How important are C.O.s??

If a house doesnt have a CO for the garage, and a shed, do you pursue the purchase? (It seems the garage is not on the title.) Will a bank deny the mortgage if this paperwork is not already in place?

This process is going to give me an ulcer

Re: How important are C.O.s??

Our bank didn't deny us a mortgage bec we didn't have the proper CO's for the bathroom the prior owner added in the basement. We on the otherhand had it in our contract that the prior owner was responsible for obtaining it prior to the closing or he would have to put money in escrow until he got it.

IMO it is important to have everything in place as it may cost you more if you decide to sell the house down the line.

Re: How important are C.O.s??

Message edited 12/31/2006 10:22:44 AM.

Re: How important are C.O.s??

Because the house is being sold by a relocation company, they are saying because they have never lived there, they can not verify anything. Its pretty much "AS IS"

Our lawyer, DH's brother, is telling us that becasue the paperwork is not in place, we are buying into a headache.

Re: How important are C.O.s??

Agreed. You will not be denied a mortgage but the process of getting the CO could be long and costly. Make the sellers pay for it.

I deal with this ALL THE TIME for commercial space and the fines for not having a CO are Also, if you do not have a CO for a commercial space you cannot get other permits i.e. place of assembly. Typically for my buildings the CO is in the works but the space had to open for business by a date certain so they opened w/o the final CO. In some towns the permitting process for a new building can take years So if you do not open for business you are in the red until that store opens.

For a residential home the fact that they do not have a CO would make me wonder what it was that stopped them from getting it. I guess the cost of the engineer and architect since submitting the plans and specs itself is not that expensive Typically a CO is issued when the completed work complies with plans, codes & laws, after all fees are paid to the town and after any violations are paid. In this case the owners will need to have the as is plans drawn up and submit them.

Make sure to put in a clause that the sellers will pay to clear up any violations related to not having the CO. Once the paperwork is submitted to get the CO the town will be on notice that there was never one in place and they may levy a fine.

Good luck.

Re: How important are C.O.s??

Re: How important are C.O.s??

Re: How important are C.O.s??

I wouldnt worry about the bank - but will the title co be ok with it?

Luckily we had all our CO's in place - the only thing is it looks like the deck was extended about a foot - the bank and title company said that was fine.

I personally wouldnt buy a house with no CO for a garage - because when YOU want to sell you will have another headache, and if the town catches wind, they will fine you and then tax the crud out of you.

Re: How important are C.O.s??

We had a problem with our purchase because the owners didn't have a CO for the den. They had gotten the permits but never the CO for tax reasons. In the end they ended up getting the CO before closing, BUT they had to remove the decks on the front and back of the house and the pool was taken down. Needless to say it was a big pain in the A$$ for both sides.
I would make sure they have the CO before you close and check and make sure they don't make any additional changes to push the CO through.
BTW, the bank can either deny the mortgage and/or keep money in escrow towards the CO.

Re: How important are C.O.s??

Re: How important are C.O.s??

Its the reason we backed out of our house. Too many headaches and our sellers didnt get CO's for anything.

They even got an expeditor to speed up the process and it turns out the town would not give permits for 2 of the things - the office they built above the garage and the pool - it was too close to the fence. They were going to have to rip these 2 things out and those were 2 things we really liked about the house.

I wouldnt want to inherit any one else's headaches.

Re: How important are C.O.s??

Re: How important are C.O.s??

Most banks will require a C/O be part of the contract, whether it's the seller's obligation or yours after buying. It's preferable to make the owner get he COs b.c they know who built it, how big it is, and can fill in the necessary paperwork for it - just realize that your taxes are going to go up.

Re: How important are C.O.s??

Message edited 12/31/2006 2:07:26 PM.

Re: How important are C.O.s??

Message edited 12/31/2006 12:05:19 PM.

Re: How important are C.O.s??

Re: How important are C.O.s??

Re: How important are C.O.s??

The CO on the garage is a pretty big deal. The shed - banks probably don't care - as they didn't in our case. They mostly don't see it as a permament structure. A garage, extensions etc definitely are. Our house didn't have one of the shed, deck or fence - we were worried, but bought it anyway. The bank didn't care.

Re: How important are C.O.s??

The other thing you also have to worry about is the impact on your taxes. It may raise them.

I know when we look at houses, taxes play a big part into our choices. We don't want taxes more then $10,500, no matter what great deal the house may be.

Re: How important are C.O.s??

We also had to walk away from a house that didn't have a CO for the garage (among other things). This was in Queens. Our lawyer said not to do it.

We were out $500 for the inspection.