I have a building in San Francisco where I had a licensed contractor did
some major work. A permit was pulled, contractor did the work, I was shown a
final inspection (so I thought) from this contractor so final payment was
released. Now many years gone by and now trying to sell the property, my
real estate agent requested a (CCR?) report and to my dismay the San
Francisco building department stated no final permit was issued for this
work. Permit expired long ago, now what?

Fred wrote:
I have a building in San Francisco where I had a licensed contractor did
some major work. A permit was pulled, contractor did the work, I was shown a
final inspection (so I thought) from this contractor so final payment was
released. Now many years gone by and now trying to sell the property, my
real estate agent requested a (CCR?) report and to my dismay the San
Francisco building department stated no final permit was issued for this
work. Permit expired long ago, now what?



Click your heels three times and repeat " I want to get a final, I want
to get a final, I want to get a final.

Fred wrote:
I have a building in San Francisco where I had a licensed contractor did
some major work. A permit was pulled, contractor did the work, I was shown a
final inspection (so I thought) from this contractor so final payment was
released. Now many years gone by and now trying to sell the property, my
real estate agent requested a (CCR?) report and to my dismay the San
Francisco building department stated no final permit was issued for this
work. Permit expired long ago, now what?



Everyone's an expert here, including me so you're going to be advised to
do everything but blow up the building. Then again someone may suggest
that as well. But, it's really very simple what you need to do,
allthough the process may not be so simple.

First attempt to make contact with the contractor and regardless of
whether he tells you to pack sand or not, next thing is for you to go
the building department and tell them what's happened. They will no
doubt require you to take out another permit. Depending upon the scope
of the work that was performed as well as their inspection records for
the job they may have additional req's as well. They may or may not have
original drawings and specs.

You may end up suing the former contractor, you may not, but you have
to start at the building dept. Not in usenet.

On Wed, 29 Jun 2005 16:39:11 -0700, G Henslee
wrote:

Fred wrote:
I have a building in San Francisco where I had a licensed contractor did
some major work. A permit was pulled, contractor did the work, I was shown a
final inspection (so I thought) from this contractor so final payment was
released. Now many years gone by and now trying to sell the property, my
real estate agent requested a (CCR?) report and to my dismay the San
Francisco building department stated no final permit was issued for this
work. Permit expired long ago, now what?



Everyone's an expert here, including me so you're going to be advised to
do everything but blow up the building. Then again someone may suggest
that as well. But, it's really very simple what you need to do,
allthough the process may not be so simple.

First attempt to make contact with the contractor and regardless of
whether he tells you to pack sand or not, next thing is for you to go
the building department and tell them what's happened. They will no
doubt require you to take out another permit. Depending upon the scope
of the work that was performed as well as their inspection records for
the job they may have additional req's as well. They may or may not have
original drawings and specs.

You may end up suing the former contractor, you may not, but you have
to start at the building dept. Noa t in usenet.

I'm a building official and in a case like yours I'd probably come
out and do a final inspection. In the absence of gross violations,
I'd issue the final. I have better things to do than to **** off
citizens that are trying to do the right thing.

Dan

"Fred" wrote in message
...
I have a building in San Francisco where I had a licensed contractor did
some major work. A permit was pulled, contractor did the work, I was shown
a final inspection (so I thought) from this contractor so final payment was
released. Now many years gone by and now trying to sell the property, my
real estate agent requested a (CCR?) report and to my dismay the San
Francisco building department stated no final permit was issued for this
work. Permit expired long ago, now what?

What in the world are you asking here for?

Ask the real estate agent to research what to do. If they don't know, ask
their broker. Ask the building department. If that fails, contact a
lawyer. There are solutions for every problem.

You could only be asking for a very, very, very big problem asking advice
here instead of just the big problem you now have.

I am sure that this is not the first time that this has happened, and it
won't be the last. Find out what other people did in the same situation.

The advice you get here is free, and worth all you paid for it.
Professional advice that you pay for will at least have ethical guidelines
that you can lean on if it is erroneous.

What are you going to do here if you get bad advice?

Flame them?

That'll show 'em.

Now, get on it, and let us know what you find out.

STeve

"SteveB" wrote in message
news:G1Hwe.7310$8o.1309@fed1read03...

