# advice/Help on non-permitted bonus room?



## Orange_County (Mar 28, 2009)

Hi everyone, I am very new to all of this. 1st time homebuyer and only moved in 30 days ago. I bought a home with an existing "non-permitted" bonus room. I just received a notice from the city telling me it needs to be demolished or I need to get it permitted within 2 weeks because it was spotted by a code enforcement officer minly because of an unsightly trash pile in the driveway that was also against code. THe trash was what we were hauling out of the home that the previous owners left us. . 


Here is the problem. I knew about this problem when I bought the house. I even signed a disclosure saying I understood this problem. The reason I went forward are.

1. that before I put in an offer, I called the city and was put on the phone with an inspector and I told them that I was thinking of buying a home with an existing permit and they told me that in this city, they do not actively look for violations and chances were that if it was there already and nobody complained then I was OK. 

2. I talked to the neighbors and friom what they all told me, the room was added on in 1969, 4 owners ago and nobody ever had a problem with it and it has been sitting here for 40 years unbothered. 

3. in my price range here in CAlifornia, I looked at hundreds of houses and 99% of them had non-permitted add-on's, but they were all short sales or forclosures. This was the only one I saw in my price range that was a decent house and the owners were not upside down. 

Now my problem is that I have spent more money on this house than I had originally planned getting it ready for move in and right after escrow closed, my pay was cut at my long time job. So now I have money to pay the mortgage and money to pay bills and live, but no more money to put into this house whether it be remodling or knocking down the room. If they told me tomorrow that it haad to be knocked down or I had to abandon it, I would have to walk. And if you were to knock this room down, it would leave a large chunk of the wall of the original house open and would need aditional construction to make the house livable after removing the room. 

Am I doomed? If I can't afford to comply, what can they oro what will they do to me? What are my options?


Anf FYI, the main reason this cannot be permitted without changes is that the added on room is only 6 inches from the property line in some parts and 2 feet in other parts. City code calls for 3 or 5 feet clearance from the property line. Electrical and exits, insulation and roof are all up to code beause I rewired and re-insulated the bonus room myself before moving in, along with new drywall inside and new sliding glass door. Only problem is the location on the property line. 

any help would be appreciated.


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## Just Bill (Dec 21, 2008)

They say it needs to have a permit or be torn down, that is to scare you into getting a permit. It is very rare, although maybe not in CA, that they will actually make you tear it down. Get the permit, have it inspected, and if there are problems fix them. I can't imagine there are major structural issues if has been there for 40 yrs, which is a good argument if they say otherwise. There is a good chance it will not meet current seismic code, but neither does the house itself. Not sure what you do about that.


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## Bob Mariani (Dec 1, 2008)

They have the right and may require it to be removed. Any electrical work done without inspections is a big deal, since they cannot inspect hidden wiring. After getting a permit, they will determine what needs to be opened up for inspections to be done. Removing all or some of the drywall may be part of this. To deal with the property clearance issue may be more of a problem. Possible you can apply for a variance, but what your neighbors feel about this will have some effect on this outcome.


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## Aggie67 (Dec 20, 2008)

Talk to the town. Lay your cards out. Check on the history of those property set backs. Could be 40 years ago there weren't any rules. That may be wishful thinking, but it's worth checking.

This should be a lesson to all prospective buyers: ask for the structure's permit history, and get the seller to make corrections or negotiate the price down. When you signed that disclosure, you basically inherited a known problem.


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## jomama45 (Nov 13, 2008)

I was with you on this situation until the last full paragraph. The inspector more than likely looked in the windows & realized the extent of new work done without a permit. You simply compounded your own problem. The original issue (from 1969) was probably easy for you fix with the city, the latter may not be. The city may have rules/ratio in place for repair to non-conforming structures that you bipassed. I know in my area there's a ratio, 50% I believe.

Good luck with this one.


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## Scuba_Dave (Jan 16, 2009)

I hope you got a good price in view of a non-permitted space
IE I hope the price didn't include that as living space
My last house the former owners at some point built out PAST the property line. The people before me had to buy a slice of land to make the house legal.
Luckily there was only a vacant lot next door
Do you have a house close to that side?

