Sell A House With Code Violations in Seattle

Selling A House With Code Violations In Seattle

You can have a beautiful home with high ceilings, unique trim, original wood floors, and a large yard, but that doesn’t mean too much when it comes to code violations. It is easy to fall in love with the way a house looks, but code violations are hard to see during a house showing.

These violations can take quite a bit of money to get up to code as well. Let’s talk about the four most common housing code violations and what it’s going to take to sell a home that has them.

Not Taking Permits Seriously

Let’s face it, permits suck. Believe it or not, applying for permits can actually save you money. If you don’t have the proper permits you won’t be able to use a lot of the assets that your city may offer. For example, if you don’t have a permit in Seattle you won’t be able to work with building inspectors. It’s worth it to get a building permit so that an inspector can show you anything that might be breaking a code violation and offer you resources to fix those violations.

Poor Ventilation

Easily one of the most common code violations that homeowners face is poor ventilation. This can usually be found in bathrooms and kitchens. You have to make sure that your fan vents are installed in the proper place to avoid things such as mold and rotting wood.

You can easily use a vent pipe to keep humidity out of your house when using the bathroom or kitchen, just make sure they’re in the correct places for your specific property.

Funky Handrails

This is a code violation that is incredibly easy to miss. If you have handrails on your property, whether inside or outside your home, the ends have to be properly finished. This is a code violation because when a handrail isn’t completely finished and up to code, clothing and other things can get caught on the open end.

What happens next? Someone is very likely to take a tumble down the stairs. This may not seem that serious, but a fall down the stairs can be deadly, especially if the person is elderly or a child.

Smoke Detector Placement

Lastly, many people don’t even know that smoke detectors have to be placed in specific spots. For starters, you have to have a smoke detector on each floor of your home. They must be in every sleeping area, whether it’s a bedroom or not. It’s also suggested to have them in high-risk areas such as the kitchen, garage, or bathroom.

Once you know what rooms you need smoke detectors in, it’s important to make sure they are a minimum of four inches from the wall when they’re on the ceiling. If you have an alarm that is on the wall, it has to be between four and 12 inches from the ceiling. Keeping the prior code violation in mind, smoke detectors have to be three feet away from vents, fans, and lighting fixtures.

If you’re a homeowner and didn’t know this, don’t be too hard on yourself. It’s a lot to remember for a simple smoke alarm, but it can save your life in the event that something terrible happens.

Bottom Line

If you’re trying to sell your home and there are a number of code violations, get in contact with one of our amazing staff members at I Will Buy House. We’d love to buy your home from you for cash. We make the process quick and easy. It doesn’t matter how many codes are being violated or how terrible of condition the property is in, we can make it work. If you’re interested, let’s get in contact so that we can take this stressful property off your hands! We look forward to hearing from you soon.