A good home inspector will look at the quality and safety of the home including the basement. He may or may not check to see if the basement was finished with a building permit. Guess what–this info is available to the public online.

The Pikes Peak Regional Building Department web site has a feature that allows for an address search of any area property. The search will yield info on all of the building permits that have been pulled for that property. If there are no basement finish permits, this could indicate a future problem with the home. If no permit was pulled for the work then more questions need to be asked. The basement may look fine but the issue could be with what we cannot see.

The building department does periodic inspections during the construction process. The insures that the framing, electrical, plumbing etc. all were done according to the local building codes. If these inspections were not done, the new homeowner may be required to prove that the code has been followed to bring the permit current. This might require cutting into walls to show how the work was done.

Many buyers do see this as a major inspection issue. This is because when they get ready to sell in a few years, their new buyer might want the inspections to be completed. If not done, resale value can be affected. Safety can be greatly impacted if wiring or plumbing wa not done correctly. Just because your cousin Billy used to work in construction does not mean he is qualified to wire a basement properly!

Bottom line here is that all work done on a home needs to be properly inspected if it impacts the structure or safety of that home. A new deck require a permit. New kitchen cabinet installation does not. For more info on local building permit issues, contact me or leave a comment below.

What does this mean? Can I now unlock my doors at night? Probably not but it does confirm what I have always believed about our city. This is a great place to live all around! I feel safe going downtown to a restaurant with friends. Of course I don’t stay out that late and don’t frequent the downtown nightclubs that seem to have weekly incidents involving police. The places that I go, day or night seem to be safe and well lit.

The key here is to look at all of the factors that made up this safety study. Our air quality is excellent. We get the best water in the whole world cold and tasty right out of the tap. As for life expectancy, my grandfather was a Colorado Springs native (b.1900) and he lived to be nearly 99! Our clean living and penchant for fitness makes it easy to live a long time here.

The large military presence in this city gives financial stability to the region. Job losses are less than other cities due to our guaranteed military payroll every two weeks. We never boomed as much as other cities during the past ten years so our job losses have been much less than other areas similar to Colorado Springs.

Housing areas can be safe in most area of the city. Even in lower price ranges, a good safe home can be found. It all depends on who is assisting you in your search. I am a lifetime native of Colorado Springs. I know the areas that are most popular with buyers based on typical needs such as safety, convenience, schools etc. If you are considering a move to the area, feel free to contact me. I would love to assist you!