Go in & talk to them about the room & pull the permit
If you want the house get a 2nd job to make extra $$ to do repairs

If that slider is within the 3-5' required clearance then they may make you pull it out. This is a good example of why you need to pull a permit BEFORE doing work. With an inspector it is not always easy to ask forgiveness after the fact


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## Orange_County (Mar 28, 2009)

Well, as for work done on the room, I think what I did was mainly cosmetic other than the electrical. The room had push up cieling tiles inside that were falling down, so I wanted to just throw up drywall. When we took down the ceilling tiles my friend was there who is an electrician and has been for 25 years. he told me that the wiring in that room was a fire hazard, so he completely reqired it to code. Then we threw some insulation up and drywalled and painted it. We didn;t mess with anythign that was structural. 

As for the window, there was an existing sliding window but it was 40 years old and the rollers were shot and it was all rusted out. All I did was pull it out and put in a new vinyl slider. 

I did get a good price for the area, the price was below the appraisal, but in CA the market is droppinpg daily so my guess is that while I got it for $20k under market, by the end of the year I will probably be upside down in it anyway. I knew that going in. I was planning on living here for at least 10 years. 


But did anyone have any feedback on the question of tear down? If they do tell me I have to tear it down, but I do not have the financial ability to comply then what happens? I would love to get a 2nd job, but unemploymnt here is at 11% and I am lucky to have the job I got. Realistically if they tell me to tear it down, or even make further repairs I just can't do it. What will they or can they do to me then?


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## Scuba_Dave (Jan 16, 2009)

Only your Inspector can answer the questions you are asking
They can I suppose fine you
Eventually they could force the tear down by hiring someone & putting a lien against your property

I don't think realistically they would do that, but who knows?

Electric, drywall & a new slider are far from cosmetic work


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## Orange_County (Mar 28, 2009)

I know the electrical isn't cosmetic, but since I brought it up to code I figured that it was actually making things better. If this was not an add on, would you really need a permit to replace and existing slider, drywall a ceiling and rewire the electric? I kind of figured these things are just stuff that as a homeowner you need to replace and repair periodiclaly anyway and didn;t think a permit was necessary unless you were changing somethign structurally.


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## Daniel Holzman (Mar 10, 2009)

This sounds like an unfortunate situation at best. In my town, you would have needed two very distinct permits for the work. The first would have been a variance from the Zoning Board of Appeals, because the room was built too clost to a lot line. The building inspector CANNOT issue the variance, it must be issued by the ZBA after a public hearing. I do not know the rules in CA, but those are the rules in MA.

As for the work itself, it was performed without a building permit. This is a wholly separate matter from the failure to conform with lot line regulations. It is hard for me to imagine a building inspector requiring a teardown of properly constructed work simply because no permit was pulled. They would almost certainly want you to pull an after the fact permit, and they could charge you more for after the fact inspections than they would have had they been able to inspect when the walls were open. Sounds like the threat to require you to remove the structure is due to the zoning violation, which will require you to go to the ZBA to request an after the fact variance. Sticky at best.


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## Scuba_Dave (Jan 16, 2009)

Yes, you need a permit for the electric work
Possibly to renovate the room, all depends upon the area
But especially since an original permit was lacking a permit should have been pulled BEFORE doing any further work
It just makes you look like you are continuing in the footsteps of former owners who failed to pull a permit


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## Orange_County (Mar 28, 2009)

Great. Thanks everyone. Not what I wanted to hear. Makes me wish I stayed in an apartment. If I didn;t have $45k cash already invested I would walk away right now.


