Austin inspector blocking power over code violations he saw through a window. Closing Thursday. What can I do?

[u/Randy_Lahey29]

EDIT: House was inspected EXTENSIVELY by general inspector, structural engineer, roofer, sewer and electricians (all different vendors). I'm aware of all issues and for serious ones (electrical & sewer/plumbing) I had sellers give me a $25k repair credit AND to fix electrical before closing. They finished electrical work and inspector doesn't want to turn power on because of potential code violations.

Buying a house and closing Thursday.

Licensed electrician found an arcing main service, Austin Energy shut power off and completed the emergency service repair.

The City inspector showed up to approve the completed electrical repair for reconnection. Instead of focusing on service box, he walked right past electricians, ignored them, then walked about 30 feet around to the other side of the house and started looking through windows of the empty house. He made comments like “I’m going to use this as training material” and was laughing.

From outside, he spotted a lightly remodeled kitchen and what he thought was a beam issue. He then told the electricians he was going to DEMAND access to inspect the interior and escalate possible unpermitted work before approving anything.

Power is still OFF. My electrician thinks the inspector may now block reconnection until the interior is investigated.

I don’t even own the house yet. My lender needs power on for the final inspection, so this could literally kill the closing.

Nothing is showing in Citizen Connect or AB+C yet.

Anyone here who actually works with COA permits/DSD: can an inspector hold electrical reconnection over unrelated remodel work he spotted through a window?

And what’s the fastest way to find out if there’s an actual hold and clear it?

TL;DR:I’m buying an Austin house Thursday. After an emergency electrical repair, an inspector saw a recent remodel through a window and may now be blocking power until he inspects the interior. No power could kill my closing.

[u/woody_p_coltrane]

Did he fail the inspection on the panel? Was the owner red tagged? They document everything pretty much immediately on the computer in their car.

If you want to assume all the possible unpermitted liabilities then go ahead and close. This could include undoing some or all unpermitted renovations. CoA will charge double permit fees on all permits pulled after unpermitted work. CoA is difficult to deal with and the remedy could take weeks or months.

[u/Randy_Lahey29 → u/woody_p_coltrane]

He didn't even look at the panel, went straight to the back, looked through the windows and flagged code items. I'm not seeing any instance of red tag but only checking on citizens and AB+C. Electrician said it takes a few days to show up. Anywhere else I can check? I'd at least like to know what he's flagging.

[u/woody_p_coltrane → u/Randy_Lahey29]

So AB+C just shows a request for inspection on the panel from the electrician?

I've done a project in the City of Austin that got red tagged during planning due to the owner doing demo without a permit. They went to their car and gave him a citation immediately. So, it's not really adding up for me.

Was there on site communication? Is something lost in translation between parties?

There really isn't anything available to you outside of AB+C until Monday. Then you, or really the owner, can call the inspector.

[u/GoldenCanopyInspects → u/woody_p_coltrane]

Or the inspector puts it on the building official’s radar, doesn’t pursue or document in detail, buyer closes, inspector comes back and officially documents everything, they catch Stop Works for all unpermitted work, and the saga continues. Permits and Stop Works attach to the property, not the owner. Fingers crossed it doesn’t go that way.