The Unpermitted Addition: When a Perfect Home Hides Risk

🎙️ Episode Title: What the For Sale By Owner Hid
📅 Release Date: April 3, 2026
🎧 Podcast: Stories on Love, Life, and Real Estate
⏱️ Runtime: ~3 minutes
🎙️ Host: L.J.

Real estate agent LJ shares a weekend showing in a desirable neighborhood where a well-kept FSBO home raised red flags such an unpermitted garage conversion and an irregular lot that could affect permits, financing, insurance, and resale.

Through research and persistence LJ explains why representation and asking the right questions matter: slow down, verify permits and boundaries, and don’t assume a neat home is problem-free.

00:00 — Intro + Season 4 reintroduction (who I am and what I do)
00:32 — Setting the scene: FSBO in a desirable area
00:58 — Something feels off: questioning the situation
01:23 — Property walkthrough: early red flags
01:33 — Converted two-story garage with no documentation
01:52 — Irregular lot and potential impact
02:04 — Why small issues together matter
02:13 — Due diligence: digging deeper after the showing
02:47 — The truth: no permits on the garage conversion
02:58 — What that means: financing, insurance, resale risk
03:16 — Unpermitted work becomes the buyer’s problem
03:38 — Added complexity with irregular property lines
03:54 — Why representation matters in deals like this
04:24 — Final advice: slow down, ask questions, verify everything
04:49 — Outro

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