Do Santa Barbara County Tax Assessor’s Records Tell You If an Improvement to a Home is Permitted?
The answer is no. The Assessor’s records tell you only what the county assessor has discovered (through its many methods) about a property, it does not tell you if improvements have been permitted. Just this past week, I investigated two properties in Lompoc for a client. I always recommend that clients perform such an investigation. Both properties had garage conversions. In one of these cases, I investigated because the listing agent asserted that a garage conversion was permitted. It was a foreclosed home and it did have covered parking in the rear. Usually, the city will require covered parking in order to allow a garage conversion. And, in both cases the county records included the square footage of the garage conversions. However, when I went down and checked with the City of Lompoc, neither home had permits for a garage conversion. It is important for home buyers to understand that they should check out permitting issues themselves, and that they should check the permit history, and not just rely on the Santa Barbara County Tax Assessor’s records when determining the permit status of improvements to a home.
Tni LeBlanc, Broker
Mint Properties
Copyright © Tni LeBlanc 2010 *Do Santa Barbara County Tax Assessor’s Records Tell You If an Improvement to a Home is Permitted?*
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