Buyers have to be careful with separate detached structures built on a property apart from the house. Examples include guest houses, workshops, barns, sheds, etc. where the structure is large and permanent. You typically find these on county island or previous county island developments that have since been annexed into the cities around them.
I thought I would highlight one example I visited this past week as it emphasizes the need to be diligent and careful when buying a property with one of these external separate structures.
The “Lot of Work Shop”
In this case, the property located in the 85249 zip code of South Chandler had a very large “workshop.” However, in this case, I would call it the “Lot of Work Shop.”
The workshop on the property is a huge structure. At first glance, it looks well done from the outside as the shop is stuccoed and painted. In fact, it looks better than the house. However, as you enter the workshop, you quickly see the issues.
Unfinished and Severely Damaged
The workshop is very large and the space tall. The drywall is uncompleted in that there is no use of drywall tape, texturing or paing. In other words, the drywall was tacked up but nothing more. In one corner, you can see the drywall and ceiling ‘pouring down’ from extensive water damage there. However, as you begin to look more closely, you can see several additional spots from water damage in other parts of the workshop. The worst is in a ‘room’ where the ceiling is moldy and looks as if it is a big bubble and about to cave in.
Eyeing the foundation of the workshop reveals extensive cracking that is far-reaching and at least a quarter inch wide in some places. Electrical outlets look haphazardly addressed in the workshop.
The Roof is Highly Questionable
Inspecting the roof outside the stucture, one can see the tarps laid over as well as a certain bowing in the roof line. It quickly becomes clear that the workshop never likely was permitted with the City of Chandler and that it would not meet code requirements at all if it had been.
Alert the Buyer
Given the number of issues, the workshop may be more work and cause for concern that a new homeowner may want to tear it down and start all over. For my buyer, I voiced the concern that the workshop may be a hazard or at least cost a substantial amount of money to repair and complete.
As well, it is very unlikely that the property was permitted through City of Chandler given what I know about ordinances as well as the obvious poor workmanship and design of the property.
Is the Structure Permitted and Does It Meet Code?
Buyers need to review permitting and code applicability any time there is an additional structure on the property. Was the structure permitted or not? And if not, was the structure at least built to applicable codes if it were? In these cases, a home inspector, structural engineer, electrician and other experts may be useful in understanding the quality of construction and applicability to building codes.
In addition, contacting the city or county planning offices can yield more information as to whether permitting was done on a separate structure or not when this information is not readily available or not.
It’s not unusual to see additional structures on large acreage style lots. Many will not be permitted for various reasons though they will be acceptable to the prospective buyer. The buyer just needs to understand any pitfalls that may exist from buying a property with an outstanding structure on the premises that may or may not be permitted or to code.
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If these detached structures are built without permits then the costs could really start to mount. As Building codes are continually upgraded and lean more towards “Green” methods of construction the costs of adhereing to them go up. A good home inspector will be able to recognize building code violations and anticipate repairs in his report prior to the sale of the property.
Orlando Lamas
http://www.fixmycodeviolation.com
http://www.fortislamas.com