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## Scuba_Dave (Jan 16, 2009)

It may not be that bad
Before I bought my last house (rough shape) I went to the building Inspector before I bought the house. I asked him of any issues, he had 3. A fridge had to be removed from the yard. The shed had to be moved from the side yard to the back yard. Shed was on the property line, 8' to neighbors house, 3' to my house - fire danger. 3rd was that the prior owners had enclosed an old porch as a room. They then built a new front deck & then tried to enclose that - not happening

I made the Inspector happy after buying the property

Work with the Inspector, explain the situation & apologize for your lack of knowledge in the process


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## Orange_County (Mar 28, 2009)

thanks scuba. I will try to plead ignorance as a first time buyer, which is true. My only fear is that if the city workers are anything like the DMV, I am screwed. lol 

FYI, the reason I did not specifically go looking for permits or anything before I did the work is that like I mentioned in my first post, I called the city before I even bought the hosue. They told me that if it was an existing structure and noboday had said anything about it so far, they said my best bet was to just leave it as is because they (the city) wouldn;t bother me unless a neighbor complained. I am wondering if it was just a set up now looking back. If they would have told me it was going to be a problem, I never would have even bought the house. The reason I am in this position now is because I listened to a city inspectors advice to just ignore the problem.


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## Orange_County (Mar 28, 2009)

Oh, and scuba one more question. You said that afterwards you "made the inspector happy". How did you do that? Did you have to demo the add on room and everything, or did he just let you slide?


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## Scuba_Dave (Jan 16, 2009)

I brought the fridge to the dump
Moved the shed to the back yard
The enclosed porch stayed, no tear out or permit required
I think the fact that I went to him before purchase helped greatly

The new front deck that they started to wall in I returned to just a deck

House was rundown & I wanted to fix it up
So I think they were happy to see it sell
I know the neighbors were happy


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## Termite (Apr 13, 2008)

First of all, I'm a building inspector so I often lack sympathy in these sorts of situations...

But I have to say that this is a crock of you-know-what. There may not be a statute of limitations or there might be, but they're waaaay out of line to be making your pull a permit or do anything to a structure that's been there that long. Total BS. I don't care how unsafe or illegal it is, 

If the structure was a year or two old I can see this happening. 

I'd sit down and write a formal letter of complaint to the mayor, the building official, and each member of the city council. I might even call the paper and local media. An hour with an attorney might be worth the money as well. My main statement would be *"I agree that the structure may have not had a permit back in 1969. I'd like to see your permit records from 1969. I'd like to know why it took the city 40 years to determine that this structure failed to meet the city's standards and why action has not been taken until now." *

I sure as heck wouldn't just comply with them without making sure there was no other choice. So what if you piss them off...The worst thing they can do to you is what they're doing!


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## ccarlisle (Jul 2, 2008)

That may well be true, KC, but IMO it's no use complaining the door wasn't shut now the horse has bolted from the farm. Fact is, that they hold the cards and our OP may not have the experience you do - nor the muscle - to bring an argument to them in that fashion.

But KC did mention something that no-one else did: lawyers. My first question to myself was: Where were the lawyers at closing? isn't that why we have lawyers in real estate dealings, to check for variations and liens and titles - all things that prevent from dealing with the mess we see here happening?

If lawyers _were_ involved at the closing, I'd bring them back under threat. If they _weren't_ there at closing, why not? If they weren't there because someone didn't bother to hire them, then it is what it is. You may face demo charges and or/fines to salvage this mess. But sit down and talk with them - they're on your side too, if you're willing to work with them. Right now you're working with "what-ifs"...get the facts!

But first, I'd get a lawyer NOW before you get railroaded into something as KC says is overkill. There is a solution - and knowing or not knowing the law will have a lot to do with it. 

Right now you're looking like a cheap homeowner who got caught. You need someone to stand with you.:wink:


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## slowjo (Mar 29, 2009)

Im no fan of building inspectors but I have to say KC's advice was pretty useful and a great idea. Remember elected officials love to get those votes! :thumbsup:


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## Scuba_Dave (Jan 16, 2009)

ccarlisle said:


> That may well be true, KC, but IMO it's no use complaining the door wasn't shut now the horse has bolted from the farm. Fact is, that they hold the cards and our OP may not have the experience you do - nor the muscle - to bring an argument to them in that fashion.
> 
> But KC did mention something that no-one else did: lawyers. My first question to myself was: Where were the lawyers at closing? isn't that why we have lawyers in real estate dealings, to check for variations and liens and titles - all things that prevent from dealing with the mess we see here happening?
> 
> ...


