The Permit Nobody Remembered: Why I’d Rather Hear the Question First
Not long ago I worked with sellers in San Rafael who were ready to go. The house was in good shape, the timing was right, and then the city came through for its resale inspection. San Rafael inspects every home before it changes hands, and pulls its permit history while it’s at it.
The inspector found that an existing unit had been replaced years earlier. It needed a permit. Nobody had pulled one. In fairness, nobody even remembered replacing it.
So in the middle of a sale, with a clock running, there was suddenly a permit to get and a reinspection to schedule. It was a real headache, and a lot of stress, over something one phone call could have settled at the time.
What stays with me is that they weren’t careless. They assumed someone would tell them. That’s the trap. Once you own a house, nobody is going to tell you. The rules are yours to know, and so are the consequences. And it isn’t only first-time owners. I’ve met people who have owned property for decades and still got caught.
What San Rafael checks before a home is sold
San Rafael runs a Residential Building Record program. Before a home changes hands, the city does two things: it inspects the property, and it searches its own records for the permits on file. Single-family homes, condos, townhouses, duplexes and apartment buildings are all covered, and the report has to be done before escrow closes.
That second part is the one that surprises people. The inspection compares what is in the house with what the city has on paper. If work was done without a permit, the gap shows up here, usually at the worst possible moment, when there is a buyer waiting and a closing date on the calendar.
Other cities have their own rules, and some have none at all, so it is worth asking what yours requires long before you list. If you plan to sell in the next few years, the time to find a missing permit is now, while it is a project and not a deadline.
The questions worth asking before you buy
I see the same pattern on the buying side, usually with a first house. Each of these makes sense on its own, and any one of them can stall a purchase:
- Financing a car a few months before you apply for a mortgage. A new monthly payment changes how much a lender will let you borrow.
- Putting something big on a card, or opening new credit, while you are in the middle of buying.
- Changing careers a year before you buy. Lenders look at your most recent two years of work history, and a change of field inside that window can raise questions.
None of these are rules you would know without someone telling you. That is the point.
The questions worth asking once you own
Then, once you move in, there is a second list: what needs a permit, how property taxes actually work, which rules changed while you weren’t looking. Half the time you don’t even know which thing it’s going to be, which is exactly why the habit of asking matters more than knowing any one answer.
What the market looked like this fall
For anyone thinking about a move: San Francisco had 209 single-family homes for sale on October 5, up from 107 on September 4, as a wave of new listings arrived after Labor Day. The median asking price on those listings was $1,695,000, and the 30-year fixed rate was 7.28%, against 6.34% a year earlier. More choice and costlier money arrived together. Sources: San Francisco Association of REALTORS® MLS, active single-family listings, pulled September 4 and October 5, 2026; Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey, October 1, 2026.
The takeaway
That’s why I would always rather hear the question. The one you think is silly. The one you’re a little embarrassed to ask. The one that comes two years before you’re ready. If I had known those sellers when that unit was replaced, I could have walked them through the trade-offs, and told them San Rafael checks before every sale.
You don’t have to know all of this. Nobody does. You just need a few smart people around you who do, and the habit of asking them. Send me the question you’ve been sitting on.
The question that feels too small to ask is usually the one worth asking, and the earlier you ask it, the more of your options are still open.
Call me at (415) 407-5324 or visit primaverarealty.com.
Beatrice Kopilenko, REALTOR® · DRE #01970797