When buying a property, watch out! Here are two cases that I have witnessed.
A real estate broker from Montreal acquires and retains the services of a contractor to rebuild the bathroom. The architect chosen to execute the plans realizes that major work has already been done and, after checking the municipality finds that almost all the condo was redone without a license.
An engineer joins the architect to develop plans taking into account the work already done and the upgrade of the property to current building code. Following the submission of plans to the municipality, inspectors have noted the work conforms to the requirements of the code.
In a second case, this is a property on the Intracoastal in Pompano Beach. The contractor filed a permit application and inspectors indicate that the roof was changed without a license, which required a plan that complies be filed before other work is undertaken.
Tips: Before you buy, ask if any work was done on the property and if, permits were issued, if there was no plan enabled in your budget the money that will be needed to put the upgrading the building code, or, again, planning a complete renovation which avoids hidden defects. In all cases, consider delays due to licensing and inspections.