Code Compliance For Property Offered At Sheriff Sale
Hi,
I am looking at a old house, built in 1900's.
I was told I should get a Certificate of Occupancy before even considering bidding at Sheriff Sale. They call it a CO
Have you ever asked for this?
The house is empty, but can I request this if I don't own the home?
Thank you
Call your local county clerk and he/she can give you details or connect you to the right person.
I am not positive, but think you have to own, or be a general contractor to start the process.
The house cannot be lived in until it has a C.O.
Each state is different as to procedure. Here in the Great? State of California. I go to the Department of Building and Safety,I then check Building Permits and the Certificate of Occupancy and any (Red) tags. This is part of my normal prebid procedure. Especialy with a McKinley Stinker around 1900. Out here they may have been built by Gypsies late at night, in the Middle States and of course the Atlantic Seaboard construction was much better but still you want to know. Supose somebody added and the inspector issued a violation of building code (Red Tag) You will have to correct it somewhere along the way and it should be part of your buy calculation. I found such a house in the now wrong part of Pasadena it was empty filled with the breath of days gone by. In the basement (wherein was the original kitchen) I fell thru the flooring into a large pit, created by the failure of the main 4 inch drain line supposed to go out to the Septic Tank. There I was swiming in S---. My fellow workers would have nothing to do with me and I can understand, so I finaly was able to crawl out. There I stood on the front lawn taking all of my clothes off with a hose in hand indulging in a very cold shower. Now I know that with my clothes off I do not look like much. But I like to keep this matter a secret known to only a limited number of very close relatives. Traffic stopped, people honked their horns and finaly I finished my shower, bowed to the right and left and they let me back into the house where wrapped in an old blanket I left, and drove home. It took about two years to live that one down. So I suggest you check carefully and be sure that a CofO is current. If not really look. I still have part of a bar of soap which I will share...
Cheers Lucius