dstew619 Posted July 20, 2015 Report Share Posted July 20, 2015 Does anyone use buildfax to check for permits or any other service? If so what is it and how much do you pay? I am thinking about doing that so I can add that as an add on benefit to hiring me. Let me know thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scottpat Posted July 20, 2015 Report Share Posted July 20, 2015 I don't check for permits, honestly I don't see folks waiting in line to pay for permit checking?.. I have used BuildFax a few times before but each time it was for a litigation case I was working on and I was looking for specific items? I would love to see us have access to CLUE reports over permits... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Welmoed Posted July 20, 2015 Report Share Posted July 20, 2015 We just do an online search in the county's database, which is free. Sometimes permits don't show up there (like for gas permits... they're handled by the gas company, which doesn't make permits available for online search, but they're usually very good about tags on permitted work). It's just part of our pre-inspection preparation, and can often provide clues about less-than-ideal work (e.g. deck permit pulled but not finaled). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kurt Posted July 20, 2015 Report Share Posted July 20, 2015 Permits.....Chicago....even if they have permits, it doesn't mean much. City of Chicago Building's Dept. is a swamp of corruption. Checking permits doesn't figure into my biz model. I sometimes tell customers to "check permit trail, etc., etc.", as an additional means to drive home a point that a particular job is a POS. That's about it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erby Posted July 21, 2015 Report Share Posted July 21, 2015 Like Kurt, not part of my biz model. I tell them, if it concerns them, check permits themselves. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Baird Posted July 21, 2015 Report Share Posted July 21, 2015 Permits are beside the point of what we do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Kogel Posted July 21, 2015 Report Share Posted July 21, 2015 Might be a good idea in your market area. You are making less work for the agents, something some will appreciate more than doughnuts. [] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gtblum Posted July 21, 2015 Report Share Posted July 21, 2015 Might be a good idea in your market area. You are making less work for the agents, something some will appreciate more than doughnuts. [] Yeah, because unlocking a door and pointing at the new beige paint for a few grand, can really wear some of them out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nolan Kienitz Posted July 21, 2015 Report Share Posted July 21, 2015 Don't spin your wheels with such. Comments above hit the points very well. You have better things to do than trying to dig up permits and status of each. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marc Posted July 21, 2015 Report Share Posted July 21, 2015 I rarely chase permits and only for the same reason as Kurt. I generally offer code cites to show deficiencies rather than try to demonstrate that work was neither permitted nor muni inspected. Permits records are discarded after 10 years here...politics. Marc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Baird Posted July 21, 2015 Report Share Posted July 21, 2015 I rarely chase permits and only for the same reason as Kurt. I generally offer code cites to show deficiencies rather than try to demonstrate that work was neither permitted nor muni inspected. Permits records are discarded after 10 years here...politics. Marc In GA state archiving law says that nothing but CO's have to be kept, and then only for 3 yrs...yet code books have to be kept in perpetuity by the AHJ. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ductwork Posted July 23, 2015 Report Share Posted July 23, 2015 I use buildfax, had an inspection last week, showed the house had a fire that was unknown to all parties, it does have its value . House was bank owned, so no disclosures . Download Attachment: Buildfax.pdf 77.94?KB Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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