Name the Boise defects you can actually point to
A Boise house “that needs work” is still several systems until you write them apart. This page is a worksheet for Ada County owners. It is not an inspection, a bid, or a finding that the building is unsafe.
Observed, quoted, or assumed
Give each line one tag:
- Observed — you stood there (a sagging fascia, a panel with the dead-front off, a floor that moves).
- Quoted — someone who can legally perform that trade in Idaho put a figure on paper.
- Assumed — a hallway story, a social-media clip, or a round number you wish were true.
The Repair-or-Sell-As-Is Comparison will not convert assumed lines into a construction budget. Informal figures are useful as questions to take to a registered contractor.
Why Boise’s permit culture belongs on the same sheet
The City of Boise runs applications through Planning and Development Services and the city’s permitting system. That is a different process from asking a neighbor what “usually costs.” If you do not know whether a prior addition was applied for, write “permit unknown” rather than inventing a fine or a pass.
Roof, heat, plumbing, electrical, foundation, openings, and finish carpentry are still separate trades inside city limits. Collapsing them into one insult about the house makes occupy-after-repair, list-after-repair, and sell-as-is harder to compare.
If something may be unsafe — gas odor, active water, exposed conductors, a floor that drops — stop using this worksheet as a substitute for a qualified inspector or licensed trade. This page will not declare the house unsafe.
Idaho’s Contractors Board at DOPL publishes how to search a registration. Confirm that before you treat a quote as coming from a registered contractor. The DOPL homepage is the parent licensing site. This pack will not invent a rehab dollar range.
What Ada County paper will and will not settle
The Ada County Assessor and Property Search can show parcel, year-built, and assessment facts. The Recorder keeps recorded instruments. None of those offices prices a kitchen, a roof, or a service upgrade. Use them to ground the inventory, not to skip a walk-through.
Who can hire the work or sign a deed
If more than one person must approve spending, or if title is unclear on Ada County records, write that down before you chase quotes or a buyer conversation. This site will not decide authority.
When the inventory exists, read repair versus sell or open the comparison tool. If you already know you do not want to run a project, you can request a call. Bring the address or cross streets. Do not upload contractor invoices that contain other people’s financial account numbers.
Last reviewed: September 1, 2026