City making it hard for new investor

I'm new at this income property thing and I just bought a piece of property. The property was sold in a tax auction by the city. The city had a case report done on the property of specific improvements. Some of the work was done when I bought it and the rest unfinished. I know how to lay drywall, flooring repair, etc but because the city has a case report I can not do the minor things because the city wants permits and I'm not on list of contractors. I fully intend to use licensed electricians, plumbers, etc which will file their own permits. My question is if work that was already done that did not have a permit before I purchased the house will the city make me redo or just inspect. Also how can I save money by doing the drywall, flooring, etc myself and not be required to go thru the city. I'm just trying to keep a $10k renovation from being $20k plus. If anyone has anything that can help it would be appreciated.

PS. it is the city of cincinatti, ohio.

Thanks!

snoop: welcome to the site. Have you talked to the city and asked them for details and how much you can do. It is reasonable for them to want permits and inspections on work done by others that was done with out permits.

I wouldn't buy anything that the City was aware of. Then they can't tell you how to make improvements. The house is yours until you sell it, so you should be able to do repairs yourself.

There is no common sense in Gubment, so don't even bother trying to have a conversation with them.

I'm not sure I would get a hate on for the city to fast. They may have tagged some really dangerous wiring or plumbing that does need to be dealt with.

No, I definitely agree with any wiring, plumbing or foundation permits but permits to lay drywall, minor board replacement in flooring, etc. Those are things that I'm talking about. I can do the small things without hiring people on their list to do it. I wanted to know if there was a way I could get by with doing the little things myself or would they make me tear down my work or fine me? They have done their own inspection before I bought the property and know what needs to be done to bring it up to code. I have licensed electricians, plumbers, etc waiting but I need to know what financial extras the city will impose. Thanks for your responses they are very helpful.

Thanks once again!

I think you can do your own work even if you have to get a permit. If they are treating this as new construction, you will need to get a permit on the whole house and then other permits.

I know a bunch of people who for one reason or another built buildings for their business and have yet to hear any one of them say they had a good experience with the powers that be. Things that should take 3 months usually take a year or more and the expenses just keep rising.

I agree some permits are necessary, but these guys go far and beyond the call of duty.

We here that a lot here too, but most of the time it is misunderstanding what inspections have to be done and what the code is. We have seen people remove drywall because they didn't get the insulation inspected and remove stairs that were completely finished and didn't meet code. Some how that's all the fault of the building inspector.
Along with that keep in mind that construction is down and inspectors have been layed off and the ones that are left are probably overworked and get a little cranky when people blame them for all the problems.

I just can't find it in my heart to feel sorry for any gubment employee. And the fact that they have the upper hand and don't have to do one iota of compromising, gives them ultimate power. That and the fact that they have absolutely no regard for your problems, your money or your time.

Thanks for your responses. I will try to sit down with the city and work all issues out. Hopefully with good results.

The biggest problem is understanding the code, and if you up with the $400 to buy a copy, you need a doctorate to read it. Actually reading it isn't so bad, finding what you are looking for is the tricky part.

I'm sure finding, reading and understanding it would be impossible without a Lawyer.'

Here is a prime example of what goes on in Gubment.
Just this last week my Son put a new submersible pump, bladder tank and a constant pressure valve in for one of the county parks. The well is outside and used to have a jet pump system on it. I have no idea why. Three feet to the south there is a building that could be called a pump house. There is a galvanized tank in there with a chlorinator that naturally waterlogged often causing the pump to cycle. After the install, here comes the Health Department who says that the Park can not have a bladder tank on it's well. So we have the County going after the County wasting our tax dollars.

I am going to challenge the Health Dept to explain to me what possible harm a bladder tank would have on a system like that one.

I forgot to mention; they threatened to shut down the park if the tank wasn't removed.

The problem there is the permitting system. The arguement should have been had before the installation.

The purpose of permits is to protect the occupants AND future owners/occupants.

When you buy a bargain, you have to expect to make it safe and habitable AND have it acceptable for future owners, especially if you are an investor and probably expect to sell and turn it over even if you are not a "flipper".

Dick

In BC the people that install septec feild are certified, they offer a plan to the health dept. and then do the work and file a completed form for the job and certify it as to code. What a suprize when we find, feilds drain to fast into the aquafir or fields running to close to the well. I would much sooner have dumby installers and qualified inspectors. There may be special codes for parks just like there are for hospitals. We can't complain because we didn't know the code and have to redo things.

The vast majority of municipalities I've dealt with over the last 45 years regard building permits as a sacred, cash cow. Excellent source of revenue, with minimal costs or overhead. My thinking is that many (most?) local government inspectors are burned-out contractors, and they enjoy trying to show off how important they still think they are. If one picks his arguments carefully while knowing what he/she is talking about, it's usually not too difficult to win over the inspector who is quoting something that just doesn't sound quite right. "That's the way we've always done it" is not acceptable. If something appears questionable, I always make a point of asking to be shown the written requirements, please, whether it's established code or internal agency documents. Also, having current code references on the jobsite is always an advantage, too (unless what you're trying to get away with is totally against code).

There is a wide range of costs and required inspections.

I built an 1850 sf lake home (8" super lightweight block exterior walls with 2" XPS and 4" brick on 14" thick block foundation walls) plus a 2-1/2 car attached garage. I had my plans and went for a permit and the person asked me where it was and she said the only inspections required were an electrical inspection and a septic tank inspection because my lot was on a lake shore. The cost was $10 or $15 and I never had to open my plans.

The inspections were minimal. I had a reputable septic system installer do the installation. After telling him where to go, I went there the next week-end and found a hole dug and a pit (seepage) for testing to be done and some plans stapled to a tree for the inspector. The next week-end, the job was done and a note on the door showed that.

A week later, I got a large certificate (with a gold trim) from the state giving the approval that gave the elevations of the inlets and outlets, the tank capacity, inlet and outlet elevations, distribution box info and the number of drain tile lengths and the protection provided. That was worth it's weight in gold for resale on a prime lot.

My electrical service was done by a local contractor that moved the temporary service into the garage. I did all the interior wiring with help from my 12 year old son. When the inspector from the utility arrived, he immediately went to my built in fireplace (exposed on all sides) with conduit and a lot THHN wire of different colors for the 2 multi-speed fans to suck heat out of the steel shell. Next he went to an outlet (conduit on block walls since it was originally planned to be exposed for a year or two). He removed the cover and looked inside and commented that connections were good and turned in the right direction and never went further. I did not have the heart to tell him my 12 year old son made the connections after I pulled the wire.

Inspections are not to be feared if you do things right and the approval is very valuable when you go to sell.

Dick