Union City NJ Multifamily outstanding violations

[Yaro L.]

Deal fellow BP'ers, 

I am working on a "as-is" multifamily deal in Union City NJ. "Buyer is responsible for obtaining CO & Smoke detector certs" is the language in the contract.   I've never deal with Union City NJ building department / housing authority and find it very confusing. Hope someone can help me out. 

Steps I've taken so far: 

1) Requested a report of any Violations / Pulled Permits / Tax Liens from the city. 

2) The files I've received capture the entire history of the building, with various Violations dating back to 2007.  (no idea how to tell which violations are still "opened")

3) Some amounts on the "Notice and Order of Penalty" forms are quite high. But I am not sure if they are "opened or closed" violations.   

There doesn't seem to be any tax liens on the property and no recent pulled permits. 

I'd appreciate any advice from anyone who's encountered / dealt with Union City Building department in the past. I want to be 100% comfortable with moving forward on this deal and not get smacked in the face with $100k in penalties after I close on the property. 

Appreciate your help in advance. 

Yaro

[Yaro L.]

@Jessica Zolotorofe Appreciate the suggestion. I actually did call them just now and was able to get some helpful feedback on the house. 

Now, I need to call back and speak to a building inspector who can give me clarity on the house and if its a legal 3 unit or a 4 unit building (being advertised as 4 unit). 

Some of the pulled violations have fine upward of $145,000 and there are several violations. Does anyone know if these penalty amounts are negotiable ?