2-Family CofO
My wife and I purchased a 2-family home 2 years ago. It has 2 kitchens, 2 gas meters, 2 electric meters, is listed as a “B3-two family” on the DOB website, by the Department of Finance and on our deed, etc. We recently submitted plans to the DOB for an interior renovation, keeping the house…
My wife and I purchased a 2-family home 2 years ago. It has 2 kitchens, 2 gas meters, 2 electric meters, is listed as a “B3-two family” on the DOB website, by the Department of Finance and on our deed, etc.
We recently submitted plans to the DOB for an interior renovation, keeping the house as a 2-family. We need the rent to afford the home, pure and simple.
There is no CofO on the house, so we are being asked to prove that the house was a 2-family prior to 1938.
Was shocked to learn today that the DOF tax records from 1931 list the house as a one-family. There are no records of any conversion taking place between 1931 and 1938, or ever for that matter.
Side note: I know that the house was extensively remodeled in the mid thirties because they used old crates to shim up the new floors. One remnant had a date on it.
Anyway. How screwed are we? We have no way to prove exactly when the conversion took place and whether or not it was legal.
I’ve read all the archives, and I know this is a frequent topic. But any advice anyone can offer regarding this particular circumstance would be greatly appreciated. We are in a serious bind!
not that anyone cares but in my post I meant to write “DOB” of course. Not DOT.
Jock is right that your architect or expediter should be doing this for you, as well as anticipating, guiding, and when possible, avoiding obstacles from DOB.
Absolutely apply to HPD for copies of your I-card. When/if you get them, check them for handwritten entries in the section titled “Alteration Plans.” These alterations should appear in the “Actions” section of your query to DOB bisweb (entered as ALT-xxx), but not always, especially if the alteration was approved but never completed/signed off. As Jock said, search the plat books. Scaremongers like Minard specialize in outrageous declarations about DOB, but the DOB has many helpful employees if you take the time to approach them as human beings, treat them with decency, and explain your dilemma and what you’re looking for. Several years ago, with the help of DOB clerks, I searched through handwritten ledgers for an entry that had never been signed off, but which otherwise verified our position, and which (along with other support documents) resulted in the DOB issuing an LNO (Letter of No Objection).
B3, as a building classification, indicates a single-family converted to two-family. But you are wasting your time relying on Finance records, which reflect nothing but an owner’s declaration (i.e., an owner might alter without filing with the DOB, or never obtain a signoff, yet still declare the building’s new status with DoF). I suppose it’s possible that you could visit HPD’s Registration Assistance Unit at 100 Gold and see if they’ve got anything on file, but registration for a one- or two-family building occurs only in rare circumstances, and I think it would be a very, very long shot.
Another longshot, but at least online, would be to check the assessment, etc., information available at this link. Though not likely, maybe you’ll stumble across something revealing: http://bit.ly/dPkQV8
This DoF Digital Tax Map site is new to me, and I have never used it, but maybe you can find something useful there, too: http://bit.ly/eqnpOt
thank you everyone. Full disclosure: I am an architect new to New York trying to do this myself. Figured I should learn the ropes on my own project. Perhaps that was a mistake but lets not get into that. In every other city I’ve worked an interior remodel like this would be a piece of cake.
Jock, I went to the the DOB and asked for their archives. Was sent to Window 1 on the 8th floor. The guys there just said they didn’t have a CofO on file. I asked if they had any other old records and he said “nope, no hope.”
Do you know what floor the records room is on?
The DOT will put you through the ringer for a new C of O. In some cases, it is almost impossible without demolishing the house and starting over. This is an issue that people need to go to their electeds about. The DOB is not helpful. They are in full “the public is the enemy” mode. City Hall needless to say could give a flying leap about little homeowners in Brooklyn. It is a tough situation right now.
Go down to the records room at DOB. It is all on microfilm. In order to find it, there has to be an indication somewhere as to what book it was on. Look in BIS under actions. Your architect and or permit expediter should be doing this for you.
I have the same problem, B3-2 Family for Finance, no CO on file, and my architect told me it’s 1 family!! Luckily my use is for 1 family, but a good architect and a little bit of patient should do the job done.
Question: is it possible to correct the Finance status?
How is the house being taxed? As a one-family or a two-family. This will make a difference. In addition, your lawyer should have noticed this when doing his/her due diligence. What did the real estate broker represent the building as? How did you get a mortgage, how was it appraised? If it is being taxed as a two-family you may have standing with the city to assert that it is a two-family.
thank you jockdeboeraia and vinca!
Jock: where do I find the “plat books”?
Vinca: this is what I get on the HPD link you provided:
“There are no I-card Images for this building available on-line. If this building was erected during the period when I-cards were utilized (prior to 1938), you may contact HPD’s Code Enforcement Office for the borough in which the building is located to verify that no such documentation exists.”
I understand the house dates to 1860 and the renovation happened in the 30’s, so I will contact them tomorrow. Fingers crossed!
anyone else have tips?
I expect that others (Brooklynexpediter, some of the architects) can add useful information, but you can start with this:
Forget what Finance says—it does not always correspond with the CO, and DoF and DOB have not communicated with each other in the past, or even still. If you have no CO, take a look at the I-Card (which predates the use of COs). To access I-card image, go to HPD home page: http://bit.ly/7Wyv6r
Enter your address in the space in the middle of right-hand column, hit search, and then scroll down to bottom left (“I-Card Images”) of the next page that opens. If your street address does not work on the first page, then search again using your block and lot number. Even if you’ve checked DOB Bisweb for CO, you might want to look again as follows. Go to: http://bit.ly/bgQjcf
Enter information on right hand side (borough, house number, street), click submit. Click “View Certificates of Occupancy” near the top of the next page that opens. Also check the “Actions” link at bottom left of same page to see whether DOB might have issued a Letter of No Objection, but not a new CO, at some time during building’s history. Only an LNO would legalize use in excess of what’s recorded on CO/I-card.