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I wasn’t sure if I should post this on New Jersey thread Ron house but I decided on New Jersey as I think it’s more valuable to hear from people here. We moved into our home almost 3 years ago but never applied for a C.O. We knew we needed to get a water treatment system and replace both the septic system and the roof and we needed to be able to do it on our timetable financially (the septic worked but the septic inspector the realtor used failed it).
So now finally all projects have been completed as of last week and I went to apply for C.O. My concern is whether we will get in trouble or fined because it’s pretty clear we’ve been living here. I know they routinely fine landlords who rent buildings that don’t have a C.O., but we do not have any “victims” in our scenario. Does anyone have any experience with anything like this or have heard of anyone who has? Thanks in advance.
In my town you need to obtain a CO prior to completing the home sale. Apparently that is not a requirement in your town or they would not have let you move in to begin with. You're probably ok. But I would think that you would need to have a valid CO if you decided to sell the home.
In my town you need to obtain a CO prior to completing the home sale. Apparently that is not a requirement in your town or they would not have let you move in to begin with. You're probably ok. But I would think that you would need to have a valid CO if you decided to sell the home.
Yes, I’ve also heard that insurance can refuse to pay if there’s a fire or something and you don’t have a CEO. I’ve really been very uncomfortable not having it, but I really didn’t want to take out more loans to get it all done and it took this long to complete. There were instructions from the title company for getting the C.O. but no requirement. Was a foreclosure, and the lender required that we take out a 203K rehab loan mortgage as well so maybe that is why they didn’t have the requirement attached to our home. At the time of closing, the house didn’t even have an operable bathroom. We didn’t move in until that was completed of course though!
I’m always nervous about having to do anything that involves local government, LOL. We went through heck trying to get the permits to get the electric turned on in the beginning. The 203k work had a deadline we had to meet and we lost over a month waiting for the township electrical inspection so AC Electric could turn it on. We ended up paying both rent and mortgage for two months because we had to delay moving in because of that.
my town will NOT issue a CO if you are living there, and they are strict. My friend was told to delay the delivery of all of his new furniture on his newly built house because he might get rejected since it would look like he lived there
my town will NOT issue a CO if you are living there, and they are strict. My friend was told to delay the delivery of all of his new furniture on his newly built house because he might get rejected since it would look like he lived there
Really?? That’s scary I don’t think there’s anyway to make a three years occupied house look unoccupied! I am having a very hard time finding any info online. I have the township requirements for C.O. But that’s it. I wonder why they have that rule, isn’t it better to have people in compliance even if it’s late?
I wonder why they have that rule, isn’t it better to have people in compliance even if it’s late?
Yes, but you may not be not in compliance, and that's the issue here. It's not that you're "late" it's that you likely should not have been there at all.
Codes are always local first, so the only people with the answer are at the building department. They typically don't put code stuff online because code changes faster than the IT department can get around to it.
Yes, but you may not be not in compliance, and that's the issue here. It's not that you're "late" it's that you likely should not have been there at all.
Codes are always local first, so the only people with the answer are at the building department. They typically don't put code stuff online because code changes faster than the IT department can get around to it.
So just apply and let the chips fall? I read about landlords who get caught renting without a C.O. and having them be issued summons of hundreds of dollars a day. It makes me worry what the worst case scenario might be when I come forward. Can they make us leave the home?
So just apply and let the chips fall? I read about landlords who get caught renting without a C.O. and having them be issued summons of hundreds of dollars a day. It makes me worry what the worst case scenario might be when I come forward. Can they make us leave the home?
They can make you leave if the home is unsafe or not up to code. They can also issue a temporary co and make you fix the problem. When I bought my house there was an issue with the driveway over the septic. The town issued a temp co and made us change the driveway. I’m guessing each town has their own rules.
So just apply and let the chips fall? I read about landlords who get caught renting without a C.O. and having them be issued summons of hundreds of dollars a day. It makes me worry what the worst case scenario might be when I come forward. Can they make us leave the home?
You know Band Aids? When they kind of get floppy on one end because they got wet in the shower and are kind of annoying but you don't want to take it off because it hurts but when you put on a shirt it pulls those little arm hairs and it hurts more than you think it should?
This is like that. You have to deal with it at some point and there is nobody online who can tell you what the worst case scenario is because every town is different. The only thing that is an absolute about the matter is that putting it off will not make it better, you gotta just deal with it and see what happens.
They can make you leave if the home is unsafe or not up to code. They can also issue a temporary co and make you fix the problem. When I bought my house there was an issue with the driveway over the septic. The town issued a temp co and made us change the driveway. I’m guessing each town has their own rules.
No it’s up to code now. I had a sheet I downloaded from the Twp with the requirements. That’s why I didn’t go originally. Most things (Electric, plumbing, foundation, etc )passed inspection after the 203k rehab work was completed but that wasn’t a county or Township inspection. I knew we needed an above the ground septic system, which ended up being $24,000. We just got the new roof which was $10,000. And of course the water treatment system, which was about $3500. If they had given us a deadline such as six months or even a year, we would not have had the money saved to do all that by then. We had to do one thing at a time.
I’m fine if they think there are one or two minor things. I just don’t know the extent of “trouble” we could be in for not having applied before moving in and it makes me worried to begin the process.
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