Wilkes Barre certificate of occupancy (hotel, buying a home, buying)

[frank754]

We are considering buying a home that says it needs a "little" TLC. I spoke with the listing realtor, and he said the main kitchen & bathroom need to be completely redone, as they were mostly gutted (cabinets removed) and just a little work had been done since. The house is vacant, and he said we need a certificate of occupancy before we could move in. Since we live out of state I would need to arrive after closing with our truckload of stuff, unload it and "camp" there while doing the work, and my wife will wait to come until it's done.
When you buy a home, does someone come around from the city and give it a "red card" (looked at the city's code webpage)?
In any case, once we buy it, can I have the electrical turned on (at least), and do the work myself, as owner (cabinets, sink, maybe sheetrock, new toilet bowl, etc.), or do they notify the utilities (gas, water as well) not to turn them on until it has passed some kind of inspection?
Other than that, except for cosmetics, the house is supposed to be in good shape, 200 amp electric, newer furnace, etc.
Would I have to get a permit to remodel the kitchen, etc., if only minor things need to be done regarding the plumbing (maybe add pipes to put the sink further across from where it was before, maybe add extra ground fault outlets along the counter, maybe add pipe to put a gas range in a different spot)
I read that it costs $75 the apply for a cert of occupancy, could I theoretically have all the work done before applying then just have them come look at it then?
In another case, we also may consider another home which is fine except for that someone got into the basement and stole all the copper pipes from the ceiling. Someone said I could use CPVC to patch in & do it myself. Just wondering if this will work for us in either case. We are on a limited budget and if we have to hire a contractor, we won't be able to afford them.
Thanks.

[Karnak]

Hi Frank,
We bought a home here in WB that needed a lot of TLC. The city gave us a long list of necessary little things for the certificate of occupancy, but we were able to knock them off fast. (We applied for the certificate, and they came out and made us the list.) The house was a wreck - collapsing ceiling, etc. But the list was mostly safety concerns, like railings for all stairs inside and out. The city worked with us, so it really was no problem. I think they were happy to work with us when they found out we were going to actually live here, as opposed to being landlords. As I recall, we were able to hook up the utilities immediately after settlement.
We moved all our stuff in, and stayed in a motel a few days while we quickly knocked off the list. Some things we "temped" in, just to fill the requirements, and later replaced them with nicer work.
We needed permits for a lot of work we did, but they let you combine many small items on one permit and you have a long time to complete them. Cosmetic stuff didn't require permits. They have a list of exactly what things require permits.
You should have no problems - we didn't.
Welcome to WB!

[frank754]

Thanks Karnak, it took a while to get a response for my post and I surely do appreciate it. Added to your rep. So basically, I will get to closing, pay cash, get the utilities turned on, then go to the city for a list of "what lacks". Also, when arriving will dump all our boxes & furniture anywhere temporarily.
I may have to leave a couple cats there while I stay at a hotel & work daily.
Will buy cabinets, sink, toilets, etc and do the work myself, a few weeks before my wife arrives. The main concern was doing it myself, I'm experienced but have no licenses. When I bought a home in NC I was able to do all the work myself (same for when I lived near Binghamton NY), but in NC I had to pass an electricians test (which was a shoe-in for me). They say in W-B that CPVC is fine too, to patch new pipe runs into copper ones (anyone confirm this?).
Other than that, thanks for the welcome and it may be only 6 weeks away !
Best wishes to you & yours

[Karnak]

We went to closing, moved all our stuff in, got the utilities turned on, and left our cat at the house. Only thing we couldn't do was sleep there, until the Certificate of Occupancy was signed off. It did not take long.

We, too, did all the work ourselves. We even put in a new bathroom, and did the plumbing ourselves, and it was permitted and passed. First things we did were the things on the occupancy certificate list. When we did move in, the house was such a wreck, that we basically made one room our retreat - with the bed and the TV, etc, while we knocked off the other rooms one by one. (We were so sick of spackle dust by the end!)

In our basement, there was already a mish-mash of copper to CPVC when we moved in. The inspector didn't seem concerned.

There is a Home Depot and Lowes here. Econo-Lumber is good, too. Feel free to PM if you have any questions. We have been pleased about our decision to move here. Everything is so convenient, and best of all, we now have a paid off, fixed-up house. Best Luck in your move!