Read the thread
He knew of the unpermitted work & signed off on it at purchase
So he is left holding the bag - he signed a release

I agree with the 40 year old issue
If it's been there that long thru multiple owners I do not see the City having much to stand on as far as tearing it down. I think primary action on there part is to make sure it meets code. Also on the variance - the building inspector can't issue one (here) either. On my last hoiuse there was a window facing the lot beside me - on the lot line. By code it should not have been there, but he allowed it since it was there. I just wanted to upgrade it to a new window


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## ratherbefishin' (Jun 16, 2007)

The sad thing here is that if the OP had pulled the required permits for the remodel and rented a dumpster instead of piling trash in the driveway, it's unlikely the 40 yr old unpermitted room would have ever become an issue:whistling2:

I agree with termite on how to approach it. You may end up having to tear out some of your new work for inspection and possibly pay a fine, but I doubt they'll make you tear down the whole thing.


Don't know if there might be any relevance, but I'm told that here if a fence stands undisputed for 10 yrs it becomes the property line. You might check with a lawyer to see if any similar "grandfather" laws might be applicable in your case.


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## Orange_County (Mar 28, 2009)

To thekctermite, I can only hope this inspector feels the same way once I talk to him. He did not return my calls on Friday, but I will try him again in the morning tomorrow. 

To ratherbefishin', I don't think you understand. For the record, the old owners were supposed to remove their stuff when they left and didn;t. I actually paid a junk hauler $400 to take away 2 flatbed trucks full of their crap. I then rented a dumpster and filled it and rented another dumpster and filled that. The only thing left on my driveway was a computer desk and a chair. On top of the computer desk was about 20 broken down cardboard boxes from us unpacking. Personally I don't see why this was even an issue. I have lised in Orange County all my life in 4 other cities and never seen the city care about anything like this. This city must either be hurting for money and wanting to fine people, or this inspector was just bored. I am still in the process of unpacking and will rent another dumpster when I can fill one up, but I thought it was pointless to spend $100 to get rid of a desk, chair and some empty boxes. What bothers me about that is that I could drive a mile in any direction and find worse. Actual junk cars, junk appliances, just junk in general that is sitting in plain view in front of peoples houses that has been there for years. This was obviously not something that was going to be a permanant fixture in front of my house and I think it was a cheap shot for the city to even mention it. This whole situation makes me feel like I picked the wrong city to live in.


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## Ron6519 (Mar 28, 2007)

Orange County. I don't know who guided you through this buying fiasco, but I would certainly take issue with him or her. Being as naive as you were, it was criminal.
Who allows a homeowner to sign a release of responsibility for unpermitted work? Who doesn't do a walk through proir to closing to see if all the things that were supposed to be done, were done.
Where was your lawyer during this process? Or Buyer's agent if you had one?
I find this a stunning example of professional negligence.
Ron


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## Scuba_Dave (Jan 16, 2009)

Ummm....I did :whistling2:

My last house
No home inspection
House bought as is
Septic may have been in a failed state

On the plus side
After I bought the house it was appraised at almost 3x what I paid. Even after a new Septic was installed the value of the house was double what I paid for it


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## brokenknee (Dec 13, 2008)

I would highly doubt they will make you tear it down. The addition has been there for forty years; that means the neighbor that was there when it was built did not have a problem with it. If new neighbors, it was there when they moved in. 

In MN if you put your fence or build something on your neighbors property and nothing is said for X number of years (I think 7) they can not make you tear it down. I think it is called easement by prescription, but do not recall for sure. 

Most building inspectors are reasonable people, most likely you will have to pay double the permit fee, get it inspected and you should be fine. The electrical inspector may or may not have you remove sheet rock. 

I really do not think the set back should be a problem it has been there for forty years.

