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We are the 4th owners of this house - we have been here about 40 years. We are now selling. Our realtor did a title search and said that the dining room addition, for which a building permit was issued in the early 1950's, doesn't have a CO. Specifically the form he gave us states "open permit requiring final inspection and/or certification." The realtor says we have to contact the Town and have them send in an inspector to issue the CO. Is this just a formality?
Anyone out there run into this situation before? I'm guessing that this didn't show up during the other times the house was sold because nothing was computerized - and that this is showing up now as everything is computerized.
We are the 4th owners of this house - we have been here about 40 years. We are now selling. Our realtor did a title search and said that the dining room addition, for which a building permit was issued in the early 1950's, doesn't have a CO. Specifically the form he gave us states "open permit requiring final inspection and/or certification." The realtor says we have to contact the Town and have them send in an inspector to issue the CO. Is this just a formality?
Anyone out there run into this situation before? I'm guessing that this didn't show up during the other times the house was sold because nothing was computerized - and that this is showing up now as everything is computerized.
Thank you.
Your realtor is a clown. If you have a buyer that requested this, it's a different story.
You can either fix it or hold out for a buyer that doesn't care.
Had the exact same issue in TOB, for an attached garage. First owner of the house (in 1953) pulled permit for a garage and never closed it. House sold 4 times before it got to me. I never had an issue with it, but when I found out about it, I took care of it at my attorney's expense (for letting me close and not catching it). All it needed was an electrical certificate. Cost $400 to bring to code and get electrical certificate. I slept better at night, but again, probably would not have had an issue selling. If YOUR REALTOR is telling you to do this on spec, then he/she is a clown.
Your realtor is a clown. If you have a buyer that requested this, it's a different story.
You can either fix it or hold out for a buyer that doesn't care.
Had the exact same issue in TOB, for an attached garage. First owner of the house (in 1953) pulled permit for a garage and never closed it. House sold 4 times before it got to me. I never had an issue with it, but when I found out about it, I took care of it at my attorney's expense (for letting me close and not catching it). All it needed was an electrical certificate. Cost $400 to bring to code and get electrical certificate. I slept better at night, but again, probably would not have had an issue selling. If YOUR REALTOR is telling you to do this on spec, then he/she is a clown.
You said you just needed an electrical certificate. Did the building inspector have to come as well to sign off on the garage?
Your realtor is a clown. If you have a buyer that requested this, it's a different story.
You can either fix it or hold out for a buyer that doesn't care.
Had the exact same issue in TOB, for an attached garage. First owner of the house (in 1953) pulled permit for a garage and never closed it. House sold 4 times before it got to me. I never had an issue with it, but when I found out about it, I took care of it at my attorney's expense (for letting me close and not catching it). All it needed was an electrical certificate. Cost $400 to bring to code and get electrical certificate. I slept better at night, but again, probably would not have had an issue selling. If YOUR REALTOR is telling you to do this on spec, then he/she is a clown.
Garage is less of an issue. Open the garage door, let the inspector look around, walk them out and close garage door.
Harder with a dining room addition - inspector needs to go inside somehow and anything between the door and the dining room is subject to inspection...
Garage is less of an issue. Open the garage door, let the inspector look around, walk them out and close garage door.
Harder with a dining room addition - inspector needs to go inside somehow and anything between the door and the dining room is subject to inspection...
I can only remain hopefully optimistic that this will work out. Fingers crossed. From a read of other posts on this forum, this problem is all over Long Island - especially Nassau. Again, thanks for taking the time to respond.
You said you just needed an electrical certificate. Did the building inspector have to come as well to sign off on the garage?
The inspector showed up and told me he'd already been there. The prior owner was actually trying to get the CO during their sale to us. They just never finished and it got through closing. Once we got the electrical certificate and sent that in, we got the CO. Inspector did not have to come back.
Markjames is right...they will most likely need to enter your house (they may just tell you over the phone that you need an electrical certificate or something similar, but that's highly unlikely). Any other issues they find are open for inspection, and you could open a huge can of worms. You should also know that before you do anything, you will have to pay around $100 to extend the permit.
What struck me as odd was that YOUR realtor is telling you to do this. Usually it would come up during a transaction and be dealt with then. I suggest you go to town hall yourself and ask to see the records for your house before you volunteer any info and risk opening a can of worms for no reason. Once you extend that permit and let the inspector in your house, all bets are off. A house with an open permit can be sold much easier than one with an open violation.
And think of the “safest” to the dining room. Sometimes that’s through the front door, sometimes through the back. Do you have an unpermitted deck or front porch?
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No building inspector?
