What an open permit actually is
Someone pulled a permit to do work — windows, a roof, an A/C changeout, an addition — and
the job never got its final inspection. The work may be perfectly fine and finished years ago.
On the county or city record, it is still open.
Sellers usually find out at the worst possible moment: after a contract is signed, when
title or the buyer's lender runs the property and the closing stops.
Why it kills retail sales and not ours
A retail buyer is nearly always using a mortgage. Their lender and their title company want
a clean record. Closing out an old permit means bringing the work up to whatever code applies
now, getting an inspector back out, and sometimes hiring an engineer to certify work nobody
witnessed. That's weeks, and it's money, and the seller is the one expected to spend both
while a buyer waits and eventually walks.
We're buying with cash and we're doing work on the house anyway. Closing permits out is
already part of what we do, so it's a line item on our side instead of an emergency on yours.
West Little River, 2023: open window permits
We bought a house in West Little River in 2023 with open permits on window
work. Rather than push it back to the seller, we hired an engineer ourselves
to inspect and certify the work so the permits could be closed out before we closed on the
purchase. The seller didn't pay for it and didn't manage it.
Allapattah, this week: two open permits and tenants
A house we're closing on in Allapattah right now has two open permits — a
roof and an A/C — and month-to-month tenants in place. Any one of those three things would
have ended a conventional sale. All three together and the house is essentially unsellable on
the open market without months of work first.
We're closing on it as-is, with the tenants in it, and handling the permits from our side
afterward.
Violations and liens are a different animal, and still fine
Code enforcement fines accrue daily, which is why owners are shocked by the totals. They
attach to the property, so they follow the house rather than the person. In practice they get
resolved at closing out of the proceeds — often negotiated down — and title clears.
The thing not to do is wait. A violation you ignore for another six months is a larger
number, and the same is true of unpaid taxes.
What to do first
Pull your own permit history before you talk to anyone. Miami-Dade and each city keep it
online, and it takes ten minutes. Knowing what's open on your house is the difference between
negotiating and being ambushed. If something's there, it doesn't change whether we'll buy —
it changes how the closing is scheduled.
Common questions
Can you sell a house with an open permit in Miami-Dade?
Not easily to a retail buyer with a mortgage — their lender and title company will usually require it closed out first. A cash buyer can take the property with the permit open and resolve it afterward, which is what we do.
Who pays to close out an open permit?
In our purchases, we do. On a West Little River house in 2023 we hired the engineer ourselves to certify open window work so the permits could be closed.
Do code enforcement liens have to be paid before closing?
They attach to the property, so they're normally settled at closing out of the proceeds, and they can often be negotiated down. They don't stop a cash sale.
Will you buy a house with open permits and tenants in it?
Yes. We're currently closing on an Allapattah house with two open permits, a roof and an A/C, and month-to-month tenants in place.
Get My Fair Cash Offer
Other guides
Selling a House in Probate · Inherited a House That Needs Work · When Heirs Disagree · Selling a Hoarder House
