Buyer responsible for Certificate of Occupancy

[Shawn Legree]

Hello everyone, So I'm currently narrowing down my selection of properties that make the most financial sense. I'm very new to real estate investing, this will be my first property ever. But as I'm researching I'm seeing lots of verbiage that I don't understand. Things like the buyer is responsible for Certificate of Occupancy, No sellers disclosure available, The buyer is responsible for U&O's, shouldn't the property have a C/O already?

Thanks everyone

[Frank Chin]

@Shawn Legree

If you're buying a home to live in, sure, everything should be perfect, CO's in place, no violations etc. And you are paying market price.

If you're an investor, looking for deals way way below market, everything may not be perfect and there could be plenty of reasons. My dad used to handle estates for friends who do not speak English. They passed and all the heirs are out of state or out of the country. Are the heirs going through all the trouble to get CO's for dad's estate in NY, from let's say, Singapore, if the estate has real estate needing a CO, or they'll unload it to a local investor and let the investor figure it out? I got a property in a hot market for almost half price that way from a homeowner with a property with issues who's sick and cannot physically and mentally handle it. Not every seller is alive, physically or mentally capable selling you a home in A-plus condition. An elderly person with Alzheimer's going to a nursing home, selling his own home would be such a case.