Welcome to City-Data.com Forum!
U.S. CitiesCity-Data Forum Index
Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > New York > Long Island
 [Register]
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
View detailed profile (Advanced) or search
site with Google Custom Search

Search Forums  (Advanced)
 
Old 10-22-2012, 08:27 AM
 
3 posts, read 4,145 times
Reputation: 10

Advertisements

I am in the process of buying a (fixer upper) house in Nassau County, LI. After agreeing on the price, I got the inspection done. Although the inspector didnt point it out, but the house had 1/2 bath that didnt seem it was done in a very nice manner which made me question if it was even legal to begin with. I went to the ToH and did the search on the property thinking may be the home owner got a permit to install the bath but never got a CO.
The search had no open permits but the result stated "Single family dwelling with one car garage" whereas the house has two car garages. I asked if I could see architectural drawings or documentation and they pointed me to the records department.
I looked at the floor plan and other documents and drawings on microfilms stored with the ToH. So the issues discovered were (a) the 1/2 bath wasnt on the floor plan thus illegal and (b) the drawing of the front of the house had 1 car garage whereas actually the house has 2 car garage with 2 doors.
While going under contract, we agreed that the seller was to remove the 1/2 bath using a licensed plumber and put $7,500 in escrow and hire an expeditor to resolve the garage door issue. The seller has 1 year to resolve the garage door issue after which I could take the $7,500 and try getting the issue resolved myself based on these two conditions I would close on the property.
After the fact, sellers attorney told us, that the ToH requires all new drawings and that it will conduct an inspection. The issue is that the house is a fixer upper. I cannot move into the house because it requires renovation. If I start renovating and the Town wants to inspect, that wont be good for me. If I do close and the Town identifies things that are not as per code and requires me to fix, I would be on the hook.
At this point, the options that come to my mind are (a) wait until the seller submits the drawings to the ToH and the inspection is complete, (b) ask the seller to leave extra money possibly $20k in escrow in case there are issues identified by the town that need to be addressed (c) ask for sellers concession possibly $10k and close and take on the responsibility.
I apologize for so much detail, but I would really appreciate if someone could provide advice or share experiences that would be relevant and helpful. Thanks.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message

 
Old 10-22-2012, 08:31 AM
 
Location: under the beautiful Carolina blue
22,652 posts, read 36,657,128 times
Reputation: 19848
So you haven't closed yet?

Don't close until the garage is taken care of. Guaranteed that the TOH is going to find more issues when they go to look at the garage. This is not something you want hanging over your head while you are the owner.

Not sure if you are getting a mortgage but I doubt you'll get financing while these issues are outstanding anyway.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 10-22-2012, 08:49 AM
 
Location: Former LI'er Now Rehoboth Beach, DE
13,042 posts, read 18,008,630 times
Reputation: 13978
Adding to what Twingles said, not sure of the price of the house but asking for $27,000 in escrow for a fixer upper in all probability will prove problematic for a lender. Number 1, escrow with lenders is a dirty word now a days and depending up the price of the house they may well not allow it.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 10-22-2012, 09:40 AM
 
Location: East Northport
3,351 posts, read 9,740,937 times
Reputation: 1337
If I understand you correctly, you are forcing the seller to get COs and at the same time you are worried that the town will discover that the work you are doing is not to code?
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 10-22-2012, 10:13 AM
 
3 posts, read 4,145 times
Reputation: 10
Thanks Twingles, Nuts2uiam and Tom.

Its an all cash deal. Irrespective of that fact, either way, if I were to borrow, I would take on a huge liability in terms of a mortgage; or in my case, I am sacrificing large amount of hard earned asset.

Yes, I have NOT closed yet because after the seller files new drawings with the town, the ToH will conduct and inspection and at that point, I am pretty sure they will find things that wont be as per today's code. What if the town requires the issues to be fixed to give a CO, then I would be liable. Furthermore, if I do close, I would be reluctant to do renovations in case the town is ready to do an inspection. The house needs an update kitchen and bathrooms. I will not be making any structural changes, just cosmetic.

Some things that seem not as per todays code are the boiler room does not have a steel / fire proof door, it does not have fire containing sheet rocking, there are no smoke or carbon detectors. God knows what else is missing as per todays code.

Some people have been advising to close with escrow or cash discount while others have been advising to wait until all issues have been resolved.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 10-22-2012, 12:23 PM
 
Location: Former LI'er Now Rehoboth Beach, DE
13,042 posts, read 18,008,630 times
Reputation: 13978
Quote:
Originally Posted by woodmere View Post
Thanks Twingles, Nuts2uiam and Tom.

Its an all cash deal. Irrespective of that fact, either way, if I were to borrow, I would take on a huge liability in terms of a mortgage; or in my case, I am sacrificing large amount of hard earned asset.

Yes, I have NOT closed yet because after the seller files new drawings with the town, the ToH will conduct and inspection and at that point, I am pretty sure they will find things that wont be as per today's code. What if the town requires the issues to be fixed to give a CO, then I would be liable. Furthermore, if I do close, I would be reluctant to do renovations in case the town is ready to do an inspection. The house needs an update kitchen and bathrooms. I will not be making any structural changes, just cosmetic.

Some things that seem not as per todays code are the boiler room does not have a steel / fire proof door, it does not have fire containing sheet rocking, there are no smoke or carbon detectors. God knows what else is missing as per todays code.

Some people have been advising to close with escrow or cash discount while others have been advising to wait until all issues have been resolved.

Re: Bolded you can't be on the hook for anything if you are not closed.

Unless TOH is different than TNH, they will send the inspector to review the drawings and see the work was done to code. I am assuming that the current owner is also filing for the permits on his dime at that time.

My questions to you.

What does your attorney advise? (Hopefully a RE attorney!!!!)
Is this going to be flipped or are you going to live in it yourself?
Why would you think about buying a house with such problems, do you need that headache?
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 10-22-2012, 03:50 PM
 
3 posts, read 4,145 times
Reputation: 10
Yes, since I have not closed, I am not on the hook for anything. Both parties were of the opinion to close with money in escrow.
I do have a RE attorney and she has advised me to wait at least until the drawings have been filed with the town and the town has conducted an inspection so that we are aware of all the issues.
This is for me to live in (at least for 2 years). I work full time and I thought the only business I can do with my job is to buy a house as primary residence, live in it for 2 out of 5 years at least, and sell so that I will make tax free capital gains. Therefore, tax free capital gains is the reason to take on this headache.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 10-22-2012, 04:16 PM
 
Location: Former LI'er Now Rehoboth Beach, DE
13,042 posts, read 18,008,630 times
Reputation: 13978
Personally, since that is your goal, I would look for another home without the headaches. There are too many unknowns that could blow up in your face and the time spent could be tremendous, let along the cash to correct theses issues. You still have the $250k allowance for cap gains as an individual or $500k as a couple.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.

Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.


Reply
Please update this thread with any new information or opinions. This open thread is still read by thousands of people, so we encourage all additional points of view.

Quick Reply
Message:



Over $104,000 in prizes was already given out to active posters on our forum and additional giveaways are planned!

Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > New York > Long Island
Similar Threads
View detailed profiles of:

All times are GMT -6. The time now is 03:04 PM.

© 2005-2024, Advameg, Inc. · Please obey Forum Rules · Terms of Use and Privacy Policy · Bug Bounty

City-Data.com - Contact Us - Archive 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37 - Top