As far as making the inspector happy; do what they ask without argument, even though they may not be correct. :laughing:


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## brokenknee (Dec 13, 2008)

thekctermite said:


> First of all, I'm a building inspector so I often lack sympathy in these sorts of situations...
> 
> But I have to say that this is a crock of you-know-what. There may not be a statute of limitations or there might be, but they're waaaay out of line to be making your pull a permit or do anything to a structure that's been there that long. Total BS. I don't care how unsafe or illegal it is,
> 
> ...


I don't think the issue is with the 1969 building permit. the OP did remodeling before moving in.

From first post 


> I rewired and re-insulated the bonus room myself before moving in, along with new drywall inside and new sliding glass door.


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## jomama45 (Nov 13, 2008)

I still think this is an issue of "overrepairing" a non-conforming structure. In my area, which probably has far less restrictions than OC, you can not get a permit (or do the work W/O permit) to spend more than 50% of the exist value for improvements to a non-conforming structure.

Example: The OP's room in question is retro-assessed at $20,000.
He is not permitted to spend more than $10,000 on improvements to this room.
Obviously, his muni may have a different ratio, but I think this is the reason the Inspector is on him posibly.

I may be dead wrong, but either way, I hope the OP can hash this out in simple fashion with the Building Dept. Best of Luck!


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## brokenknee (Dec 13, 2008)

jomama45 said:


> I still think this is an issue of "overrepairing" a non-conforming structure. In my area, which probably has far less restrictions than OC, you can not get a permit (or do the work W/O permit) to spend more than 50% of the exist value for improvements to a non-conforming structure.
> 
> Example: The OP's room in question is retro-assessed at $20,000.
> He is not permitted to spend more than $10,000 on improvements to this room.
> ...


As thekctermite said I think it would be tough to "prove" one wasn't pulled. Even if they keep records that far back, who is to say it wasn't lost. I would be willing to bet they have been paying property taxes on it most of those forty years.


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## jomama45 (Nov 13, 2008)

brokenknee said:


> As thekctermite said I think it would be tough to "prove" one wasn't pulled. Even if they keep records that far back, who is to say it wasn't lost. I would be willing to bet they have been paying property taxes on it most of those forty years.


That's has nothing to do with the point I'm trying to make. Building permit or not in 1969, if it doesn't meet current setbacks, it's fit's the large catergory of Non-Conforming. Unless they got a variance in 1969, which may still stand up. Undoubtedly, setbacks have changed in 40 years, making many structures N-C. This property was probaly "grandfathered" in until major work was done. Again, this is only a shot in the dark, as we're probably 1000 miles apart, but I think his area is more stringent than mine. Hopefully the OP let's us know how this pans out so we can all learn from this. :thumbup:


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## Orange_County (Mar 28, 2009)

I appreciate the advice and agree with most. But the whole thing of over-repairing the room I think is going a little too far. I spent $1,000 on new sliding vinyl door and installation. I spent about $500 on drywall and insulation and paid a friend $200 to put it up. I paid an el;ectrician $600 to re-wire the room. I spent $400 on new carpet and then I spent another $300 on light fixtures. All together I'm about $3,000 into a room that is about 250 square feet with a fireplace. In my city, the going rate per square foot of house is about $200(permitted of courrse). But even cutting that in half, this si a $25,000 room that I put $3,000 into. Lots of labor was my own or friends (carpet layer is a friend, electrician is a friend, drywaller is a friend and my brother installed the sliding window). Much more time than money was spent on this room. Even if I had paid regular prices I doubt it would have cost me $7500 on a room that would be worth $50,000 on the home value if it was legit. 



On a side note, I just talked to a lawyer and have a formal consultation the day after tomorrow. From what he initially told me on the phone I am in a bad spot. He said he has seen similar cases where the city did either force a demolition or just flat not allow you to live in the home until the issue was resolved. He said worst case scenario, teh city will send a contractor to my house and forcibly demo the room and then send me a bill. If I cannot pay, they can place a lien on the house. He said my chances are 50/50 on that happening. He said it will all depend on how I present my case and how sympathetic the city will be. 

