“I bought the house this way” or “I didn’t want my taxes to go up” or the ever popular “I didn’t think I needed one just for a bathroom downstairs” are all valid reasons not to get the Certificate of Occupancy but no longer applicable once you decide to sell your house. One of the single greatest impediments to successfully closing on the sale of your house is the absence of a proper Certificate of Occupancy.
Scrambling at the last minute to obtain the CO’s necessary can be a major headache for all: the buyer, the seller, the lawyers and the agents. The misery is equally spread around. Despite the due diligence of the listing agent, the lack of aproper CO might not be discoverable until the Title search comes in.
Case in point, I represented a house that for all appearances had no CO issues until we learned through the title search that the date the house was built was not accurately recorded in the town. We thought the house was eligible to a prior to zoning letter when in fact it was not and now needed a whole house CO. This involved getting a Variance for road frontage, getting certifications for the plumbing, heating, electrical systems. In other words, a nightmare. It took us eleven months to get the CO. Unfortunately, we lost the original buyer in the process. In the end we had to sell the house for 15% less a year later.
That was a worst case. Another case in point: I’ve had a listing where the seller had to tear down his deck (which didn’t have a CO) and give the buyer a credit for building a new deck because we would not be able to get the CO in time for the buyer to close on the purchase of the house.
Most of the time these issues are preventable if the homeowner is willing to get the proper CO’s at the time they list the house for sale.
Needless to say I have learned my lesson. The answer is get your Certificate of Occupancy and get it now rather than waiting until you’re in contract and scrambling to close. It is a lot less wear and tear on all involved.
homes for sale in Yorktown Heights, NY 10598 Westchester, NY
