If I finished the basement of my home without township approval what would be the downsize?

I owned a townhome in state of New Jersey, and I want to partially (drop ceilings, carpet, and room for my laundry only) without township approval, I did consulted my neibour they have done the same thing. what would be the consequences if I do partially finished my basement. I have no knowledge on this.

I am answering from Colorado so the rules may be different. In Co, you need a permit from the city or county where you live. That way it ensures you have the improvement inspected to guarantee it meets all applicable code requirements. As well as meeting any issues for potential swelling though that is probably a Colorado thing. You may have issues with resale if a potential buyer wants to see a permit. If they rat you out you would have a problem of fines and inspections. Technically you could have an issue with taxes if the improvement raises the value of your home. Admittedly that would be extremely rare to get tagged with.

Would it be dumb to sell our stick-built home in a cruddy township, on a highway, and buy a manufactured home?

The home we are interested in is in a nicer area on a very nice piece of ground and has a garage and more room and amenities than we currently have. It is 3 years older than our current home (from 1980) and needs to be updated inside such as carpet and the ucky paneling. Otherwise it has been kept up very well. Where we live we can't even go for a decent walk unless you like cars whizzing by at 60 mph and it is so loud when you are outside you can't hear somebody talking. We also live on a hill of sand with hardly no grass. Also the house in question is only about a mile and a half from where my husband works and we are currently about 12 miles from it. Our home I think is worth more and it is all updated so we would be trading down a bit monetarily but I think the nice area and the bigger house would make us happy. Maybe it is not worth less than ours? (It's not actually for sale yet).

My only caution would be to consider resale value. Manufactured homes just *don't* have the resale value of conventional homes. On the other hand, it may have the advantage of "location, location, location." It certainly has other advantages for you and your family, over where you are now! You may decide you want to keep looking; maybe you'll find something else that works just as well. You may also want to find out how well your current home will market--it may be a tough sell! Sounds like you're unhappy there...maybe you want to get moving on marketing it.

Does each township have its own ordinances dealing with home based biz?

I live outside the city limits and am wanting to start a home based business the city ordinances have nothing against it but would the township have ordinances also?

If you live outside the city, then city ordinances do not apply, and you only need to worry about the township or county ordinances regarding home based businesses. Generally, I've found that most laws about home based businesses restrict greatly the number of visitors you can have at your house/business, and ban any type of signs identifying the business.

How can you find out what price a person paid for a home in Gloucester County, Washington Township, nj? How can you find out what price a person paid for a home in Gloucester County, Washington Township, nj?

That's public knowledge. You can go to the municipal building or your local realtor. there are also web site for it but i usaully takes a few weeks to hit there. Hello S. Jersey!

If the township awards me a variance for my property to put an addition on my home - how long is it good for?

My township is going to give me a variance to put a room on the back of my house on June 14th 2006. My plans have changed and now I'm not sure if I'm actually going to do the addition or not - but I've got a lot invested in the variance that I've already paid. such as $500 for a new survey and lender fees for the home equity loan I took out and I paid someone to do the drawings of my new room. I'm thinking of getting the variance anyway in case "some day" I want to do the addition. Will my variance ever expire if I never start the work?

You will have to check with your local goverment. In some places a variance can run out after just 5 years if not used.

Is there a website where I can get list if home sales in a particular township?

Is there a website where I can get list if home sales in a particular township? I would like to get sale price, date, list price, listing history, house details like type of house, size, bed rooms, bath rooms etc.

Try www.zillow.com for a general start. And it's free with no personal info of yours required. Another approach is a big real estate company, but with them, they'll hound you to have an agent "help" you. Start with zillow and go from there--and good luck!