Hi all,
In 2017 I bought a building that I thought had all the violations removed.
After I made an offer on the house, the seller was taking forever to be ready to close because clearing the violations was taking so long. I had to pay for rate extensions multiple times.
I was on the verge of walking when my lawyer (who also was the title company) announced that we were good to close.
Fast forward to now. I am applying for a city program that offers basic repairs at a discounted interest rate. After some preliminary paperwork we were ready to start the bidding process when the organization said I had over 40 existing violations to close. What?!?!??
HPD came out and inspected the open violations and most are easy to cure with appropriate signage, adding new CO2 alarms etc.
But there are threeviolations; lead paint testing, adding a door bell system and adding peepholes to all existing door that will carry a hefty price tag.
Am I on the hook for all of these or does title insurance cover these costs?
Thanks everyone. You guys have helped me out a bunch already.
Bought multifamily with existing violations
byu/R0ctab0y inRealEstate
Posted by R0ctab0y
2 Comments
Damn that’s rough – your lawyer/title company combo should’ve caught this during the search. Title insurance *might* cover some of it if these violations were on record before closing, but don’t get your hopes up since most policies exclude code violations. I’d definitely be having some angry words with whoever handled your closing first
Title insurance only insures that no one else has a claim on the title. This is not a title issue. If there were fines assessed against the house when you purchased it, they would likely cover those. But it’s not illegal to sell a house with open permits or stuff not to code.
It sounds like your lawyer screwed up. But we’re like having the same discussion we had earlier with the flood zone guy. Info was public, and it’s been years, and a lawyer can afford to bankrupt you with court delays and fees fighting you.
This is the thread. Not the same issue, but the case seems just as difficult.
https://www.reddit.com/r/RealEstate/comments/1qeoqyr/az_home_bought_in_2021_fema_zone_declared_in_2020/