Is it standard for Seller not to have C of O post reno in Tampa?

[Vanessa Bondi]

HELP PLEASE! Newbie here - am under contract on my first investment property in Tampa and we are in the inspection period. I am paying cash and planning on doing a cash out refi later so I am focused on my Due Diligence to make sure I don't miss anything that the lender would identify later and cause an issue.

The Seller bought the property 3 months ago and renovated it. The inspection came back relatively clean but there is no Certificate of Occupancy. Both the inspection company and my agent are telling me this is standard as these take a long time to get and so most renovations in Tampa don't apply for them and that it's common practice. But everything I read online tells me that a property cannot be inhabited or rented out if there is no current Certificate of Occupancy. Also apparently Lenders will require it.

My agent is telling me that if I hold my ground on the issue the Seller will most likely back out of the deal and find a buyer who is fine taking on that risk because apparently in this market loads of people would.

Am I overthinking this or should I be worried?

I would be eternally grateful for any advice!!!