"Fred" wrote in message
...
I have a building in San Francisco where I had a licensed contractor did
some major work. A permit was pulled, contractor did the work, I was
shown
a final inspection (so I thought) from this contractor so final payment
was
released. Now many years gone by and now trying to sell the property, my
real estate agent requested a (CCR?) report and to my dismay the San
Francisco building department stated no final permit was issued for this
work. Permit expired long ago, now what?

What in the world are you asking here for?

Ask the real estate agent to research what to do. If they don't know, ask
their broker. Ask the building department. If that fails, contact a
lawyer. There are solutions for every problem.

You could only be asking for a very, very, very big problem asking advice
here instead of just the big problem you now have.

I am sure that this is not the first time that this has happened, and it
won't be the last. Find out what other people did in the same situation.

The advice you get here is free, and worth all you paid for it.
Professional advice that you pay for will at least have ethical guidelines
that you can lean on if it is erroneous.

What are you going to do here if you get bad advice?

Flame them?

That'll show 'em.

Now, get on it, and let us know what you find out.

Why? So someone here can answer the question here next time. You know - the
question you are not supposed to ask here.

Bob

Too bad more people don't give your recommendation. A
little wordy, but still the best advice. Lots of times
people are looking for ways to get arond things and
that's dangerous and/or costly depending. From the
sound of it he's lucky that contractor actually pulled
a permit.




"G Henslee" wrote in message
...
Fred wrote:
I have a building in San Francisco where I had a
licensed contractor did some major work. A permit
was pulled, contractor did the work, I was shown a
final inspection (so I thought) from this contractor
so final payment was released. Now many years gone
by and now trying to sell the property, my real
estate agent requested a (CCR?) report and to my
dismay the San Francisco building department stated
no final permit was issued for this work. Permit
expired long ago, now what?

Everyone's an expert here, including me so you're
going to be advised to do everything but blow up the
building. Then again someone may suggest that as
well. But, it's really very simple what you need to
do, allthough the process may not be so simple.

First attempt to make contact with the contractor and
regardless of whether he tells you to pack sand or
not, next thing is for you to go the building
department and tell them what's happened. They will
no doubt require you to take out another permit.
Depending upon the scope of the work that was
performed as well as their inspection records for the
job they may have additional req's as well. They may
or may not have original drawings and specs.

You may end up suing the former contractor, you may
not, but you have to start at the building dept. Not
in usenet.

"Dan" wrote in message
...
On Wed, 29 Jun 2005 16:39:11 -0700, G Henslee

wrote:

Fred wrote:
I have a building in San Francisco where I had a
licensed contractor did
some major work. A permit was pulled, contractor
did the work, I was shown a
final inspection (so I thought) from this
contractor so final payment was
released. Now many years gone by and now trying to
sell the property, my
real estate agent requested a (CCR?) report and to
my dismay the San
Francisco building department stated no final
permit was issued for this
work. Permit expired long ago, now what?



Everyone's an expert here, including me so you're
going to be advised to
do everything but blow up the building. Then again
someone may suggest
that as well. But, it's really very simple what you
need to do,
allthough the process may not be so simple.

First attempt to make contact with the contractor and
regardless of
whether he tells you to pack sand or not, next thing
is for you to go
the building department and tell them what's
happened. They will no
doubt require you to take out another permit.
Depending upon the scope
of the work that was performed as well as their
inspection records for
the job they may have additional req's as well. They
may or may not have
original drawings and specs.

You may end up suing the former contractor, you may
not, but you have
to start at the building dept. Noa t in usenet.

I'm a building official and in a case like yours I'd
probably come
out and do a final inspection. In the absence of
gross violations,
I'd issue the final. I have better things to do than
to **** off
citizens that are trying to do the right thing.

Dan

Oh, that's good advice: What YOU would do has nothing
to do with what the OP needs to do next. That's a
non-answer. If you're a "building official", what's
your title? Sounds like you were scrounging for a buzz
word there.
I'm also a "building official" but it's nothing to
do with the OPs area of questioning.

Fred wrote:
I have a building in San Francisco where I had a licensed contractor
did some major work. A permit was pulled, contractor did the work, I
was shown a final inspection (so I thought) from this contractor so
final payment was released. Now many years gone by and now trying to
sell the property, my real estate agent requested a (CCR?) report and
to my dismay the San Francisco building department stated no final
permit was issued for this work. Permit expired long ago, now what?

