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June 9, 2008

Open work permit

My husband and I purchased a house on 14th Street one year ago which has an open permit for some renovation work don in 2004. We knew about the open permit before closing and so a contract was written up with the previous owner giving them 3 months from closing to do what was necessary to have the permit signed off by the buildings dept. It is now almost a year and the previous owner has made little effort to close the permit. There is money in escrow that is being held in the event that we must do the necessary work to get the permit closed, but the previous owner and their lawyer are dragging their feet. We have spoken with the original architect of record who has given us a list of what needs to be done to complete the work and we are getting an estimate from a contractor for the cost, but once we go to the owner and his lawyer with this my worry is that they will still find reason to delay. Technically, the owner is already in violation of the contract given that the 3 months are up. How can we demand that they hand over the escrow money so that we can do the work? Thanks to anyone who can offer advice on what we can do to expidite the situation?

Comments

Where is your lawyer in all of this?

Posted by: guest at June 9, 2008 7:26 PM

Our lawyer is definitely involved, but has been encouraging patience. After almost a year our patience is wearing thin and so we are gearing up for a possible fight.

Posted by: Turtlejam19 at June 10, 2008 12:18 PM

Tell your lawyer your patience has run out. If he/she still advises patience, then ask for a referral to another lawyer who will get the ball rolling. That should spur your lawyer to action.

Posted by: guest at June 10, 2008 2:24 PM

You have the right to the escrow money. Take it.

Posted by: guest at June 10, 2008 4:36 PM

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