Hello and thank you for your question.
You will have to wait a year before you can sell the property. To
sell it sooner you would have to be able to prove that you built the
home for your own occupancy (by showing, for example that you have
been living there since you built it, you originally intended to stay,
and you're selling now due to some change in circumstanes).
Even if you do wait a year, you need to be ready to prove that you
originally built the house with the intention of living in it.
Arizona has a set of laws, under Title 32, Chapter 10, that create a
registration process for licensed contractors and builders.
Title 32
http://www.azleg.state.az.us/ars/32/title32.htm
Since you don't have a license, you need to fit within the following
exception:
"Section32-1121. Persons not required to be licensed; penalties
A. This chapter shall not be construed to apply to:
....
4. Any materialman, manufacturer or retailer furnishing finished
products, materials or articles of merchandise who does not install or
attach such items or installs or attaches such items if the total
value of the sales contract or transaction involving such items and
the cost of the installation or attachment of such items to a
structure does not exceed seven hundred fifty dollars including labor,
materials and all other items. The materialman, manufacturer or
retailer shall inform the purchaser that the installation may also be
performed by a licensed contractor whose name and address the
purchaser may request.
5. Owners of property who improve such property or who build or
improve structures or appurtenances on such property and who do the
work themselves, with their own employees or with duly licensed
contractors, if the structure, group of structures or appurtenances,
including the improvements thereto, are intended for occupancy solely
by the owner and are not intended for occupancy by members of the
public as the owner's employees or business visitors and the
structures or appurtenances are not intended for sale or for rent. In
all actions brought under this chapter, proof of the sale or rent or
the offering for sale or rent of any such structure by the
owner-builder within one year after completion or issuance of a
certificate of occupancy is prima facie evidence that such project was
undertaken for the purpose of sale or rent. As used in this paragraph
"sale" or "rent" includes any arrangement by which the owner receives
compensation in money, provisions, chattels or labor from the
occupancy or the transfer of the property or the structures on the
property.
6. Owners of property who are acting as developers and who build
structures or appurtenances to structures on their property for the
purpose of sale or rent and who contract for such a project with a
general contractor licensed pursuant to this chapter and owners of
property who are acting as developers, who improve structures or
appurtenances to structures on their property for the purpose of sale
or rent and who contract for such a project with a general contractor
or specialty contractors licensed pursuant to this chapter. To qualify
for the exemption under this paragraph, the licensed contractors'
names and license numbers shall be included in all sales documents.
....
8. A person licensed, certified or registered pursuant to chapter 22
of this title or a person working under the direct supervision of a
person certified or qualified pursuant to chapter 22 of this title to
the extent he is engaged in structural pest control.
9. The sale or installation of finished products, materials or
articles of merchandise which are not fabricated into and do not
become a permanent fixed part of the structure. This exemption does
not apply if a local building permit is required, if the total price
of the finished product, material or article of merchandise including
labor is more than seven hundred fifty dollars or if the removal of
the finished product, material or article of merchandise causes damage
to the structure or renders the structure unfit for its intended use.
10. Employees of the owners of condominiums, townhouses, cooperative
units or apartment complexes of four units or less or the owners'
management agent or employees of the management agent repairing or
maintaining structures owned by them.
11. Any person who engages in the activities regulated by this
chapter, as an employee of an exempt property owner or as an employee
with wages as his sole compensation.
....
14. Any person other than a licensed contractor engaging in any work
or operation on one undertaking or project by one or more contracts,
for which the aggregate contract price, including labor, materials and
all other items, is less than seven hundred fifty dollars. The work or
operations which are exempt under this paragraph shall be of a casual
or minor nature. This exemption does not apply:
(a) In any case in which the performance of the work requires a local
building permit.
(b) In any case in which the work or construction is only a part of a
larger or major operation, whether undertaken by the same or a
different contractor, or in which a division of the operation is made
in contracts of amounts less than seven hundred fifty dollars for the
purpose of evasion of this chapter or otherwise.
(c) To a person who utilizes any form of advertising to the public in
which his unlicensed status is not disclosed by including the words
"not a licensed contractor" in the advertisement.
15. A person who is licensed, certified or registered pursuant to
title 41, chapter 16 and who is not otherwise required to be licensed
under this chapter or an employee of such person.
16. A person who functions as a gardener by performing lawn, garden,
shrub and tree maintenance.
B. A person who is licensed to perform work in a particular trade
pursuant to the provisions of this chapter shall not be required to
obtain and maintain a separate license for mechanical or structural
service work performed within the scope of such trade by such person.
C. Any person who does not have an exemption from licensure pursuant
to subsection A, paragraph 14, subdivision (c) of this section is
subject to prosecution for a violation of section 44-1522. The
attorney general may investigate the act or practice and take
appropriate action pursuant to title 44, chapter 10, article 7."
32-1121. Persons not required to be licensed; penalties
http://www.azleg.state.az.us/ars/32/01121.htm
[I have omitted some exceptions that obviously don't apply, but you
can read the whole thing for yourself by clicking the above link.]
So based on what you say in your question, you need to qualify for the
exception in paragraph 5, "structures or appurtenances, including the
improvements thereto, are intended for occupancy solely by the owner
and are not intended for occupancy by members of the public as the
owner's employees or business visitors and the structures or
appurtenances are not intended for sale or for rent" and if you sell
within a year, you are "prima facie" assumed to be in violation.
As noted above, even waiting a year is not a sure thing if the facts
show that you never really built the property for your own use.
Search terms used:
arizona residential "licensed builder"
If you have any questions related to my answer, or if any of this is
unclear, please ask for Clarification. I would appreciate it if you
would hold off on rating my answer until I have an opportunity to
respond.
Good luck!
richard-ga |