Ask the real estate agent why he wants it. Then assuming he really does
see a problem, then go to the city and ask them how to resolve the problem.
They are the ones with the final say about giving you one.

--
Joseph Meehan

Dia duit

Check to see if the contractor is still licensed. He had to put up a bond.
You may be able to get him into big trouble if he cannot resolve your
problem. Unfortunately he is probably gone.

Also, even if he is working under a different corporate name, in most states
the licenses are personal and you can still get him.


"Fred" wrote in message
...
I have a building in San Francisco where I had a licensed contractor did
some major work. A permit was pulled, contractor did the work, I was shown
a final inspection (so I thought) from this contractor so final payment was
released. Now many years gone by and now trying to sell the property, my
real estate agent requested a (CCR?) report and to my dismay the San
Francisco building department stated no final permit was issued for this
work. Permit expired long ago, now what?

"SteveB" wrote in message
news:G1Hwe.7310$8o.1309@fed1read03...

"Fred" wrote in message
...
I have a building in San Francisco where I had a licensed contractor did
some major work. A permit was pulled, contractor did the work, I was shown
a final inspection (so I thought) from this contractor so final payment
was released. Now many years gone by and now trying to sell the property,
my real estate agent requested a (CCR?) report and to my dismay the San
Francisco building department stated no final permit was issued for this
work. Permit expired long ago, now what?

What in the world are you asking here for?

Ask the real estate agent to research what to do. If they don't know, ask
their broker. Ask the building department. If that fails, contact a
lawyer. There are solutions for every problem.

You could only be asking for a very, very, very big problem asking advice
here instead of just the big problem you now have.

I am sure that this is not the first time that this has happened, and it
won't be the last. Find out what other people did in the same situation.

The advice you get here is free, and worth all you paid for it.
Professional advice that you pay for will at least have ethical guidelines
that you can lean on if it is erroneous.

What are you going to do here if you get bad advice?

Flame them?

That'll show 'em.

Now, get on it, and let us know what you find out.

STeve


I cannot think off a better place to ask than the newsgroups. So far I had
positive responses from someone in the building department and a registered
engineer from another group, thank you. Yes, the advice is free, but far
from worthless as long as you develop a selective filter. I would say that
much of the advice I've gotten through the years is as good or better than
the advice I'd paid for including my $400/hour lawyer, $150/hour mechanic,
$250/hour CPA, etc.

Flame them for bad advice? I have a condo conversion, an in-law addition and
a remodel to do in three different cities. Sorry, no time. (And often times
the bad advice is not intentional.)

Newsgroups are great! I just fix my chain saw the other day with some free
advice that my mechanic couldn't fix in ver 18 months under warranty. I
learn how to weld better, fix my cars, fix my properties, invest better,
etc. - all in all, save me thousands of dollars and unnecessary frustration.
So many good people here and much appreciated!

"Fred" wrote in message
...

"SteveB" wrote in message
news:G1Hwe.7310$8o.1309@fed1read03...

"Fred" wrote in message
...
I have a building in San Francisco where I had a licensed contractor did
some major work. A permit was pulled, contractor did the work, I was
shown a final inspection (so I thought) from this contractor so final
payment was released. Now many years gone by and now trying to sell the
property, my real estate agent requested a (CCR?) report and to my dismay
the San Francisco building department stated no final permit was issued
for this work. Permit expired long ago, now what?

What in the world are you asking here for?

Ask the real estate agent to research what to do. If they don't know,
ask their broker. Ask the building department. If that fails, contact a
lawyer. There are solutions for every problem.

You could only be asking for a very, very, very big problem asking advice
here instead of just the big problem you now have.

I am sure that this is not the first time that this has happened, and it
won't be the last. Find out what other people did in the same situation.

The advice you get here is free, and worth all you paid for it.
Professional advice that you pay for will at least have ethical
guidelines that you can lean on if it is erroneous.

What are you going to do here if you get bad advice?

Flame them?

That'll show 'em.

Now, get on it, and let us know what you find out.

STeve


I cannot think off a better place to ask than the newsgroups. So far I had
positive responses from someone in the building department and a
registered engineer from another group, thank you. Yes, the advice is
free, but far from worthless as long as you develop a selective filter. I
would say that much of the advice I've gotten through the years is as good
or better than the advice I'd paid for including my $400/hour lawyer,
$150/hour mechanic, $250/hour CPA, etc.

