Fixing an old sidewalk violation

I am looking at a building that turns out has an old sidewalk violation that was never cured. I can’t seem to find sidewalk violations on the DOT or DOB websites – does anyone know how to do this? I recall that the DOT has a list of vendors they refer to and, presumably, have experience with the permits (DOT and LPC) and curing the violation at DOT. Has anyone used one of these contractors and can give either a recommend or steer clear? I can’t find the list on the DOT website and if anyone can share the URL, that would be great. Alternatively, if you have had a good experience with a sidewalk contractor who handled permits, etc., can you share? Thanks as always.

housepoor

in Exteriors 4 years and 2 months ago

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greenworks | 4 years and 2 months ago

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The lawyers in conjunction with the mortgage/title company set the amount in escrow. We had almost no involvement with determining the amount. Again, they see this all the time, know generally the appropriate amounts, and negotiate – believe the title company has to approve.

Don’t do your lawyers work for them. You’ve got enough to worry about.

housepoor | 4 years and 2 months ago

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I hear form my lawyer that they are getting the violation cleared. But when I was there the other day, the sidewalk has lots of cracks and I wonder how they could get it to pass inspection. But the escrow route is how it will go if it cannot be cleared in time. I just don’t know how much to insist on going into the escrow without getting an estimate from a contractor – which brings me back to my original point – any recommendations of who is good at this work (including LPC and DOT permits)? Thanks.

greenworks | 4 years and 2 months ago

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Just to clarify my above statement, your seller should be the one trying to locate and fix violation first.

If you’re getting a mortgage, they won’t want you to close before having the seller fix the violation or having seller put money in escrow to have you fix it AFTER closing. Same goes for any other buyer who will need a mortgage so you’re not asking anything another non cash buyer wouldn’t.

I can’t imagine you’d be crazy enough to pay for the fix before you close so the above are the options that were presented to us and are commonly suggested. At least this was true 6 yrs ago.

Our sellers couldn’t understand the idea of escrow (lol) and rushed to fix the violation, and it cleared a day or two before closing.

greenworks | 4 years and 2 months ago

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Talk to your RE atty, this happens all of the time. It’s no biggie.

Happened with us on our last purchase, seller takes care of or puts $$$ in escrow if I recall correctly. It’s been a couple years and Property law was the only class I got a C in in law school so def check with your atty.

Again this happens frequently so mechanisms are in place.

housepoor | 4 years and 2 months ago

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OP here – I don’t know what the nature of the violation is, just that there is one. If anyone can help me figure out how to find the violation on the DOT website, that would be great. Thanks.

hkapstein | 4 years and 2 months ago

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If you hire the a contractor they’ll do the paperwork. If you do it “yourself” there’s a homeowner permit process as well. You can file the LPC drawings, that’s isn’t hard, but you may need a drafts person to draw the layout for you. Is there a condition that requires a repair?