When the seller says “you pull the permit”: what an owner-builder takes on in North Carolina
It sounds like a formality: fill out a form at the county, save the contractor a trip. On my project it meant I was the person legally responsible for a job I had paid someone else to run.
Where this comes from
My project record
My contract with L&G Building & Concrete says the company will not provide permits. So I went to Alexander County and applied as the owner. I had no idea what I was agreeing to until months later, when I read the affidavit again with a failed footing inspection and a half-built frame behind me.
What the affidavit says you will do
Alexander County’s Owner Exemption Affidavit, like those in other North Carolina counties, has the owner swear that they will personally superintend and manage all aspects of the construction, that they will not delegate that duty to anyone who is not properly licensed, and that they will be regularly present for inspections. The licensing board’s own guidance to permit clerks describes an owner-builder as someone who hires and pays the subcontractors directly, schedules the inspections and shows up for them.
Compare that to a deal where one company prices the whole job, takes the money by wire, sends its own crews and tells you when they will arrive. One of those descriptions is an owner-builder. The other is a customer.
Why sellers want it this way
I can only tell you what my contract says: “we are manufacturers not contractors.” A company that does not hold a general contractor license cannot pull a permit as the contractor on a $40,000-plus project. Having the owner pull it avoids that problem for the company. It does not avoid it for the owner. I am not saying that is why L&G does it. I am saying it is what the paperwork produces.
What it cost me in practice
When the footings came up two inches short of the plans, the inspector’s failure notice was addressed to the permit holder: me. When the crew dug them deeper, the contract made the extra concrete my cost. When the frame stopped halfway, there was no licensed contractor of record for the county, the licensing board or an attorney to point at. Just the owner, holding a permit for a project he was never allowed to manage.
What to do instead
- Ask the seller for a license number before you discuss permits at all.
- If the seller still wants you to apply as owner, call the county, describe the arrangement honestly and ask whether it fits the affidavit. Let the county tell you.
- If you do pull the permit, act like the owner-builder you are swearing to be: be present for every inspection, schedule them yourself, keep the inspector’s notes, and pay subcontractors against passed inspections.
- Consider hiring an independent licensed general contractor to oversee the project, or at least the concrete, even if the seller supplies the building kit.
Why a customer wrote this
In February 2026 I signed a $98,750 contract with L&G Building & Concrete of Asheboro, North Carolina. By September I had a cracked slab, damaged plumbing and half a steel frame. This site documents it, with the contract, photos, texts and public records. The resources exist so the next buyer does not need to learn the same things the same way.
General information from one customer’s experience and research. Not legal, engineering or financial advice.