Flame them for bad advice? I have a condo conversion, an in-law addition
and a remodel to do in three different cities. Sorry, no time. (And often
times the bad advice is not intentional.)

Newsgroups are great! I just fix my chain saw the other day with some free
advice that my mechanic couldn't fix in ver 18 months under warranty. I
learn how to weld better, fix my cars, fix my properties, invest better,
etc. - all in all, save me thousands of dollars and unnecessary
frustration. So many good people here and much appreciated!

I agree 100%. I often use newsgroups, but when I really want advice I can
take to the bank, I consult a professional. And sometimes the direct
approach is best. Simply going to the people involved and asking what it
will take to fix it is the shortest route. There are all sorts of gyrations
here every day on this question and that. And some very bad advice given
and taken. And all that was really needed was to just go directly to the
people involved.

YMM(and probably does)V

Steve

In article ,
says...
I have a building in San Francisco where I had a licensed contractor did
some major work. A permit was pulled, contractor did the work, I was shown a
final inspection (so I thought) from this contractor so final payment was
released. Now many years gone by and now trying to sell the property, my
real estate agent requested a (CCR?) report and to my dismay the San
Francisco building department stated no final permit was issued for this
work. Permit expired long ago, now what?

Sometimes cities do lose records of inspections and approvals -- do
you still have your copies of the inspection checklist and permit
paperwork? Go through your copies and see if you can find a final
inspection and approval.

(My advice, never throw those away -- I've run into houses that have
been standing for decades, building officials said they had no
records of permits, but the homeowner still had their copy of the
final so the county said "Oops, sorry for bothering you.")

If you can't find anything, then your best bet is to take all the
permit paperwork you do have, meet with your local building official,
and explain the situation. Only your local official will know how
the local bureaucracy deals with this sort of situation.

On the bright side, this is a very common situation, so any
reasonably large city will have a process in place, you won't be
reinventing the wheel.

--
is Joshua Putnam
http://www.phred.org/~josh/
Updated Bicycle Touring Books List:
http://www.phred.org/~josh/bike/tourbooks.html

"Fred" wrote in message
...

"SteveB" wrote in
message news:G1Hwe.7310$8o.1309@fed1read03...

"Fred" wrote in message
...
I have a building in San Francisco where I had a
licensed contractor did some major work. A permit
was pulled, contractor did the work, I was ...
....


I cannot think off a better place to ask than the
newsgroups. So far I had positive responses from
someone in the building department and a registered
engineer from another group, thank you.
=== Well, that's what you perceive, anyway, but that
doesn't make it so. There are certainly better and
more reliable places to get answers from. That said,
what newsgroups ARE good for, with something as
important as you claim to have, are CONFIRMATION and
CONCENSUS. It could help you catch a con at work, or
to separate some fact from fiction down the road, and
often even arm you with enough information to decide
what questions to ask of the people in power. But to
say that you can think of no better place; well, you
need to think a little harder IMO.
You sound enticingly niave, so be careful.

Yes, the advice is free, but far
from worthless as long as you develop a selective
filter. I would say that much of the advice I've
gotten through the years is as good or better than
the advice I'd paid for including my $400/hour
lawyer, $150/hour mechanic, $250/hour CPA, etc.
=== Woof! No wonder you take advice from a newsgroup
as the last word on something! You've no problems with
paying the extra bucks and probably don't even know it
when you do. I'm not trying to sound offensive,
honest, but brutally honest with my opinion. In other
words, you're sure not driving an old Monte Carlo to
the local courts to pay a speeding ticket which you
want to account for on your taxes.


Flame them for bad advice? I have a condo conversion,
an in-law addition and a remodel to do in three
different cities. Sorry, no time. (And often times
the bad advice is not intentional.)

Newsgroups are great! I just fix my chain saw the
other day with some free advice that my mechanic
couldn't fix in ver 18 months under warranty. I learn
how to weld better, fix my cars, fix my properties,
invest better, etc. - all in all, save me thousands
of dollars and unnecessary frustration. So many good
people here and much appreciated!

=== This last doesn't seem to follow with the rest of
your post; you may have learned by wathycing or
something similar, but can you DO? And perhaps that
$150/hr mechanic needs to be replaced. Either that or
you need to realize that even the best "expert" can
miss things at times.
While the world isn't all zeroes and cone, you seem
to make a case for enjoying both but claim to be only
one? Dunno - interesting verbiage.

