Q. My wife and I are first time home buyers in California. We finally found the home we loved after months of searching and put an offer in that was accepted. We are currently in Escrow only to find out that there was an addition made to the home that the sellers never got a permit for. This has raised some big concerns for me. I don't want to move forward with purchasing the house if there were additions made that don't have permits because I don't know who did the additions and/or if they were done to building codes, or are safe for my family to be around. I'm curious if any of you experts can give me your sage advice on what I should do about this. We really love this house and don't want this to be a deal breaker, but I don't think the sellers are willing to acquire the necessary permits for the addition. Thank you so much in advance for all your help!

A. It would be a deal breaker for me. The city can make you tear it down. Also your homeowners insurance can get out of paying a claim because part of the house is not legal.

A. It largely depends on if it's a DIY or contracted. If I was doing an addition, I might charge as mush as $200 a sq. ft. depending on your desires,,,or as little as $100 a sq. ft. if you're willing to NOT be my foreman. Rev. Steven

Q. Do additions (structural and attached) eventually change the classification of a manufactured home for refinancing and insurance purposes? At what point does this happen? Our house is no longer what I would consider mobile at all! lol We are in a very rural setting and the building has been done to code although no inspections were required. The home is a 2003 model. The addition does have foooters and a foundation.

A. It would change when the county inspects it and decides it is no longer a trailer. The odds of that happening are close to zero. How many of those "attachments" even have building permits?

Q. I am looking to do a remodel and possibly a home addition on a home I have lived in the past 10 years. Does anyone know of a reliable business or a way to find a reliable company that is the Raleigh/Cary/Apex, NC area?

A. Http://www.nari.org/level2/homeowners/.. try this site.

Q. We want to add a garage w/ bonus room, and extend out back with an additional room or two. Will require HVAC upgrades. What can I expect to pay / square foot?

A. $60 per sq ft basic. $100 gets you luxury. Can you do any of it yourself? /

Q. I'm looking to find out if there is some type of knowledgebase website. I want something that deals with building custom homes, additions and remodels.

A. Yes called home design data base http://search.yahoo.com/search?p=home+design+data+base&fr=yfp-t-501&toggle=1&cop=mss&ei=UTF-8

Q. We have to put a new roof on our house while at the same time we know that we have drywood termites. Our home has hardwood floors, wood paneling and wood beam ceiling in our den. A new roof is going to be going in, should we termite AFTER the new roof to treat the new installation or go ahead and termite now since our roof won't probably go until September.

A. In Arizona it is law that when (this is for a MANUFACTURED HOME) EXCAVATION DIRT WORK IS DONE & BEFORE HOME IS SET CALL PEST CONTROL THEY HAVE TERMITE SPRAY IT COSTS BUT IN THE LONG RUN IT IS WELL WORTH IT!!! but...make sure its not water...In other words be there DON"T GET RIPPED OFF!!!!

Q. I know it is hard to give an exact dollar amount but ideally give me a ballpark figure on what it might cost to add a full bath and a 12 by 12bedroom addition to a home

A. Almost impossible to do....of course the price is going to vary by the area you live in. i would suggest contacting the better business bureau, then make sure you get several contractors names and ask them to bid on the project. make sure you check on their licenses with the state. all bids should include architecture plans as well as permitting costs (they need to pull the permits for you). good luck.