Adding outlets to house

I added a few outlets to my house, and was told by a co-worker that his dad did the same thing, and was selling his house, but it was an issue, cause he didn't get a permit.

Is that a thing? If so how do I go about resolving this? Plan on moving within 3-4 years.

 

Details are important because sometimes this matters and sometimes it does not. If you're worried, a trip to the permit office to get the work permitted after the fact would be in order.

 

Who's going to know if a permit was gotten or not? Unless there is more to the story, or if the outlets are way out of code and it's obvious. I don't think it should come up with a home sale.

 

Not sure co-worker said some inspector comes in with a blueprint, and sees everything that is new isn't on updated blueprint from have no permits. The work I do is professional. I worked with electricians in the past, and know what I am doing.

 

So, this is not your own property?
OK, I understand.

 

Yes this is my property. I don't know the co-worker said before the house gets listed somebody comes in with the blueprint to see if anything was done without a permit. Is that how it works or not?

 

In my locality, never heard of it. Yes, a house inspection is usually made by the buyer, and I believe the realtor if used must be able to know if the house meets minimum standards. But I never heard of permits being issued to inspect a house before selling it.
Now if major work was done for instance a room renovation, that required a permit then yes, that permit might extend to other areas of house, especially if electrical was involved.
However, I can sell my house "as is" and no permits required, or blueprint inspections are used to inspect it.

 

That's not how home inspections work in my experience. The inspector comes and looks for code violations. If anything is not to code, you have to have it fixed before you can close on the property. Or the buyer can choose to waive the repair. But they don't bring a blueprint and look for discrepancies.

 

This is more of a question to either your local building department or maybe a friendly electrician in the area.

Most areas have rules that require a permit for anything new to be installed. Repairs (replacing a fixture/receptacle) typically do not require a permit.
BUT, also, most building departments will look at you funny if you get a permit to add a single receptacle.

So it's best to find out what's common around you. Most areas I've worked in, adding a receptacle here and there, or a new light fixture, no one would complain. But anything more with new circuits, panel replacements, or room renovations do require permits.

If you do the work up to code and professionally, no one will probably even notice. But permits do help when you try to sell and say you've renovated the kitchen. If it's just cabinets and maybe moved a receptacle from here to there - no one would ask. But if you're putting in new floors, moving the range, etc etc... the new buyer may ask about permits, which then can open a can of worms if you don't have one.

 

Thanks for the helpful replies. I thought that was strange. I did get a permit for recessed lights, and that passed like I knew it would. My family and brother in law laughed that I got a permit for recessed lights.

I know what I am doing though. My brother in law works for a commercial electrician company, and I did volunteer work with him, and installed recessed lights at my parents, and he inspected my work.

Thanks again for the replies. I was thinking abiut adding more recessed lights to my living room, but not sure if I should get a permit for that. I think it'll boost the resale value.

 

I would then highly recommend you get a permit. You've proven its reasonably easy in your locale, and you're checking all the right boxes.

 

Just thought of something. When I was looking for a house we went through with our realtor, and the one room had a ceiling fan which didn't work. Nor did the light. So many issues with that house you could tell it was a fixer upper somebody tried to flip. Even the concrete was a botched patch job before entering the house. How do people get away with stuff like that?