Keeping Up With Real Estate Code

Depending on where you live, you may have hundreds of laws, rules, and codes regulating how to build and maintain a property, or you may have a few dozen. Regardless of how many there are, it’s essential as a property owner, investor, and landlord to be intimately familiar with building codes.

Building code can cover each and every aspect of a building – from foundation to roof and everything in between. When building a property, regular inspections are often required in order to make sure everything’s being done right. But with a property that’s already been built, that responsibility becomes yours.

The first step is to become familiar with the regulations governing your area. These regulations can be both on the state level and on the local level, so you’ll need to contact your state, your county, and your city. (And sometimes, you have to deal with community regulations, home owners associations, etc.) Most websites likely have the information you need, but you may need to make some phone calls, especially for the more local rules.

Once you’re familiar with the codes governing your property, you need to make sure it’s up to code. Or, if you’re considering buying a property, you’ll want to find out if there are any violations which will, of course, cost to fix. Now that you’re familiar with the code, you should be able to get a good idea of potential problems, but it’s usually best to hire an inspector to come in and thoroughly check a property from top to bottom. This will give you a better insight of what would need to be fixed.

Once you figure out what needs to be fixed, assuming you currently own the property, you need to fix it. If you’re investing in a property, decide whether or not you’d be willing to put the time, effort, and money into bringing it up to code. Use your network to find a contractor that would be able to resolve any code violations in the most efficient manner. And after everything has been fixed, depending on the type of property, you may need to get an inspector to come in and certify that all the appropriate work has been done.

Stay informed about current code, possible future code, and potential trouble spots with a property and you should be able to avoid any surprises regarding proper code enforcement.

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