Son is relocating to Pittsburgh this week or next

[Merge]

Originally Posted by Moby Hick

I would suggest splitting the difference between Pittsburgh and Detroit, but that's Cleveland.

LOL. Cleveland gets a bad rap. I love it there.

[MI-Roger]

So the A/C unit in the house our son bought was discovered to be 29 years old and effectively non-functional during the Pre-purchase Inspection. He requested, and received, a sale credit equal to the cost of replacing the unit. He has since received proposals from local contractors for the installation of a replacement for the exterior compressor/condenser unit and the A-coil within the furnace plenum.

His selected contractor filed for a Building Permit with Mt Lebanon yesterday (he selected a good contractor!) and the contractor was told they needed to provide a property survey to show the unit will be 7 feet or more from any property lines. The A/C contractor does not have a survey of the property. Our son did not receive a property survey at closing. The previous owner was contacted and does not have a property survey. The Title Insurance company was able to provide a copy of the original plat survey of the neighborhood showing the lot our son's house was constructed upon but it does not show the dwelling.

I told our son to go to the Alleghany County GIS website and print off a copy of the property map with the super-imposed aerial photograph of his home - which clearly shows the exterior compressor/condenser at nearly the mid-point of his 52x120 lot. I also told him to take a copy of the Contractor's Proposal with him to the Building Dept which states the line set is being retained. Re-use of the original line set dictates the new unit be installed in the same location as the existing unit.

He said he does not think that is good enough. I went to the GIS web site myself and created a pdf of his lot showing the home and A/C unit, then emailed it to him. Having worked in construction for ~40 years I am confident Mt Lebanon's concern is that the unit not be so close to the property line that its operating noise disrupts neighbors, hence the 7 foot limit. As I posted above, his unit is ~25 feet from the nearest property lines.

Obviously if he was having an addition constructed or an out-building/storage shed placed on the lot a formal survey done by a Licensed Surveyor would be de' rigueur. I am not confident a legal property survey would normally show the exterior A/C unit anyway as it is not a permanent addition to the dwelling or site but merely sits on a removable plastic slab.

What have others encountered and how have they answered the request?

Thanks,