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. I got a home remodeling company.it's your one stop home improvement,from roof 2 da floor.additions,tile,carpet,concreate,paint n sheetrock etc.

A. Contact every bank in your area and tell them you are willing to do a l2p program. Real estate brokers do not want the public knowing about it because it cuts them out.

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. Do you have any good ideas for building a greenhouse?

A. I only have good ideas on what to fill greenhouses with :)

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