If you are interested, I will keep posting so you all know what happens. Hoping for the best, but with my luck so far I am expecting the worst.


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## jomama45 (Nov 13, 2008)

OC, I realized you had less money involved than you added in value. Unfortunately, I think they will use assessed value, so you may have spent 3000, but you may have really added 10,000 or so in resale or assessment.

I still wish you the best of luck. If you think you have any chance with the municipality, I would exhaust all those efforts first. Usually once the muni finds out there is pending legal action, they shut off all communication with you.


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## Scuba_Dave (Jan 16, 2009)

Uh...yeah....the lawyer wants you to hire him :laughing:

Have you talked to the building inspector yet?


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## Orange_County (Mar 28, 2009)

the lawyer was a referral from nother lawyer that is a family friend. I told him I was broke. He said that there might not be a lot he can do for me, but for $90 consultation he will go over the whole story and try to write me a "script" to follow when talking to the city and a plan of action. He said that legally there isnt much I can do. He can try to put me on the right course though. He said to start by going to the city tomorrow and asking to pull all permits on the property since the original build date. A new roof was put on the entire house about 7 years ago, bonus room included. He said that if I can find proof that the city has ever been there in the past to approve a permit then I have legal standing because I will be able to prove they let it slide once before. So first thing get all permits dating back 40 years. Then go to the title company and pull a all titles to show a chain of ownershhip so I can prove how many past owners lived here with the problem. Then get letters from immediate neighbors stating that they don;t care about the room. He will then just sit with me and tell me how to approach the conversation with the city when I have it. 

Worst case scenario if all that fails, he can write a letter to the city and hope the threat of legal action scares them. If that fails too, then I am probably screwed. 

As for the inspector, no. I have left messages and he is not retrning my calls. Go figure.


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## troubleseeker (Sep 25, 2006)

Get to the code enforcement office and start working with the field officer and the dept head. You can probably work out the problem of the very old existing structure location, but the new unpermitted work you did may cost you some money as far as having to open walls up for electrical, mechanical, and plumbing inspections. Be prepared to have to bring any deficiencies up to code (even old existing work); and quite possibly have to some work on the walls at the peoperty lines to provide fire safety for the neighboring structures. Do not be argumentative about fixing problems just because they were "existing"; it will only hurt your case. Many areas also tack on an additional "penalty" fee to acquire a permit retroactively.


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## Orange_County (Mar 28, 2009)

as for working on the walls at the property line, there isn't much that can be done wihtout demo'ing the whole thing. The wall up against the property line is the lower half of the supporting roof for the structure, and half of it is brick with a fireplace. Literally a 8 foot wide, 5 foot deep and 8 feet tall stack of brick and mortar, then narrows at the top as it goes to just a brick chimney. To make this room to code, I would have to remove tons of brick, rebuild a supporting exterior wall and do who knows what to the gas line for the gas fireplace. I have no experience in these type of things, but I am guessing that all this would cost me just about as much as it would to knock it down, or maybe even more. And that brings me back to the fact that I am broke. 

Like I originally stated, even if I wanted to (and I don't). I do not have the financial means to do any of this. I went way over budget on the move in and getting it livable. I just made my mortgage payment and I have nothing at all in the bank. Zero. I am putting the lawyer on my credit card. In this economy it will be months or years beforoe I have any kind of money. After bills and mortgage and other living expenses I am left with about $300 a month and my fiance about the same. At $600 a month it would take years to save up enough money to do anything like this. 

Now, if/when the economy turns around I will be in much better shape. My pay is down by $2500 a month compared to a year ago. If I was making my normal pay, this would not be a huge issue. I would have a $3,300 a month surplus instead of a $600 surplus. As it is though, I am stuck between a rock and a hard place. If they push too hard, I have no options other than to tell them no. If they start hitting me with liens and or bills/fines, I will have no choice but to walk and throw away all the money I have already put into this thing and ruin my credit. Just seems very unfair if that is what it comes to. Especially since the housing market is still dropping. What could they possibly gain from doing this to me? If they force me to leave, the house is now flagged. Nobody will buy it. Houses are already sitting an average of 9 months unsold here, this thing could sit vacant for years before someone picks it up.


