I have done alot of DIY building work to my home loft conversion, extended kitchen,etc, when I sell my home will I need some kind of certificate saying that the work was carried out properly?
and is my home building insurance valid as i did not inform my insurance company of the changes to my house?
I did not get a building inspector to check before I started the work as I was not taking any load bearing walls out.
could I ask a building inspector to examine my property now after I`v done the work?
#1 by Jocelyn W. on February 4, 2010 - 10:27 pm
It would look better on your part as a home owner to have a building inspector to examine yes, but, remolding is your choise and you dont have to info your insurance company because if there is a accident then all they will say, “you did.”
#2 by Davie X on February 4, 2010 - 10:58 pm
As far as l can see, All changes should be reported to insurance- but l am sure you need licenses and permission to build extended kitchen, and loft conversion, and an inspector- inspects the different stages- Sorry,but it sounds like all your D.I.Y. is Illegal- and they may make you take it down.
#3 by Carol on February 4, 2010 - 11:42 pm
No, you don’t need some kind of certificate saying the work was done properly.
Yes, your homeowners insurance is still valid, but you may have increased the value of your home. Especially if you have increased the total finished square feet, then you may want to let them know so they can be sure you have adequate coverage. It could cause a slight increase in premium.
No, don’t ask the building inspector to examine your property. You didn’t do mess with any load bearing walls, so it’s none of his business.
Your home improvement work is completed and looks fine, so don’t worry about it.
Good luck on the sale of your home!
#4 by cheezyhill on February 4, 2010 - 11:53 pm
I will assume that the work you did is not something I would look at and say “OH some amature did this”.
As long as the work was done in a “workmanship like mannor” then there is nonthing wrong with it.
Ask yourself these questions —
Does the quality of the work show?
Did the work enhance the beauty of the home?
Did you improve the home?
As far as an inspector, having a “home inspection” done by a profesional inspector is concerned, (this is not a building inspector and very often will not adress building codes) but in most states a licenced home inspector. I would let the buyers have one done.
IF YOU HAVE CONCERNS and in todays real estate market however. You may wish to shell out the money and make a copy of the inspection report to potential buyers.
A home inspection report gives buyers the confidence that everything is in good repair and all the appliances (furnance, hot water heater etc.) appear to be in good working order.
Call an inspector and find out the cost and what is involved. If you don’t know one call your realtor (any) and ask for a recomendation.
As far as insurance is concerned, you should be fine. If in serious doubt, have your agent come out and ask him/her for a letter stating that there are no problems.
Unless you intentionaly did something to put your home at serious risk (electrical work comes to mind), you should have no problems.
Pardon the spelling couldn’t get the spell checker to work grrrrrrrrrrrr!
#5 by sutla on February 5, 2010 - 12:04 am
I would not even address this situation unless a problem comes up. List your house and see what happens. Some buyers may not even ask for a home inspection. If your work was done correctly you have nothing to worry about. There is no such thing as a ”certificate” saying your work is done properly. If you ask your local building inspector now to examine your work he will make you rip all the drywall down so he can look inside the walls to inspect framing, electrical, plumbing, insulation, etc. and then make you pull all the permits for each of those items which will cost hundreds of dollars. You will be opening a can of worms. As fas as notifying your insurance company, you only do this to raise your coverage amount to cover the improvements to the house. Otherwise they do not care.
#6 by DIY Doc on February 5, 2010 - 12:25 am
I’d have to agree with Cheezyhi, no offense to anyone else. Certainly you don’t have to have a building inspection done by any govt. agency, but can find them in private practice.
Not knowing exactly where you are or any codes specific to you locally, most interior work, in a remodel sense need not be permitted, unless you had to alter the main structure, especially in the sense of an add on to create a larger space. but if you made any changes NOT to code, you should especially find that out in an inspection. If you happen to use a Realtor, they may be able to advise of an inspector. A Realtors position certainly does an assesment of value, but not strictly of details in construction, or methods used.
As regards insurance; that may also not be anything written in law, but with all due respect, had I made major changes/modifications/upgrades to a property, I would want them insured. After you sell it shouldn’t matter to you. What should matter however is the quality of your work and materials used, to be fair to any buyer.
Certainly it would be to your benefit, as well as a possible selling point to any prospective customer, for you to have proof that the house had been recently inspected. In YOUR sales pitch/ad/flyer, etc. you can list any upgrades (as is common) that may also help you sell.
As one answer suggests, raising the value. That may be the case, but certainly not always, and costs of remodels are not always recouped totally. The loft for example, may not be something every buyer cares about, and I have an experienced opinion about buying and selling. The Man,,,no offense, may think he is doing the buying, may even pay the mortgage, but it’s the woman who chooses the house, in most cases, and two primary issues are the Kitchen, and number of or size of bathrooms, then comes closet space, and a general sense of how those items they may already own, will fit into this new space.
For a seller it is as important to give the house the best CURB APPEAL possible. If the interior is decent, creating a Hallmark card front yard will do as much to sell a house, as interior touches.
Steven Wolf
Just my ywo “sense”
#7 by m_kunis on February 5, 2010 - 1:24 am
Yeah don’t worry about the home inspection for now. Whom ever buys the house should get it inspected. You should save receipts and such for the real estate agent so that you can get your money back out of it. Because if you spent 20,000 in the process you should be able to get that money back plus some in your listing price. If you changed the footprint of the house you should have gotten a permit, but the project is finished so no worries. If you did a good job just relax and reap the fruits of your labor.