All Forum Posts by: Akram Ramdan

@Mark F. you’re completely right, thank you for your honesty. Property had 7 offers using the sellers agent was my way of securing the deal. I will say that the tax assessor stated there’s a note on the file for the house that states this request of bathroom removal in 1995 but since it has been there for so long most of the time they tend to let these things go. So if it does come down that hopefully I can try to use the documentation that the city has for that request and claim that they were in violation of a zoning ordinance from 25 years ago and didn’t disclose that to me. Do you have any other examples of this issue I kept searching and couldn’t find anything else. Thanks a bunch.

Hi @Mark F., Thank you very much for your input. I currently don't have a buyer's real estate agent and I used the seller's agent for this deal. I spoke to my attorney about it a couple weeks ago and the only thing he said to me was I can ask for a credit to lower the purchase price of the home due to the bathroom removal. He said backing out would be difficult and if I did, I would risk getting sued and it would be up to the judge to decide. The only thing in the contract that I see with the most promise is what @Matt Devincenzo said. The contract does say the seller's use of the property is not in violation with any zoning ordinances. If they received notice from the town to remove the bathroom in the attic in 1995, aren't they technically in violation of a zoning ordinance? Not sure what else I can do in this situation. 

HI @Matt Devincenzo, initially when I read the contract, I got to the same conclusion you did. Going on the Clifton, NJ site 

https://ecode360.com/8523074#8523074, it specifies the ordinance that enforces no bathrooms in the attic/basement 

Amended 10-1-1996 by Ord. No. 5844-96; 1-15-2002 by Ord. No. 6259-02. However, I cannot find a full copy of that ordinance. All I see on their website is a list of "zoning codes". I am unsure if "zoning codes" and "zoning ordinances" are the same thing. The verbiage in the contract said "zoning ordinances", so I am unsure if they are in violation of a "zoning code" that would mean the same thing. 

Thanks,

Akram

@Mitch Messer Thank you for your quick response. The thing is, if they agree and remove the full bathroom in the attic and the shower in the basement, the house becomes a 4 bedroom 2.5 bathroom home vs a 4 bedroom 4 bathroom home. That is a big difference from the listing sheet and my initial purchase. I don't think it's fair for me to be paying top dollar for a property that at that point would have lost 1.5 bathrooms. At minimum I would want a credit for the 1.5 lost bathrooms that is worth market average which I see as 28k for a full bathroom. However, at this point I don't know if I would want to proceed with the deal because to your point, maybe they knew about this before and didn't say anything to get top dollar on their home when in reality they may have to remove 1.5 baths. The other thing is, I put a 20k initial deposit, so if I back out I would want my 20k back. I'm not sure if I can, but if they remove the bathrooms, logically wouldn't the judge thing this is a good reason to back out? 

@Mitch Messer, the contract explicitly states the following:

Seller makes no representations concerning existing zoning ordinances, except that seller's use of the Property is not presently in violation of any zoning ordinances. Seller shall obtain a Certificate of Occupancy at Seller's expense and provide it to Buyer prior to Closing and shall be responsible to make and pay for any repairs required in order to obtain the Certificate or Letter. However, if this expense exceeds $500 to Seller, then Seller may terminate this Contract and refund the Buyer all deposit monies plus Buyer's reasonable expenses, unless Buyer elects to make repairs in excess of said amount at Buyer's expense. 

As I'm reading this, I'm worried that they are the only ones that can back out if they don't want to spend the money to remove the bathrooms. But if the bathrooms are moved, do I not have any leverage to backing out of the deal?

Thanks,

Akram 

Hi all,

I am a first time investor currently purchasing a two-family home in Clifton, NJ. I am currently under contract with the last step being to obtain a Certificate of Occupancy from the town. The current Clifton, NJ zoning laws do not allow any (partial or full) bathrooms in the attic and only allow partial bathrooms in the basement. The home that I am purchasing has four bedrooms and four full bathrooms (one full bathroom in both the attic and the basement). This is how the home was listed and this is how the home is currently being tax assessed. I spoke with the Tax assessors and the building department who informed me that back in 1995, the township requested to remove the bathroom and the kitchen from the attic. When I did my walk through, I did not see a kitchen in the attic, but I still see a full bathroom. My question is, if the city refuses to issue a certificate of occupancy unless the seller removes the full bathroom in the attic and the shower in the basement bathroom, can I back out of the deal? I spoke to my attorney and he said the contract does not explicitly state how many bathrooms/bedrooms the house has, but it is only stated in the listing sheet. He said if I do back out, I can risk getting sued and it would be up to the judge to decide. I am concerned as a quick google search showed me that a bathroom adds on average, $28,000 of value to a home. This removal would significantly devalue the home and I would also be receiving less rent if I rent the attic and top unit together with only one bathroom as opposed to two bathrooms. 

Please advise,

Thank you