In my experience no it doesn’t typically happen - but I question how you closed on a house with work that was done without permits - I had to show proof that all work was done with permits and all inspections passed when I sold my house

I agree with what Karin said. This should come up prior to closing unless everything is done right is why the inspector didn't make an issue.

That said before furnace repair or replacement didn't require permits... Permit became a requirement maybe 10 years back give or take.

Don't worry about the inspector flagging anything especially on the furnace. If he finds any unsafe issues or if something is not within the code compliance, get it fixed because the last thing you need is for something to blow up, cause fire, etc.

Good luck

Generally, inspectors are a pretty cooperative lot. He's not going to inspect your furnace and red tag your stairs. A lot depends on your attitude. You both want the same things; a safe house.

The answers to your question is dependent upon the code in your municipality and how the code officials do their job. Where I live you need a permit for just about any repair. In one case a code official flagged something that was original to my house when it was built 30 years ago. His excuse was the code requirement was older than the house.

I've never seen an inspector look at anything other than the work described in the permit, nor have I ever run into a requirement that work done on a property I've bought or sold be shown to have been permitted. I have certainly asked sellers to fix (or compensate for) unsafe conditions as a condition of sale, but the question of how they got that way has never seemed relevant, nor has any external party ever asked.

In a place where houses with 200 years worth of additions and repairs are common that would be a challenging task indeed!

The only instances I know of where the town has gotten involved have involved zoning violations or unpermitted new construction/renovation-- if you've got a dumpster in the driveway and no permit in the window you can expect a visit from a town employee.

Thanks all. Unfortunately in my area there is a lot of competition for houses and people are waiving all contingencies, so no sellers are forced to get permits for the work they did. It sounds like I'm actually in the minority for wanting to get a permit...

I agree with the others but I'd suggest you should be MUCH more concerned about the risks and problems of unpermitted work, than about having someone finding them. In fact, if you think that's likely, you should hire a few folks to figure out what's there, to what standard prior work was done, and what may need to be corrected. Was the unpermitted work about which they were aware disclosed by the seller? In my state, that's a required disclosure when a house is listed for sale.

Permits are not magical and no guarantee that any structure is safe or sound today. Depending on whose brother-in-law did the inspection it may never have been safe or sound. (I've see plenty of head-shakers in "inspected" work.) Much better, I think to assess the actual condition and construction of the property as it exists now. I won't deny that there is a significant negative correlation between quality and failure to get permits, but I'd regard it as a warning sign, not a deal-breaker.

One needs, I think to be much more worried about the quality of the work than whether the appropriate fees were paid to the town. This, of course requires investing in education.

In our town probably 30% of the houses predate the introduction of building codes. All you have to go on is looking at what's actually in front of you rather than some paper trail. I think the reality on the ground is a much better guide to construction quality as well as current condition than whether it was ever blessed by an inspector in a 10 minute visit. If you're going to spend hundreds of thousands or millions of dollars on something it's worth spending some serious effort in learning how to judge whether it's any good or not. I know I've flagged many more code violations in projects I've managed than any inspector ever has.

If your town building department is so incompetent, you should do something about it.

My experience has been quite different in two different cities. The inspectors have always been professional with good attitudes and ready to address questions about what they do in their jobs and concerning work of the trades and alternatives, as examples.

Most people don't have the time or interest in accumulating their own information and many people who convince themselves that they do have the knowledge of a licensed contractor fool only themselves. Are you one of those?

Having unpermitted work in a sale situation can cost big bucks in value and undisclosed unpermitted work leaves the seller liable to pay for remediation to comply with permit requirements even after the sale closes for some time afterwards. Even if it involves opening and repairing walls, opening and repairing floors, removing kitchen or bathroom fixtures, etc. Complying with the permit process is a cheap investment to avoid such problems.

^Agree with Elmer J Fudd. In addition to his astute post, in my area, code enforcement can impose significant fines ($1000 per day) until you have the permits and inspections and/or require you to remove the unpermitted improvements. I don't know how it works in your area, just telling you how it works in S Fl.

Unraveling the history of a building to try to know what was done when and which code version might have been in effect when it was done is an exercise in frustration that more often than not fails. In lots of towns recordkeeping is simply inadequate to that task. My attitude is that if unsafe or inadequate conditions exist you either fix them (with a permit, if required, of course) or don't buy the property. Worrying about whether it was legal in 1940, 1960, or 1980 when it was done buys you nothing.

Do you live in places where the town inspects properties being bought and sold? That's not something I've ever experienced. As I mentioned before the only times I've heard of the town getting involved was unpermitted current construction and changes that result in a zoning violation, like adding an in-law suite.

My interactions with inspectors have always been excellent-- they are indeed most often seasoned pros who can often be very helpful. However that are quite busy and don't have the time to look over every detail of a project the way an owner might. They check the things that are on their current hit list, sample a few other things and assume the rest is OK if they don't spot any problems in the stuff they do look at. And I have witnessed an inspector observe whose truck is in the driveway walk in, say hello, glance around, and sign the tag in under two minutes because they know that guy's work is always good. He won't catch the odd mistake.

I'm certain that I fool myself all the time, however through three gut rehab projects, one with a 1200 sf addition and two major kitchen/bathroom projects where I did all the work myself (all fully permitted and inspected) I've had only two instances where the inspector found a problem; in one his interpretation of the code was wrong and he withdrew the objection related to whether a tempered glass window was required, and in the other I had a brain fart and failed to install a GFCI receptacle on an island where it was required (back before all kitchen receptacles needed GFCI).

If you're going to spent the equivalent of all of your take home income from 3-10 years of work to buy an item putting a couple hundred hours into learning about it does not seem unreasonable.