than cure, because the cure is often more painful to endure the burden of the increase in permits and inspections required to renew with the inevitable delays that follows.