Selling a House with Unpermitted Work: Navigate Your Options

Maybe you added a bathroom, converted your garage into a living space, or tackled a DIY renovation without realizing you needed a permit. At the time, everything seemed fine, and you got to enjoy the upgrades without dealing with extra paperwork. But now that you’re thinking about selling a house with unpermitted work, you’re wondering if those projects could complicate the sale. Will buyers still be interested, and do you need to fix everything before listing? No Time To Fix Unpermitted Work? Use HomeLight’s Simple Sale platform to sell when you’re ready without the hassle of paying for repairs, prepping for listing, or dealing with showings. We can put cash in your hand in as few as 7 days. The tricky part is that unpermitted work can come back to haunt you when you decide to sell, even if you weren’t the one who did the renovations. Depending on the situation, you may need to disclose the work to buyers or deal with potential legal issues if it comes to light later. The good news? You don’t necessarily have to tear everything down or start from scratch. We talked to real estate agents and translated the legalese from real estate attorneys to give you some of the best options for...