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There ought to be a representation in the contract that all work was permitted and no outstanding permits. Assuming that is the case, the seller's choice is to provide an accommodation for you to waive compliance and close, or to remedy permits pre-closing, or to terminate and return the deposit.
There ought to be a representation in the contract that all work was permitted and no outstanding permits. Assuming that is the case, the seller's choice is to provide an accommodation for you to waive compliance and close, or to remedy permits pre-closing, or to terminate and return the deposit.
And if there isn’t such representation I’d shoot the attorney for such an oversight.
I had this issue in Suffolk county. Egress Windows are required, and there is a minimum height requirement from the stairs to all finished spaces. (Finished means heated. If you have a baseboard, its a living space). How high is this metal beam? That second one screwed me... the header was a half inch too low and it was not cheap to mitigate.
The escrow solution is the proper way to handle it, but some sellers won’t bother. Especially in today’s market... everything is selling fast. As long as your lender will still underwrite the loan (which some will... probably not the big banks) then it’s only an issue when you go to sell the house.
So you’re saying you can have a completely sheet rocked basement but with no heat and that would not be considered “finished”?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Zmunkz
I had this issue in Suffolk county. Egress Windows are required, and there is a minimum height requirement from the stairs to all finished spaces. (Finished means heated. If you have a baseboard, its a living space). How high is this metal beam? That second one screwed me... the header was a half inch too low and it was not cheap to mitigate.
The escrow solution is the proper way to handle it, but some sellers won’t bother. Especially in today’s market... everything is selling fast. As long as your lender will still underwrite the loan (which some will... probably not the big banks) then it’s only an issue when you go to sell the house.
So you’re saying you can have a completely sheet rocked basement but with no heat and that would not be considered “finished”?
That would be a great workaround...no heat when the inspector comes, and then have a couple of oil filled radiators the rest of the time. I suspect it won’t fly though.
That would be a great workaround...no heat when the inspector comes, and then have a couple of oil filled radiators the rest of the time. I suspect it won’t fly though.
If you live in a house with big ole' steam pipes in the basement or a giant old furnace you won't need it. My house in GC didn't have heat in the basement and didn't need it because of the steam pipes. My house that i grew up in had a monstrous furnace and that basement was finished at all but we always played down there, all year long. But - even without heat down there we still needed it permitted. So I'm not sure that this little tidbit is entirely correct.
So you’re saying you can have a completely sheet rocked basement but with no heat and that would not be considered “finished”?
I’m not sure if that’s the only requirement but it is the one that got me. The old owner had illegally finished part of the basement, then roughly unfinished it to sell it. The radiator pipes were still there and so it still counted as living space. Some of these rules seem quite wacky to me.
I’m not sure if that’s the only requirement but it is the one that got me. The old owner had illegally finished part of the basement, then roughly unfinished it to sell it. The radiator pipes were still there and so it still counted as living space. Some of these rules seem quite wacky to me.
Long Island rules. People have gotten crafty over the years which is why there are so many of them. Like the “keep one wall and it’s a renovation not new construction” rule for a long time.
We had a fully finished 1/2 basement in our cape. Sheetrocked, lighting, wainscoting, bar, tv, wall to wall, & opened a duct from forced warm air duct for heat. The other side was a work shop for me and the laundry, the joke was the unfinished side was mine and the finished side was his. It was sheet rocked, "heated" and had lighting when we bought it and a tile floor glued to the concrete, most probably from the 50's. We did all the upgrades.
We did not have any egress windows and we had numerous inspections all of which required changes to the electrical panel so they inspected the panel on the unfinished side. They had to access that side by the stairs which were on the finished side.
We never were questioned and back then we were told it was because it could not be considered as livable if there was not bathroom or kitchen. In fact, after we got the COC, a neighbor had an inspection for work done and I asked the inspector what was considered livable space in terms of egress windows. He said a kitchen and a bath, but the real key is a bathroom because these days (back in the late 90's) a "kitchen' could simply be a microwave, but in the absence of a bathroom it was not considered livable.
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