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## Orange_County (Mar 28, 2009)

Just an update. I went into the building planning office and was told that I should draw up a diagram (a P.O.P.?) of the house and all it's dimentions and bring it back to them. They told me that they do not issue variances unless there is a unique lot size or shape, and I would not be eligible because my lot is the same as everyone elses. They told me that in the long run they will probably demand a demolition, but they will hold off on a final answer until they get all the facts in. They were unsympathetic to the fact that it has been here 40 years and 4 owners. they basically told me what I already know...that I have bad luck, but that it is no defense and will not help me. They said once the city knows about it, they have to enforce the rules and that if they were to say the room was ok and then it caught fire or collapsed and hurt someone it would make them liable. 

Any opinions on their liability excuse? 

Also, I did pull permits on the hosue and there was only 1 permit issued in the last 50 years. It was issued in 1992 and was for a room addition on the 2nd floor. Funny thing is that this house already has a 2nd story on every part of it except for this bonus room. Any ideas on using this as a defense? Basically if they approved a 2nd story addition to the house in 1992 and this room was already here, does that not imply that they approved of the rest of the house at that time? There was no code enforcement issued at that time. As for the room addition permit in 1992, it was approved but the owners never went beyond that. They got a permit and never built the addition.


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## Scuba_Dave (Jan 16, 2009)

If they never built an addition then it can't be used 100%
What did they submit as building plans?
Anything to indicate the lower room existed at that time?
If they had built an additon over the bonus room & it was inspected & approved then that would be a defense

How do you know the addition was not built?
Is that indicated somewhere?
Unfortunately setback & fire codes may take priority

Here we have a 15' setback required
The house is less then that from the property line (since it was built)
It's grandfathered, but I can't add on to it in any way in that direction


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## Knucklez (Oct 21, 2007)

i like your lawyer experience:


> told him I was broke. He said that there might not be a lot he can do for me


ya.. that pretty much sums it up.

good luck with your situation, i hope you catch a break.
Knucklez


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## Orange_County (Mar 28, 2009)

here, the code says the setback from the property line has to be 5 feeet for a structure or 2 1/2 feet for a roof. this room is about 10 inches from the property line and the roof is about 6 inches. 

they said there is no such thing as "grandfathered in" in this city. They don't care if it's here 100 years, once they find out about it, it is handled as if you just built it. So they say. 

I know the addition wasn't built because the 2nd story of my home is exactly the same as every other 2 story in the neighborhood for one. And also the city said that they got approval for the permits, but never built it. That is what the city said anyway.


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## jinglwang (Apr 8, 2009)

I am new here. Feel it very interesting about the situation. I have lot of sympathy to the owner. Is that possible to post a photo here? I mean a shot on the add-on in question? Thanks.

Hope this will have a happy resolve.


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## LawnGuyLandSparky (Nov 18, 2007)

Come clean, what's the back story to all this?


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## Scuba_Dave (Jan 16, 2009)

LawnGuyLandSparky said:


> Come clean, what's the back story to all this?


Read the thread, its all spelled out pretty clearly :huh:


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## foxglove10 (Jun 11, 2010)

Hey Bill - you say "this action was to scare you into getting a permit, get the permit and do any needed repairs and they'll get off your back." (I'm paraphrasing)

I'm actually in a similar situation - I've satisfied all conditions of a refi on my home, except for providing a copy of the building permit for my detached bonus room, which was built in 1952 (I bought the home in 1990, after being assured the room was permitted, but without ever seeing a copy of that permit). Is it possible in California to simply ask for a new permit? i realize we'd have to have it inspected, but I'm very confident it would pass all current codes - it was way overbuilt for its time. Thanks - if you have advice to lend I'd appreciate it - you can send to my personal email at [email protected].


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## Scuba_Dave (Jan 16, 2009)

Hmmmm...wonder what happened with this ?


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