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SummerMom
Now a mom of 2!
Member since 6/07 4970 total posts
Name:
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How do I find out if my house has a C/O?
Long story short... we've been waiting 7 MONTHS for our contractor to start a job in our house. I finally got a hold of him today, and he tells me that we can't do the job as intended, because apparently my house does not have a Certificate of Occupancy for our garage. It's on record with the Town as just having a carport. So to do the work, we'd have to hire an architect to make plans, apply for the permit, wait for the C/O, and then get started. Or, we can do an alternate project, that would be finished much more quickly, a little more cheaply, and with less work on his part.
I'm not sure I believe him. I kind of think he just doesn't want to do the job he'd agreed to do.
How do I find out if my house really does have a C/O for our garage? Because if it does, and he's lying, I'll just cut my losses and hire someone else to finish the project.
Oh, and we bought the house 15 months ago, and all the title searches came up clean. No issues. Our contractor tells us that this means the title guy messed up.
Message edited 6/7/2011 5:00:03 PM.
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Posted 6/7/11 4:59 PM  |
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JennZ
MY LIFE!!
Member since 8/05 25463 total posts
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Re: How do I find out if my house has a C/O?
Call the town and ask. I did it for a house we looked at. Gave all the info and she told me yes and thst was it.
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| Posted 6/7/11 5:04 PM |
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SummerMom
Now a mom of 2!
Member since 6/07 4970 total posts
Name:
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Re: How do I find out if my house has a C/O?
I just checked and the office is open until 4:45. Guess I'll call tomorrow.
The guy's assistant called me and told me she sat in the buildings dept., looking through pages and pages of microfiche to try to find a permit, and that she can assure me that our garage is illegal.
I am so angry right now, I can't stand it.
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| Posted 6/7/11 5:07 PM |
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JennZ
MY LIFE!!
Member since 8/05 25463 total posts
Name:
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Re: How do I find out if my house has a C/O?
Not for anything, I would fire him anyway. 7 months? Is he high? In this economy, im sure you can find another more reliable contractor to do the work.
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| Posted 6/7/11 5:29 PM |
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SummerMom
Now a mom of 2!
Member since 6/07 4970 total posts
Name:
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Re: How do I find out if my house has a C/O?
I know. He's a friend of a friend, so it's a little awkward. And with a baby coming soon, I've been pretty preoccupied and not on top of calling him to follow up like I should. But he came to my house to give me an estimate in mid-November. No excuse for that. If he's bullsh*tting me about this C/O thing, I'm seriously going to flip out on him tomorrow.
Message edited 6/7/2011 7:13:25 PM.
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| Posted 6/7/11 7:13 PM |
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MegZee
My bunny
Member since 5/06 8777 total posts
Name:
Meaghan
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Re: How do I find out if my house has a C/O?
is there a garage on your survey?
I am going to say it it highly unlikely that the bank let you close w/out a CO for a garage. Possible, but not likely.
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| Posted 6/7/11 9:00 PM |
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charon54
My two boys!
Member since 5/05 7279 total posts
Name:
Rebecca
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Re: How do I find out if my house has a C/O?
Title companies don't check for C/Os. They are checking for ownership and liens on the property. Are you in Nassau County? Look on mynassauproperty.com, you'll be able to see if the garage is on there.
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| Posted 6/7/11 9:39 PM |
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creddy5
LIF Infant
Member since 8/09 158 total posts
Name:
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Re: How do I find out if my house has a C/O?
Possible bank knew about no CO on the garage and let you close anyway as it wasn't an issue for them. We didn't have a CO on a few things in the house we bought and we were able to close without them. Previous owners were taking care of CO's, be prepared for this to take MONTHS. Call the town and they will be able to help you.
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| Posted 6/7/11 10:10 PM |
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maiden
Whoa!
Member since 5/08 1814 total posts
Name:
T
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Re: How do I find out if my house has a C/O?
To find out if my house had a CO I actually went down to the town and looked at the paperwork.
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| Posted 6/7/11 11:56 PM |
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SummerMom
Now a mom of 2!
Member since 6/07 4970 total posts
Name:
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Re: How do I find out if my house has a C/O?
Posted by maiden
To find out if my house had a CO I actually went down to the town and looked at the paperwork.
Oh, okay. That's what the secretary told me she did, and that she couldn't find anything. I didn't know people did that - I thought you could look online or find out with a phone call. Makes me feel better, thanks.
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| Posted 6/8/11 6:37 AM |
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SummerMom
Now a mom of 2!
Member since 6/07 4970 total posts
Name:
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Re: How do I find out if my house has a C/O?
Posted by charon54
Title companies don't check for C/Os. They are checking for ownership and liens on the property. Are you in Nassau County? Look on mynassauproperty.com, you'll be able to see if the garage is on there.
Thank you!
According to MyNassauProperty, on the line next to "Attached Garage", it says "Yes."
Also, on the drawing they have of the first floor of the house, where everything is labeled A,B,C,D - Letter "D" is listed as "FR GR FRAME GARAGE"
So... the contractor is full of sh*t? What does the "FR GR" stand for? It wouldn't be listed on MyNassauProperty if it weren't legal, right?
