Buying a Home on the Emerald Coast?

What Your Inspector Won’t Tell You About Permits

By Jessica Brown, Emerald Coast REALTOR®  |  Tide & Timber Properties

Serving Freeport, Santa Rosa Beach, 30-A, Destin & Surrounding Areas

May 04, 2026

The Emerald Coast is full of homes that have been renovated, improved, and added onto over the years — porches enclosed, bathrooms remodeled, square footage expanded. Most buyers assume their home inspector will catch any problems with that work. The reality is more complicated.

As a lifelong local and REALTOR® who has helped buyers navigate transactions across Walton County, permit history is one of the most frequently overlooked pieces of due diligence I see — and one of the most important. Here are the questions buyers ask most often, and the straight answers.

Q:  The seller disclosed unpermitted work in the listing. Should I walk away?

A:  Not necessarily — disclosure is actually a good sign. It means the seller is being transparent, and you have the information you need to make an informed decision. The real question is what the unpermitted work involves and how it interacts with your financing.

Cosmetic or minor unpermitted work on a cash purchase is often a non-issue. Unpermitted structural work, roofing, or plumbing on a financed purchase — especially with FHA or VA financing — can create real complications. Evaluate it specifically, not categorically, and lean on your agent and lender to help you understand the risk before deciding.

Q:  Will my home inspector catch unpermitted work?

A:  Your home inspector evaluates the physical condition of the home — what they can see, access, and test on the day of the inspection. Verifying permit history is explicitly outside the scope of a standard home inspection.

That said, a good inspector will often flag things that appear to have been added or modified and note “recommend verifying permits” — particularly when something looks newer than the rest of the home, when workmanship suggests unlicensed work, or when a space doesn’t appear to match the home’s original layout. But they will not pull county records.

The practical takeaway: don’t assume that because an inspector didn’t flag a permit issue, one doesn’t exist. Pull the permit history yourself, or ask your agent to do it.

Q:  So who actually verifies permit history when I’m buying?

A:  Honestly — nobody does it automatically unless someone specifically requests it. This is one of the most common gaps in a real estate transaction, and it catches buyers off guard more often than it should.

The appraiser may note unpermitted square footage or flag visible unpermitted work, but their job is valuation, not permit research.

The title company pulls a lien search that will surface open permits or code enforcement actions, but it is not a comprehensive permit history review.

Your buyer’s agent — if they’re doing their job thoroughly — should be pulling the permit history or advising you to do so, particularly on any home that shows signs of improvement work. Both Walton County (mywaltonfl.gov) and Okaloosa County (permits.myokaloosa.com) have public permit lookup tools that take about fifteen minutes to check. It’s worth doing on any home that shows signs of renovation or addition.

Q:  My lender is flagging an unpermitted addition the appraiser noted. What happens now?

A:  This depends heavily on your loan type. FHA and VA lenders are the most strict and can condition the loan on the unpermitted work being permitted and approved, brought to code, or in some cases removed. Conventional lenders vary by underwriter — some will accept an as-is condition with proper disclosure, others will not.

Your options at this point are typically: negotiate with the seller to resolve the permit before closing; negotiate a price reduction or credit that reflects the unpermitted condition; accept it as-is — with these caveats to consider: (1) confirm your lender and loan type won't flag it, (2) disclose the unpermitted work to your insurance agent before binding coverage and get it in writing that the policy covers the full structure, and (3) understand that resale could be complicated down the road, as you'll be in the seller's position someday. And if the lender's condition cannot be satisfied, your final option is to walk away — provided your contract includes an appropriate contingency.

This is why financing type matters when making an offer on a home with known unpermitted work. A cash offer or conventional loan with a strong down payment gives you more flexibility than government-backed financing in this scenario.

Q:  What should I ask my agent to check regarding permits before I remove my inspection contingency?

A:  Ask your agent to pull the permit history for the property through the county’s public lookup tools before you remove your inspection contingency. Compare what’s on record against what the home actually shows — any visible additions, enclosures, remodels, or improvements should have corresponding permits that were both opened and finalized.

Pay particular attention to open permits that were never finalized. A permit that was pulled but never had a final inspection can create a cloud on title and must be resolved before or at closing. A closed, finalized permit on an improvement is exactly what you want to see.

Also look for square footage discrepancies between the county tax record and the actual home. If the home feels larger than the public record suggests, something was likely added — and whether that addition was permitted matters for your appraisal and your lender.

Q:  If I buy a home with unpermitted work, does that become my problem after closing?

A:  Yes — and this is the part many buyers don’t fully think through until after the fact. Once you close, you own the home and everything in it, permitted or not. If a code enforcement action is ever initiated, if you try to sell later and a buyer raises the issue, or if something goes wrong and your homeowner’s insurance denies a claim because the work wasn’t permitted, that is now your responsibility.

This doesn’t mean unpermitted work makes a home unsellable or uninsurable. Many buyers purchase homes with disclosed unpermitted improvements and do so knowingly, with the price reflecting the condition. What matters is that you go in with a clear understanding of what you’re taking on — not discover it after closing.

🌴  The Emerald Coast market moves quickly and buyers sometimes feel pressure to skip steps to compete. Pulling a permit history takes fifteen minutes and costs nothing. It is one of the simplest and most protective things a buyer can do — and one of the most frequently skipped.

Shopping for a Home on the Emerald Coast?

Knowing what to look for — and what to ask — before you remove your inspection contingency can protect you from inheriting someone else’s problem. I pull permit histories as a standard part of my buyer due diligence process, and I’m happy to walk through what to look for on any property you’re considering.

Reach out anytime at waltoncoast.com. I’m a lifelong local to the Emerald Coast, and this is exactly the kind of detail that makes a difference. 🌴

Jessica Brown

Tide & Timber Properties  |  Emerald Coast REALTOR®

waltoncoast.com