Q: My husband and I were planning on buying a darling little cottage on Maury that’s for sale by owner.

It’s on the top of a hill and has a nice view. It’s just what I was hoping to find for a vacation getaway. My husband called the County to find out if we would be able to add on to it, since it’s just a bit too small for our family, and the County didn’t even know about it. It turns out the cottage was built without permits, there is no “legal” water source, and the septic system was never approved. I really still want it but my husband doesn’t. What would happen if we buy it anyway?



A: Because the County now knows about the place it’s likely that the code enforcement people will be out to take a look. If the owner is really lucky the County will let him get an “already built” permit. He will probably have to bring the house up to code and if there is a “bootlegged’ septic system they will probably require that he get a septic design and put in an approved system. All of that could be very expensive.


The County may require that the owner pay double the permit fees and possibly some fines. Another question would be about your “top of a hill” comment. It could be that it is built too close to a slide prone slope. That could be a real problem. There are setbacks required from a slope to try to prevent landslides. It’s possible the house would have to be moved away from the edge of the slope. That could diminish the view.


The issue of water is the most serious. The lot would have to be large enough to drill a well or able to hook on to a local water system. Without a legal water source I’m not sure that there is any legal use for the property. It’s also likely that you won’t be able to get financing for this sort of place. I vote with your husband.