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| Posted 6/8/11 6:42 AM |
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Deeluvsvinny
DONE
Member since 10/08 4952 total posts
Name:
Whatever
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Re: How do I find out if my house has a C/O?
YOur title report definitely would show the C/Os for your house. Your bank MAY have let you close without one eihter because it wasn't an issue for them or the bank's attorney didn't notice.
I don't *think* that info on mynassauproperty.com means it's legal. I would call the town and ask.
Alternately, you can call your attorney and ask for a copy of the title report or ask him/her to review it and let you know. A good real estate attorney would have compared the title report to the survey (and survery inspection if you didn't have a new one done) and advised you whether there were open permits, or items without C/Os.
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| Posted 6/8/11 9:07 AM |
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dpli
Daylight savings :)
Member since 5/05 13973 total posts
Name:
D
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Re: How do I find out if my house has a C/O?
Posted by DavaDay
The guy's assistant called me and told me she sat in the buildings dept., looking through pages and pages of microfiche to try to find a permit, and that she can assure me that our garage is illegal.
If this is the case, why didn't she get a copy of the COs they had on file?
Before I bought my house, I went to the Town and requested a copy of everything they had on file, to be sure there were no outstanding COs. I had to pay something, but I got a printout that showed everything the Town had on file.
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| Posted 6/8/11 9:29 AM |
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Charly
LOVE!
Member since 5/05 12578 total posts
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Re: How do I find out if my house has a C/O?
I found out that most of my house is without CO when I put it on the market this past winter. I only bought it 5 years ago. The MLS listing was accurate AND the tax records were accurate but when I went to town it appears I have an illegal bathroom, bedroom, finished basement and 2 illegal fireplaces. It was a nightmare getting it all CO'd but I had to do it to sell. Apparently just because I was correctly taxed doesn't mean it's legal. The two offices don't "communicate" so my advice is go down to your town buildings dept and pull your file. See whats in there for yourself. Your broker, attorney and title company are only looking for OPEN items. There wouldn't be an open permit if somebody put up a garage without one. So it is VERY possible your garage is illegal.
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| Posted 6/8/11 9:52 AM |
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Deeluvsvinny
DONE
Member since 10/08 4952 total posts
Name:
Whatever
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Re: How do I find out if my house has a C/O?
Posted by Charly
I found out that most of my house is without CO when I put it on the market this past winter. I only bought it 5 years ago. The MLS listing was accurate AND the tax records were accurate but when I went to town it appears I have an illegal bathroom, bedroom, finished basement and 2 illegal fireplaces. It was a nightmare getting it all CO'd but I had to do it to sell. Apparently just because I was correctly taxed doesn't mean it's legal. The two offices don't "communicate" so my advice is go down to your town buildings dept and pull your file. See whats in there for yourself. Your broker, attorney and title company are only looking for OPEN items. There wouldn't be an open permit if somebody put up a garage without one. So it is VERY possible your garage is illegal.
Just to clarify, they don't only look for open permits. They match the C/O search in the title report to the survey & survey inspection.
The reason yours probably didn't come is because the items you didn't have C/Os for wouldn't show on a survey.
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| Posted 6/8/11 10:02 AM |
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SummerMom
Now a mom of 2!
Member since 6/07 4970 total posts
Name:
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Re: How do I find out if my house has a C/O?
Huh. You guys were right. The Town of Hempstead Buildings Dept. just told me that MyNassauProperty and the tax records have nothing to do with them; I have to go down to the Town office myself and pull the file. And it's a "Certificate of Completion" I need to find, not a C of O.
Oh, and they also told me that the permits that I signed and had notarized THIS WINTER were never filed and they have no record of anyone applying to do work at my home. 
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| Posted 6/8/11 3:11 PM |
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dpli
Daylight savings :)
Member since 5/05 13973 total posts
Name:
D
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Re: How do I find out if my house has a C/O?
Posted by DavaDay
Oh, and they also told me that the permits that I signed and had notarized THIS WINTER were never filed and they have no record of anyone applying to do work at my home.
I think your contractor is full of crap.
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| Posted 6/8/11 3:28 PM |
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Re: How do I find out if my house has a C/O?
I can help you. I am an Architect as well as a vendor on here. Please send me your contact information and we could set up a free consolation. My website is www.kerikazel.com and my office line is 631-874-2925.
Don't worry, it may be a simple fix.....I look forward to hearing from you......Keri
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| Posted 6/9/11 10:33 PM |
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SummerMom
Now a mom of 2!
Member since 6/07 4970 total posts
Name:
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Re: How do I find out if my house has a C/O?
Thanks. I went to Hempstead Town Hall yesterday and took a look at the records on microfilm. Turns out that someone took out a permit for my garage, built it according to specs, and obtained a Certificate of Completion on it... in 1952. Seriously. It's been legal for almost 60 years.
Contractor is full of crap. I called him this afternoon and fired him. Now I just have to fight to get my deposit back.
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| Posted 6/9/11 10:40 PM |
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