Closing Delayed for Certificate of Occupancy

[Marilin Matos]

Hey BP!

I am in the middle of closing on my first deal. It was formerly a large single family that was changed into a 2 family. We are pretty much at the end of the process. Inspection done. Mortgage is approved. Title Search came back clean. There were open permits for the work done but the title company was unable to find the CO. Turns out the sellers are working on getting it right now. They bought the house late 2018, renovated and put on the market late 2019 and we started closing mid January 2020. The issue is that the house originally had a garage but it was torn down and it wasn't rebuilt. The garage was never part of the deal. Apparently, the Building department is weighing the question if the house needs a garage to obtain a C.O. or is the driveway sufficient to provide the parking the Municipality requires. The driveway fits 6 cars so I am thinking this is enough. 

Should I be worried? Is there anything I can do to help speed this along? 

[Abel Curiel]

Hey @Marilin Matos,

When purchasing a flip, its pretty common for title and CO issues to come up near the end of the transaction. I wouldn't worry about it too much since you knew you were purchasing this without a garage.

Some lenders can close without a final CO search but other lenders require CO before closing. I'm surprised they didn't request this at the time of the appraisal.

That being said, I wouldn't worry too much about it at this point. If there is any cause for concern, your attorney will notify you. As far as speeding things along, I would just make sure all parties involved (agents, attorneys, seller) are actively following up at least once a day until this is resolved.

Best of luck to you on this deal... first of many!

Abel