Just be careful.

Pop

I would say that much of the advice I've gotten through the years is as
good or better than the advice I'd paid for including my $400/hour lawyer,
$150/hour mechanic, $250/hour CPA, etc.

hey!

I am an ASE certified mechanic!

who is paying $150/hour ?????????????

On Wed, 29 Jun 2005 16:08:54 -0700, "Fred" wrote:

I have a building in San Francisco where I had a licensed contractor did
some major work. A permit was pulled, contractor did the work, I was shown a
final inspection (so I thought) from this contractor so final payment was
released. Now many years gone by and now trying to sell the property, my
real estate agent requested a (CCR?) report and to my dismay the San
Francisco building department stated no final permit was issued for this
work. Permit expired long ago, now what?


Don't fix what ain't broke.

Change your real estate agent if he can't get you out of this.

At the very least, change your listing contract to acknowledge the
problem and sell the property 'subject to' the problem. You have a
duty to disclose, so disclose. But only disclose. Don't fix what
ain't broke.

" hey!

I am an ASE certified mechanic!

who is paying $150/hour ?????????????


No one I know off, this is a shop rate for my Volvo in the Bay Area. I could
get it done for lot cheaper but my mechanic does excellent work.

"Pop" wrote in message
...

"Fred" wrote in message
...

"SteveB" wrote in message
news:G1Hwe.7310$8o.1309@fed1read03...

"Fred" wrote in message
...
I have a building in San Francisco where I had a licensed contractor did
some major work. A permit was pulled, contractor did the work, I was ...
...


I cannot think off a better place to ask than the newsgroups. So far I
had positive responses from someone in the building department and a
registered engineer from another group, thank you.
=== Well, that's what you perceive, anyway, but that doesn't make it so.
There are certainly better and more reliable places to get answers from.
That said, what newsgroups ARE good for, with something as important as
you claim to have, are CONFIRMATION and CONCENSUS. It could help you
catch a con at work, or to separate some fact from fiction down the road,
and often even arm you with enough information to decide what questions to
ask of the people in power. But to say that you can think of no better
place; well, you need to think a little harder IMO.
You sound enticingly niave, so be careful.


You took this too literary. Can't be too naive or not careful enough being a
landlord in hostile rent control San Francisco.


Yes, the advice is free, but far
from worthless as long as you develop a selective filter. I would say
that much of the advice I've gotten through the years is as good or
better than the advice I'd paid for including my $400/hour lawyer,
$150/hour mechanic, $250/hour CPA, etc.
=== Woof! No wonder you take advice from a newsgroup as the last word on
something! You've no problems with paying the extra bucks and probably
don't even know it when you do. I'm not trying to sound offensive,
honest, but brutally honest with my opinion. In other words, you're sure
not driving an old Monte Carlo to the local courts to pay a speeding
ticket which you want to account for on your taxes.


I did say selective filter. What's wrong with newsgroups ones you filter out
and discard the bad information? Many people in newsgroups are pros just as
good as my lawyer, mechanic and CPA but that doesn't mean I don't use or pay
for professional services.



Flame them for bad advice? I have a condo conversion, an in-law addition
and a remodel to do in three different cities. Sorry, no time. (And
often times the bad advice is not intentional.)

Newsgroups are great! I just fix my chain saw the other day with some
free advice that my mechanic couldn't fix in ver 18 months under
warranty. I learn how to weld better, fix my cars, fix my properties,
invest better, etc. - all in all, save me thousands of dollars and
unnecessary frustration. So many good people here and much appreciated!

=== This last doesn't seem to follow with the rest of your post; you may
have learned by wathycing or something similar, but can you DO?

Sure you could, perhaps not for everyone. I've rebuilt my automatic
transmission with help from a factory manual - what so special about that,
people do this kind of things all the time. Then this guy on the web
building his house from the ground up (mostly him, his wife and their dog)
block by block - impressive! Didn't Andrew Grove (Intel Corporation) did
research on the web for finding a cure for his cancer? Now free advice from
this guy is priceless.



And perhaps that
$150/hr mechanic needs to be replaced. Either that or you need to realize
that even the best "expert" can miss things at times.
While the world isn't all zeroes and cone, you seem to make a case for
enjoying both but claim to be only one? Dunno - interesting verbiage.

Just be careful.

Pop