3 Options to Successfully Sell a House With Open Permits
You can sell a house with open permits, but you must disclose any known open permits or close them out through your local government.
You’re about to sell your home — or in the middle of closing on it — when you discover one or more open permits for past work on the property. Perhaps it was for a room addition, plumbing work, or other major renovation. It may be for a project performed recently or in years past. But the bottom line is someone applied for a permit from your city or county’s building office and never closed out the approval process. Will finding an open permit put a halt to your moving plans, or can you sell a house with open permits?
Here’s the short answer: You can sell a house with open permits, but you either must disclose any known open permits or close them out through your local government, a process that varies by location. However, issues can arise if the permit close-out requires tearing up flooring or opening walls.
Step one: Talk to an expert!
Connect with a top agent near you to get an expert opinion on how much your house will sell for and what to fix before listing.
“Open permits are a big deal because if the buyer closes on the home, it is now the buyer’s responsibility, and usually in those cases, a seller did not discover it,” says Jeanette Yates, a top real estate agent in Tampa, Florida. “Because if the seller knew about it, they would need to disclose it on their seller’s disclosure, and the buyer would know about it before they even make an offer.”
Get the answers you need on selling a house with open permits with our comprehensive guide.
We’ll cover the following:
Your options for selling with open permits
- Close out the open permits before you list.
- Offer the buyer a credit in lieu of closing the permit.
- Record the open permits on the seller’s disclosure, and sell as-is.
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