We just bought our house in 2023, which was listed as 1,117 square feet. However, our appraiser found it's actually 1,700 square feet. The previous owners had obtained a permit for an addition, but the tax assessor's records haven't been updated. I checked with my real estate lawyer, who said the county should notice this discrepancy, so I shouldn't bring it up. Now, we're planning to remodel one of our two bathrooms, but my father-in-law, who's a reliable contractor, suggests we add a bathroom in our upstairs loft. He thinks we don't need a permit since we're not expanding the square footage, but I'm concerned that getting a permit might draw attention to the square footage issue. What would you do in my situation?
1 Answer
Honestly, I wouldn’t get a permit. If you trust your father-in-law to do it right and it’s not increasing the size of the house, you might be fine without one. I get worried about assessors too, but sometimes it’s just easier to roll the dice if the work is being done properly.
Are you not worried about the legality of it, or is it just the assessor that doesn’t scare you?