Get a cash offer for a house with unpermitted work.
Finished basement without a permit, unpermitted addition, garage conversion. Enter the address and see a real cash number. We take it as it is.
The work is done. The permit never was.
Unpermitted work is improvement work (basement finish, addition, deck, garage conversion, new bathroom) done without pulling a permit with the local building department. Sometimes it was a prior owner. Sometimes it was a friend-of-a-friend contractor who skipped the step. Sometimes the permit was pulled but never closed out.
On the retail market, unpermitted work is a lender problem and an appraisal problem. The appraiser can't count unpermitted square footage toward value. The lender sees a liability (the city could order the work torn out). Standard buyers pull back or cut offers hard.
A cash buyer takes unpermitted work at face value. Square footage is square footage. Usability is usability. The offer may be trimmed by the legalization cost (retroactive permits + inspections) or by the risk that the work fails inspection, but the offer is still real.
Your stage sets your buyer pool and your offer range.
What a cash buyer actually pays here.
Cash-offer math on unpermitted work subtracts a legalization reserve from the standard 65–75% of ARV. Minor work: $500–$2,000 reserve. Moderate: $3,000–$8,000. Major additions or bedrooms without egress: $10,000–$40,000 if any work needs to be torn out and redone to code (IBC/IRC as adopted locally).
Example: $290,000 ARV in Atlanta, GA on a single-family with an unpermitted finished basement, $8,000 legalization reserve, $15,000 standard repairs. Math: $290,000 × 0.70 = $203,000, minus $23,000 combined, for a cash offer around $180,000. The legalization work is the buyer's problem after closing.
If the local jurisdiction has an amnesty program (many cities periodically offer code-legalization programs at reduced fees, especially in older neighborhoods and high-vacancy zones), that lowers the reserve. We check current programs during walkthrough.[1]
Cash vs. listing — here's how long each takes.
Closing is standard cash pace — 21–30 days. The legalization (or its risk) is priced in at contract, not done before closing. Most buyers prefer to handle the permit work themselves post-close because they control the rehab scope.
With work before listing, photos, time on market, and inspection risk. On a tight timeline, a listing usually doesn't close in time — you'd want cash or a hybrid strategy.
When cash is NOT the right move on unpermitted work.
If the unpermitted work is minor (deck, shed, one bathroom) and legalization is a simple retroactive permit under $1,500, get it legalized before listing. The disclosure then reads 'permitted and closed,' which removes the lender's objection and unblocks a retail sale.
If you're willing to open up drywall to verify electrical and plumbing, some finished-basement unpermitted work can be legalized for under $4,000. Legalize, disclose, list. Often nets 15–20 points over cash.
And if the work violates a current code that requires tear-out regardless (bedroom without egress, no smoke detectors, no GFCI in wet areas), the tear-out cost may exceed the cash-vs-retail spread. Price both options before deciding.
Cash offer · List with agent · Legalize, then list.
The questions homeowners ask us first.
See your cash offer.
About a minute. No signup. The math is on the next screen.