Getting work done on your house? You should, of course, get all the required permits. Don’t think, though, that the city inspector will verify that the work done was the same work you contracted for. They likely don’t even KNOW what you contracted for and they don’t care. They ONLY want to verify at some minimal level that the applicable building codes were followed in doing the work stated on the application.
Did you see a copy of the permit application?
Probably not unless you submitted it yourself. So, you don’t know what your contractor submitted. Maybe it says “application for new roof”. The code says he can’t put a new roof on top of 2 old roofs. Once it is done, though, the city inspector isn’t going up on the roof to see if he did or not. He also isn’t going to verify that the roof installed is the one in the proposal either.
How do you protect yourself?
So, since the city won’t do it - how do you protect yourself? My advice is to pay for an independent home inspector to review your contract with the builder and inspect the work to see that it conforms to the agreement and was done as specified.
It might be cheaper in the long run.
More from Paul Howard - Certified Negotiation Expert
Paul Howard
Broker/Owner NJHomeBuyer.com Realty
Cherry Hill NJ 08034
856-488-8444
