Legal Question in Real Estate Law in Virginia

VA Housing/Building Codes

I am selling a home and one of the potential buyers wanted to add an additional bay onto a 2-bay garage. He went to city hall to get a variance and found that the shed on the back of the garage is 1 ft longer than allowed and he could not build the additional bay. I get a notice saying I have to find a contractor to take off 1 ft from the shed or we'll have to pay fees. This all started because the buyer wanted us to pay for the addition or knock the cost from the price of the home. The realtor we are/were using sold us the house with the shed and didn't know about the shed being over the boundary. Apparently the shed was built a month after the house was initially built and no one said anything before. The house is only 8 years old and it will cost quite a bit just to cut off 1 ft from the shed. Is there anything I can do to avoid going through all of this?


Asked on 5/22/08, 2:24 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Susan Allen The Law Office of Susan E. Allen, PLLC

Re: VA Housing/Building Codes

You will likely be fined or penalized by the locality as long as your remain noncompliant. A survey, when you purchased the property, would have indicated the placement of the structure to the boundary line.

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Answered on 5/23/08, 7:14 am


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