Went today to see about getting the permit to build the shop. I grab the checkbook (on the off chance I can do this today) & walk into township office thinking this is gonna hurt.
Information needed: our full names, address, directions to the address, what we're building, type (frame, etc) is it new or remodel, approx. cost, who's building it. Oh, and a check for $5 for the permit. I spent a total of 15 minutes in there, including BSing with secretary about township signs, who I'd need to talk to & her complimenting the dimensional sign I did for my neighbor. I walked out with permit in hand.
I asked about distances from property lines (no restrictions).
Ok, maybe I posted this to taunt those having problems with permitting, but hey, I've had a rotten week, deal with it Posted by Mike Pipes (Member # 1573) on :
Hehehe yer obviously in a more rural area!
I had the same easy luck with my own property and building permits.
I have 40 acres about 45 minutes from here and when I went to the county office to inquire about obtaining a building permit, the ONLY requirement I face for building a permanent structure is that I need a septic system in place first... well.. I planned on havin' one-a-those anyway .. so I'm basically ready to roll! Just need to get my plans laid out so I know where I want everything to go.
The cool part is that the septic system guy is also the excavation guy is also the road grading guy is also the water system/tank guy is also the potable water truck guy is also the plumbing guy is also the local machine shop guy is also the county inspector! All the "typical red tape run around" guys rolled up into one person that can get everything done properly and approve it on the spot! LOL!! He also knows who to talk to about all the other services..
Unfortunately I'm 4 miles off the power grid and it's $18,000 per mile to have powerlines ran out... They haven't gotten back to me yet with a list of property owners along the way (all the parcels between my place and the grid belong to other owners), but I know there's like 40 owners! If I could convince them to share the cost it's gonna be cheap power! If not, I'm prepared to operate on solar and generators for running larger tools!
Your thread has been highjacked!! Posted by Wayne Webb (Member # 1124) on :
Rural area?
I can hear coyotes howling in the woods and deer come up behind the shop which is surrounded by pine trees cypress trees and swamp. Bigfoot and Mokele Mbembe lurk in the creek bottom just a stone's throw away.
Boss Hog charged me $467 for my building permit, had to have a copy of the contract, engineer plans, and deed. No electricity, plumbing permit either. You are fortunate.
Posted by Dave Grundy (Member # 103) on :
We had the same type of luck when we were buing additional land and building a shop.
Our neighbour agreed to sell us the extra land, and he happened to be the Reeve(Mayor) of the township at the time and was also the building inspector. We had NO problems whatsoever with getting all of the severences, variances, building permits etc. Posted by Kathy Joiner (Member # 1814) on :
whoopie! I hope the rest goes as smoothly as the permit. When the work begins, keep that hat on and crack the whip!
Posted by Dave Sherby (Member # 698) on :
Boy Kissy you've got me hopping mad. I had to spend $35 for my permit, and had to include a drawing. Damn, I wasted $30 and an extra 15 minutes compared to you.
But you know what gets me? Sure I saved a couple hundred on the permit, and maybe my taxes are a thousand dollars a year cheaper, but why does that make people think signs are worth less money in these rural areas. Sign supplies cost the same, actually more since we have to have our supplies trucked in. Taxes and building / land costs are lower, but almost everything else is higher here.... except for sign prices! Posted by Kissymatina (Member # 2028) on :
The township secretary did tell me some of the horrors from the meetings concerning the building specs, etc. that they're trying to force our area into adopting. It seems all permits will go through courthouse instead of townships. There will of course be inspections for everything. $$$ They also want a permit for everything. She said at one meeting it was actually stated that if your water heater goes out on Saturday morning, instead of you going to Lowes, buying a new one & putting it in yourself Saturday afternoon, they want you to wait til Monday to get a permit. Yeah, ok. The reasoning behind all this BS is that it will prevent people from getting taken by bad contractors. Then why don't they just test & license the contractors & push an ad campaign about using "licensed contractors".
Dave, I do agree. We may have cheaper expenses (utilities, permits, etc) but getting materials is a whole other disaster. I've been looking for anywhere to get Corel Draw 11 since the old puter bit the dust. I can't even order it anywhere in this town & ordering online is a little difficult without a computer. I figured I'd suffer with 8 until I got a chance to order it. Well, there are "issues" with 8 & XP so I ended up doing a search online & finding it last night. 100 miles, 3 hours later I was back with it.
I did some magnetics for a guy & he asked about coroplast jobsite signs. I gave him a price & he balked, telling me he only paid $xx when he was in Virginia. Well, for me to run to the sign supply, that's 100+ miles & 3 hours wasted. They deliver once a week, if I order by noon Monday & they have what I want in stock, I get stuff late Wednesday or Thursday. People don't seem to understand there is added costs when the materials aren't available down the street like they are for some people.
[ August 02, 2003, 03:46 PM: Message edited by: Kissymatina ]
Posted by old paint (Member # 549) on :
wayne we live in rural "developed" areas. have you been to ft.deposit al? that the kinda rural area chris is at mostly farms. where i lived in pa. most people moved in trailers, put up additions build barns and garages....and never heard of a building permit.
Posted by Sunny Holtzlander (Member # 4012) on :
I wonder if the permits have something to do with the contractors? Where we live, anyone can claim to be a contractor. You don't have to be licensed. I make more yard signs and business cards for the "new contractors" (last week they were auto mechanics) But we have to have a permit if I wanted to change my screen door. Where we used to live, any contractor that priced a job for over $600 had to be licensed. The permits were cheap and not nearly as strict.
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I spent a total of 15 minutes in there, including BSing with secretary about township signs, who I'd need to talk to & her complimenting the dimensional sign I did for my neighbor. I walked out with permit in hand. ![[Big Grin]](biggrin.gif)
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