Selling a Houston House With Unpermitted Work
The work is done, the permit was never pulled, and now you're selling. Here's what that changes — and what it doesn't.
Can you sell a house with unpermitted work in Texas?
Yes. No law says a house with unpermitted work can't be sold. What Texas does ask of a seller is honesty about what they know, on the standard disclosure notice and in answer to a buyer's questions. So the real question isn't whether you can sell; it's which kind of buyer will take the house as it is, and what the work does to the price. Both answers are below.
What counts as unpermitted work
An addition, a garage or porch turned into living space, a bathroom that didn't exist when the house was built, electrical or plumbing that was rerouted, a wall that came out. Also the quieter version: a permit that was applied for and never closed out with a final inspection, so it sits open in the city's records. If you're unsure whether a particular job needed a permit, the Houston Permitting Center is where to ask; the answer depends on the work and where the house is, and a buyer isn't the right source for it.
What you have to disclose
Texas has a standard seller's disclosure notice, and it asks what you know about the property. Unpermitted work you know about belongs on it. If you're unsure how a question applies, an attorney can tell you, and the title company will hand you the form. Two practical points: a retail buyer's inspector will very likely notice the work anyway, so disclosure costs you nothing you weren't going to lose; and with us it costs nothing at all, because we're pricing the house as what it is from the first conversation.
What it does to a retail sale
Three things, in order. The inspector flags it. The appraiser may decline to count the unpermitted square footage toward the value, which can put the price above what the buyer's lender will fund. Then the buyer asks for retroactive permits, a credit, or both, and the deal either renegotiates or dies. None of that is unfair — it's what a lender-financed sale has to do — but it's why a house with a converted garage can sit on the market while identical houses sell.
Retroactive permits: sometimes worth it, often not
If you're listing on the open market and the work is sound, getting it permitted after the fact can be the right move. Ask the permitting center what that requires for your job; it can mean opening walls for inspection and correcting anything that doesn't meet code, and the cost is yours before you've sold anything. If you're selling to us, don't. We buy houses with unpermitted work as they stand, and whether permits get pulled afterward is our decision and our expense.
How we buy it
Tell us what was done, when, and by whom, as far as you know. We walk the house once, price it as what it is — which includes what it may cost to bring the work into compliance later — and put the offer in writing. Nothing has to be permitted, repaired or torn out first. If the city has already noticed and cited the property, that's a different page: selling with code violations. Everything else about the purchase is the same as-is sale we always make.
Questions people in this situation ask
Will you buy a house with an unpermitted addition or garage conversion?
Yes. Converted garages and unpermitted additions are among the most common things we see in Houston houses. They go into the price as what they are, and what happens with permits afterward is our project, not yours.
Do I need to get the work permitted before selling to you?
No. Spending money on retroactive permits for a buyer who takes the house as-is is money wasted. If you're listing on the open market instead, the calculation is different — ask the permitting center what your job would require before deciding.
The previous owner did the work and I only just found out. Do I have to disclose it?
You disclose what you know, and now you know. How to answer a specific question on the disclosure notice is something an attorney can tell you in a short conversation. With us, just say what you found; it changes the number, not our interest.
Work done without a permit?
Tell us the address and what was done. It won't scare us.
Find out what we'd pay for your house
Tell us the address and a little about the property. There is no fee, no listing agreement and no obligation to accept anything we offer.