As Luxury Home Permit Fees Spike – Can Virtual Inspections Rescue Municipalities?

In Aquinnah, recent building permit fee structure shifts have luxury home builders and upscale homeowners buzzing. Gone are the days of simple, flat-rate fees; now, it’s $10 for every $1,000 of construction, sparking a debate about fairness for those dreaming big.

The city argues that this change is about fairness and covering the actual costs of inspections. They say it’s only fair that those building more pay more, ensuring that the fee system scales with the size and complexity of the project.

The fees focus on covering the costs of inspections, planning reviews, and continuous education of employees, a common refrain from overburdened municipalities across the country.

However, what’s missing from this approach is how private providers could kill several birds with one stone.

Third-party virtual inspections reduce inspection and plan review times—the average turnaround is just 48 hours compared to the months it could take otherwise.

By cutting inspection costs by half, platforms like Inspected ensure every step is documented, enhancing transparency and accountability—crucial aspects that the current fee structure seems to overlook.

Aquinnah could streamline its permit process, making it faster, more cost-effective, and more transparent.

This could soothe the concerns of homeowners and builders alike, providing a clear, quantifiable return on the fees paid and bridging the gap between the city’s need to cover costs and the community’s call for fairness and clarity.

Our team encapsulates this approach below giving you a targeted approach to how our platform tackles big-picture challenges in towns like Aquinnah.

Gap	Concern	Details	Virtual Inspection Solution
Building Permit Fees	Change in Fee Structure	Transition from a flat rate and square footage-based fee to $10 per $1,000 of construction. Aimed to reflect actual inspection and review workloads.	Inspected.com’s Remote Video Inspections (RVI) can enhance efficiency and reduce costs by up to 50%, potentially enabling more adaptive fee structures. Their system’s same-day inspections and immediate results mean faster turnaround, reducing administrative and operational burdens.
	Comparison with Nearby Towns	New structure to be the highest of any Island town. Reflects a move towards fees that cover the full spectrum of town services.	The platform’s ability to handle nearly 50K inspections and reviews annually with a significant reduction in costs and time showcases a scalable model that can standardize service levels, justifying fee differences. Their comprehensive approach, covering everything from roof to pool inspections, could provide a blueprint for service range expansion.
	Impact on High-End Homeowners	The new fee system may seem unfair to luxury homeowners but is intended to more accurately cover town service costs. Waiver forms introduced for those unable to pay.	Inspected.com’s detailed and immediate inspection feedback, along with picture-only options, could streamline the process for high-end projects, making fees feel more justified. The platform’s efficiency in handling complex trades like solar and HVAC installations reflects its capacity to deal with luxury home complexities.
	Policy Defense and Future Revisions	Fees intended to cover costs of inspections, planning reviews, and continuous education of employees. Petkus emphasizes the need for fees to reflect service costs.	The platform’s comprehensive features, such as detailed counsel on inspection failures and the capability for inspectors to postpone inspections until issues are fixed, support a more accountable and transparent inspection process. This aligns with policy goals of covering service costs accurately and could provide data to inform future revisions.
	Select Board’s Stance	Board supports new fee system and the need to cover service costs. Emphasis on fairness and aligning fees with construction complexity.	The platform’s efficiency, reducing permit issuance and inspection times drastically, could serve as evidence for the Select Board’s stance. The ability to perform detailed inspections with reduced wait times without sacrificing quality might support a nuanced approach to fee adjustments and exemptions.
Community Reactions	Opposition and Suggestions	Some community members and local contractors inquire about low fees. Acknowledgment that higher fees are expected for higher levels of building.	By demonstrating the platform’s efficiency and effectiveness in managing inspections, plan reviews, and permitting services for a variety of trades, the RVI solution from Inspected.com can address community and contractor concerns by providing a high-value service that justifies the increased fees. The platform’s unique features, like its proprietary technology stack, ensure high-quality and consistent inspections, which can help alleviate concerns about transparency and the value provided by the fee structure.
	Support for Year-Round Residents	Introduction of waiver forms for those with financial hardships indicates a move towards accommodating community needs within the new fee structure.	Inspected.com’s platform could streamline the waiver process by providing detailed inspection data, helping to identify and prioritize year-round residents who may qualify for fee reductions or exemptions. Their same-day re-inspection times and the ability to immediately inform contractors of inspection outcomes can expedite projects for residents facing financial hardships, aligning with community support goals.
	Economic Implications	Higher fees reflect an attempt to more fairly distribute the costs of town services among construction projects, especially luxurious ones.	The platform’s capability to reduce inspection costs and times by 50% while maintaining high standards could help balance the economic implications of higher fees.