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Posts tagged: Building Department

Proof of Ownership

sunbizA policy change that has occurred over the past couple of years that seems to have begun infecting Broward County building departments is the dreaded, “proof of ownership” policy. Miami-Dade County has just about been completely engulfed by this painful cancer, and their are some spot locations showing up in Palm Beach County. If you are not familiar with building permit procedures you are probably wondering what the hell I am talking about.

Almost every municipality has a place for the Owner’s signature on the building permit application.  Back in the day,  you could probably have Micky Mouse sign it, and as long as the signature was notarized, the building department accepted it. Not anymore! Whoever signs the permit application must show “proof of ownership”. Not a big deal for a property owned by an individual. You can go the Property Appraiser’s website, print-out the information, and submit it with the building permit application. If that information isn’t current because of a new buyer, typically, and depending on the building department, a recorded warranty deed, or a settlement statement works.

The real problem occurs with properties owned by corporations. The building permit application has to be signed by one of the officers of the corporation. A great resource is Sunbiz.org. It is the Florida, Division of Corporations website. You can track down corporations and their officers. It can be a real pain in the butt sometimes to find the information you are looking for, because of LLC’s and shell corporations. Once you find the officers, you may also find that they refuse to sign the building permit application. An option is the “power of attorney” letter, if the municipality accepts such a document, and they will have their own procedures for the format of that document.

I always suggest to my Clients, when you get a sales call, go to the Property Appraiser’s website first, and then if a corporation to Sunbiz.org. It is the best way to confirm ownership. The person signing your contract, the Notice of Commencement, and the building permit application needs to be the legal Owner of the property.  Our services include a review of our Client’s building permit packages, to verify the ownership.

There are the “runner” type of permit processers that will try to submit whatever you give them, and bill you for it. We do not! Our initial consultation and document review are included in our fees. Please feel free to contact us for your professional building permit processing needs.

Big Brother is Watching

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It is 2010 but we have finally reached 1984.  The Orwellian concepts of loss of personal freedom and state authority seem to have become not just a possibility but a reality. Our lighting speed information age has given everyone instantaneous access to all sorts of data, including personal information. That information is also available to the government.

I was listening to one of the radio talk shows and the discussion was about intrusive government. One of the commentators commented that he had heard of a local government using aerial photos to monitor construction that was performed without permits, by homeowners. The talk show host said that he did not believe it was true. Well, I can tell you first hand that it is true.

Several months ago I walked into one of the smaller building departments in Miami-Dade County. As I was waiting, I noticed that one of the staff was using Google Earth to scan residential properties and was comparing the aerial photos it to the historical permit data. Your are probably saying to yourself that this is just an isolated incident.  Not so! In a meeting I had with an environmental department staffer, not too long ago, I was shown how they track the number of trees on a property by using aerial photos. If a tree is missing and no permit was pulled for removal a hold is placed on that property.

The aerial photo above is from Google Earth of a neighborhood where I once owned a home. You can clearly see pools, fences, sheds, trees, and the foot print of the house. Even the color of the roof tile, which some cities regulate. Big brother is watching!

Work Without A Building Permit

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Everyone is always trying to save a buck, and many a home owner, as well as,  business owner looks at a small job and assumes a building permit isn’t nessecary. In Florida, and especially South Florida, you had better do your homework before you decide to do work without a building permit.

Section 105.1 of the Florida Building Code specifically states; Any owner or authorized agent who intends to construct, enlarge, alter, repair, move, demolish, or change the occupancy of a building or structure, or to erect, install, enlarge, alter, repair, remove, convert or replace any required impact-resistant coverings, electrical, gas, mechanical or plumbing system, the installation of which is regulated by this code, or to cause any such work to be done, shall first make application to the building official and obtain the required permit.

Now you are saying to yourself that I am not doing any of that. It is just a minor repair. Section 105.2.2 of the Florida Building Code specifically states; Ordinary minor repairs may be made with the approval of the building official without a permit, provided the repairs do not include the cutting away of any wall, partition or portion thereof, the removal or cutting of any structural beam or load-bearing support, or the removal or change of any required means of egress, or rearrangement of parts of a structure affecting the egress requirements; additionally, ordinary minor repairs shall not include addition to, alteration of, replacement or relocation of any standpipe, water supply, sewer, drainage, drain leader, gas, soil, waste, vent or similar piping, electric wiring systems or mechanical equipment or other work affecting public health or general safety, and such repairs shall not violate any of the provisions of the technical codes.

Guess what! You had better call, or even better, visit your Building Department before you do any work. You can get misleading information over the phone. That section of the Florida Building Code says that you need to get approval to do work without a permit. In today’s big brother world of big intrusive government you need approval, which will permit you,…. to not get a permit,… and permit you to do the work without a Building Permit.  I am sure your head is about ready to explode at this point! Something as simple as painting  your house will probably require a permit, and more than likely, you will have to use a color that is approved by your local government.

If you do work without a building permit, it can cost you. Big time! Double fees at a minimum. Possible fines assessed on a daily basis until you are issued an approved permit. Last but not least, liens on your property. On top of all this you still may be required to remove the work you did because it does not meet the code, encroaches on  setbacks or easements, or just simply violates zoning restrictions.

Permit Source can help with Building Permit issues in Miami-Dade, Broward or Palm Beach County. Feel free to post your question or comment here.

Class II Permits – City of Miami

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Do not let this happen to you!

The gentleman in the photo was attempting to apply for a Class II Permit in the City of Miami and did not follow the procedure. Like everything in government, the process is tedious, bureaucratic and often times absurd, but if you do not follow the exact procedure, every step of the way, you will be turned away.

Class II Basics

The City of Miami has designated areas of the City as “Special Districts”. Some of these districts overlap. You can go to their website and view the zoning map which indicates the special districts but it will probably give you a headache looking at it and trying to figure out if you need to apply for a Class II Permit. The reality is that if what you are doing is downtown, along the Biscayne Boulevard corridor, in the Grove, along Coral Way or Southwest 8th Street, it probably requires a Class II Permit. It would be worth your time to stop at their Zoning Department on the 4th floor of City Hall, and review the location and scope of your project with a Zoning representative.

You need to be aware that a Class II Permit is in addition to the Building Permit and the review process between the two are linked. I would suggest that you bring your Class II Application package with your Building Permit Application to begin the review process.

This is a link to to the City of Miami website and overview on Class II Permits. I am also including a link to their website page with the application form. The form explains the procedure and supporting documents that are required as a part of the submission package. These documents are in addition too the Building Permit documents. As always, if you need any assistance, or would like to have Permit Source handle the application process for you, feel free to contact us.

Once you actually get your application accepted you can track the progress by going the this page.

Closed Fridays

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Moving to a four day work week seems to becoming a trend with the building departments. The latest to add to the list is Miramar. The following are the four day work week building departments:

  • Palm Beach County
  • Coconut Creek
  • Pembroke Pines
  • Margate
  • Wilton Manors
  • Lauderdale Lakes
  • Miramar

What makes matters even worse is when there is a holiday. Those weeks will only be a three day work week for the building departments. This trend seems to be occurring mostly in Broward County and Palm Beach County and I would expect it to continue. We are marking the Building Departments that are on a four day work week with a red asterisk on our Helpful Links page.

Contractors will need to plan accordingly. This means there will be one day less for inspections and one day less for getting permit applications in for review. Their days are longer too! That means that you may need to adjust your staffing hours.