Closing on a brownstone with violations?

Hello, I’ve been in the closing process for four months now and it has just recently come up that the owner does not want to take care of old HPD violations that are still open – it is in our contract that the property must be free of violations at closing. Violations include roof, plaster and plumbing repair, refitting an apartment entrance, etc – nothing seemingly too major – there are only a few items we weren’t planning on fixing in the renovation. We will definitely be fixing the roof. We asked for a small credit at closing to fix these things but the owner refused, saying he already gave us a big reduction on the selling price. He also doesn’t want to take care of the violations himself because it will take a month and a lot of his time. Is it a terrible idea to accept the violations and move on? Does anyone know what’s the worst that can happen? Thanks

Guest User | 6 years and 10 months ago

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Guest User | 6 years and 9 months ago

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@YeOldeBk thank you! You may be right. The problem is we recently found out in the title search that the house is in pre-foreclosure so if he doesn’t sell now he will foreclose on the house. I don’t think he has accepted that yet. Knowing this information we think we could have offered less, but we’ve seen houses in much worse condition for the same price.

YeOldeBk | 6 years and 9 months ago

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It might be that he feels that he could sell it for a higher price now
and would be happy if you backed out of the deal.
Get the violations fixed as fast as you can, and enjoy the house.

Guest User | 6 years and 9 months ago

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Also, our final offer was accepted 4 months ago and we are finally at the point of scheduling the closing date. After this whole process we’ve come to learn that the sellers made a lot of bad life decisions which impacted our closing but in the end, the house is a house. We chose it for a reason after a lengthy search. Fingers crossed this closing goes smoothly. If I come across any hurdles re: the violations I will return and share it here.

Guest User | 6 years and 9 months ago

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Yes we inspected the house and we are architects so we factored that into our offer price. These are HPD violations, not DOB violations so we should not experience a hold up as far as work permit applications go. Thanks for chiming in.

astoriahomeowner

in General Discussion 6 years and 9 months ago

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I hope you had inspections done on the structural integrity of the house as well.

astoriahomeowner

in General Discussion 6 years and 9 months ago

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Open violations can prevent you from filing new plans. Open violations can take 6 months to clear/fix. Open violations cost money in fines. Factor it all in, and make your decision. Open violations WILL deter people from buying a home, so I hope the seller realizes this. Another idea is to bring in a GC and get an estimate to fix the violations, and present that to the seller.

Guest User | 6 years and 10 months ago

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i ve got insurance through distinguished.com…are those violations because the property is in a land-marked district?…getting rid of plaster can be tedious and expensive

vthatcher | 6 years and 10 months ago

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For insurance, try Liberty Mutual. They are not expensive. For the violations, make sure the seller at least pays the fines associated with them so your not on the hook momentarily. If you need a mortgage who will close with the violations open, I am your woman. Best of luck.

murph | 6 years and 10 months ago

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Just walk away…

Guest User | 6 years and 10 months ago

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Please contact Beth Malone, Program Manager for Insurance and Resiliency at housing nonprofit NHS Brooklyn, with your questions: 718-469-4679. NHS Brooklyn does not sell insurance or charge for this service. Beth can explain the impact of violations and the condition of the home on the cost of home insurance.. She can also explain the National Flood Insurance Program, new FEMA flood maps (and where the property is likely to fall within them), and the cost of flood insurance that you can expect to pay, given the address of the property. You should also speak with her about getting a free flood elevation certificate (worth $800) for the home through the Home Resiliency Audit Program. You won’t have to elevate your home, but in many cases, having the certificate can help you control the cost of flood insurance. For more on NHS Brooklyn, visit www.nhsbrooklyn.org.

Guest User | 6 years and 10 months ago

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@randolph, yes we’ve had this suspicion for a while now, but like everything else in our lives we strive to make it happen. Some things are not meant to be but we haven’t given up on this one just yet. Thanks guys, I found someone who we were able to bind with – I’ll come back and give them name after we close (don’t want to jinx it just yet). We had a policy with Brownstone yesterday but our lender rejected it. I guess there is a lender for everyone, just need to search for it.

RobertGMarvin

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My house has been insured through the Brownstone Agency since 1974

slopefarm | 6 years and 10 months ago

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We used HUB International as our broker and ended up with a Fireman’s Fund policy, though it is now assigned to A.C.E. We had no issue with burglar bars, etc.

randolph | 6 years and 10 months ago

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perhaps the universe is telling you to not buy this house?

EJR | 6 years and 10 months ago

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http://gothambrokerage.com/ can probably get this written, likely by Chubb. It will not be cheap, (i would guess $5-6k/year), but you will be covered.

Guest User | 6 years and 10 months ago

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Great, now we are having a difficult time getting a home owner’s insurance to cover the house. Every company is different but so far burglar bars, roll roofing and being so close to the coast have been preventing us from getting coverage from different companies. Any recommendations on someone who is quick and can bind with these limitations?

Guest User | 6 years and 10 months ago

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Thanks no-permitz, very reassuring.

yudashasom | 6 years and 10 months ago

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You’re fine. I can see the seller not waiting to get involved. As someone else said, you can have the violations reissued and certify as correct – takes about the same amount of time as waiting for an inspector – but it’s free.

Guest User | 6 years and 10 months ago

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No, good question. The woman at HPD said if it doesn’t involve any of these we should be fine.