If you like someone, and want to have a serious relationship, you would certainly want to know this person better. You would want to know such things as his/her family background, where he/she works, what he/she likes.
The same rule applies if you want to buy a house, especially when you envision that you will live there for a significant period of time. You should do some preliminary research about any house that you really like, and do it before you make an offer to purchase. What I am talking about here is no secret. A lot of information is part of the public record and could be helpful to real estate agents.
If you live in New York City, there are two websites which are very useful. One allows you to look up any complaints, and/or violations, any prior jobs done, even the certificate of occupancy (in ourlast issue, we discussed the certificate of occupancy). This is the NY Department of Buildings. Select the county, fill in the property address, then press the “go” button. It will show the history of any and all violations, any jobs ever done on the house, any open Department of Building or Environment Control Board violations. If you do find any open violation, click the link on the number, and you will find exactly what the violation is and how serious it could be.
Remember, according to the standard form Contract of Sale (the contract that the majority of real estate attorneys use in the New York metro area), there is a limit of how much the seller is obligated to spend to fix violations. If these violations are found after the Contract is signed, and the cost is higher than what’s set forth in the contract (for residential property running from $500-$3000), the Seller has an option not to sell and return the down payment deposit. In this case, the Seller would have more leverage than the Purchaser because the Purchaser has already spent money on applying for the mortgage and legal fees at this point. Discovering any open violation record prior to signing the contract is critical in order to avoid being forced to take title subject to open violation in the later stage of the purchasing process.
The second website is actually the website of NYC Department of Finance. The Department of Finance will have a record of annual real estate taxes. Using the Department of Finance website is a good way to verify and check out the most current real estate taxes. The bank will need that information in order to calculate the affordability of the loan you applied for, because the real estate tax is part of your monthly expenses.
Doing these preliminary research jobs is fairly easy if you are buying property within the five boroughs of New York City. If you are outside of NYC, there will be agencies similar to the NYC Department of Building and Department of Finance. You can go to the county clerk, city hall or town hall to find the information. Because it is public information, you usually can get it for free.
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Jacqueline Huang Huang & Associates, P.C. 6402 8th Avenue, Suite 405 Brooklyn, NY 11220 Telephone: (718) 435-666 Email: jackiehuang@huanglawfirm.com  |
