Ah yes, ANY open permits and or code violations need to be fully addressed and resolved by the potential home buyer, prior to closing on a property. As forgetting to have these two County items fully checked out could become very costly for a new home owner in Monroe County. It seems any (pre-existing) or (present) open permits and or code violations follow the current property owner/owner of record. And as the new property owner of record, you also inherit all and any fines, and the responsibility of closing out the open permits, as well as bringing any and all building code violations into current County code compliance. A home we considered purchasing had 11 yes, ELEVEN open permits that were never closed out/signed off on. Some over 8 years old. Not to mention a few other various code violations. Could have cost us an unexpected additional $5,000 in County fines, current code compliance violation repair expenses, re-inspections. And a lot of aggravation in dealing with the County powers that be.

...pretty insane post construction changes made by local building department inspectors here. Some post finish ones which are obviously nothing more than just a demonstration of their power. Like doubling the code amount of electrical outlets in a custom decorated tiled kitchen during final for instance, messed up the design quite effectively and had to re-tile. Another was moving the meter pole from the open carport side of the house to the opposite fenced in private backyard with pool, no explanation given for the loss of privacy, just do it or fail inspection. Building plans, blueprints and periodic inspections are there for a reason, so everyone is on the same page and work out the problems before proceeding. Having heating work done on a house up north involving several trades, everyone involved showed up promptly on time, coordinated their efforts, did the job and the permit was closed out later the same day. Had a roof replaced, took a week of estimates and picked the best company for the job, it was done in 6 hours, permit closed later that same day. 1400 feet of fence, ditto. I could go on and on. Yes I know, there isn't the volume of manpower, or jobs or even very likely the intelligence here to encourage that level of efficiency and attention to detail. Here it's all about making things more complicated, confusing and costly; ulterior motives, springing surprises, power trips, get the unsuspecting homeowner in a bind and soak them dry, line them up for the sharks to devour. Some permits are not closed for a reason, because you can't fix stupid.

I expect a vast news wasteland in Monday's paper, but still no news by Tuesday? How about searching for Bum Farto's bones?