What permits to get during remodel? (loan, house, heat pump)

[PNWGuy]

Looking to remodel our kitchen, add a 3/4 bath, relocate heat pumps, replace electrical panel, upsize water heater, and probably few other things I am missing. In the process of getting a bids, one GC advises against getting permits as it just causes delays, and the other GC says he's fine with it, but had definite facial dis-satisfaction.

What's the big deal with getting permits? Does it mean there's a lot of standing around, waiting for the inspector to show up? Or are inspectors so nit picky, causing GCs to redo their work? I'm not concerned about the latter with two of the GCs i am getting a bid from. But just wondering if there's something else that I am missing?

OF all the things mentioned above, if you were remodeling your home, which would you get permits for?

[wit-nit]

You get permits for electrical and plumbing. It's required for certain standards of required work. Inspectors always give estimated time to show up to inspect the work. If you don't get a permit for the required work then when you sell or the officials find out you may have some serious trouble, like tearing it all out and starting all over again legitimately. The cost then for permits with the fine doubles and in some cases may triple. Is it worth not getting a permit, NO.
Also a licensed contractor could lose his license doing work that is suppose to have a permit and he or you fail to get them.

[Zippyman]

The disadvantage to getting permits are the fees and the delays, but with all the work you're doing, the fees are a nothingburger (compared to the cost of the job). Personally, I wouldnt hire a GC who was wishy-washy about permits on a job that big - seems like a big red flag.

fwiw, there's really no way to sell a house with unpermitted work around here without lying on the (required) disclosure forms - if you (honestly) say you ripped the place apart & rebuilt it without a permit, your buyer won't be able to get a loan, and if you lie on the docs, you're liable to get sued years later for any problems, real or imagined.

[MotleyCrew]

Some of the agencies make it a tad more painful for homeowner's doing work without permits, getting caught and then trying to navigate through the system. I would get the necessary permits first and save some time and money.

[ChristineF]

For that type of work a contractor saying not to pull permits = no work from that guy.....

[PNWGuy]

got it, thank all.