Closer inspection of an outdoor security footage (from a disclosed camera) shows that they were hiding the dog in a jacket as they came and went.

You need to go to the Building Department and pull the property jacket and look for a permit.

But I have the whole jacket done and stamped, so its just a matter of what they ask us to take out/what they want to see, and how much it will cost to put it all back together.

There is no closet there, so having a central coat/storage closet would mean easiest access to the entire house for jackets/vacuums/etc.

Some won't even tell you who the manager is.Heard stories of folks who does these dirty deals would meet the managers in charge of these properties at some restaurant, the manager would make an excuse to go to the bathroom, leave his jacket hanging on a chair, when he comes back, finds an envelope stuffed with cash in one of the pockets.

The home had a boiler, all of the piping (asbestos) leading to the radiators was wrapped or jacketed in a protective jacket, ( to keep the asbestos from becoming disturbed and air born.) 

There was one of those fur lined hood jackets in my walking path so I kicked it out of the way only to find out it was a dead cat.

If the basement is unfinished you will be able to see, and read, the wire jackets.  

@Jon Klaus it will actually take me long to find the Sunglasses and the ultra cool Jacket.

Don't hang your hat on the Assessors Office, totally different entity than the Building Department, pull the jacket or file from the Building Dept to find out what the property "legally" is or isn't in this case...given the fact that it is a basement unit I would suspect that it is an illegal unit...the question I have for you is this (and the same you should ask the seller)...if a fire was to start in the kitchen of the basement unit, would the insurance company pay off for the repairs, if illegal no...more importantly, if that same fire kills someone in an illegal apartment that you had rented you may end up in a legal **** storm and possible jail time...a few years back in my area a fire in an illegal apartment killed two people and the slumlords are still in jail to this day...the answer is at The Building Dept...just my opinion !