What Purchasers should look for at the DOB when buying a new home

Buying a New Condominium

There’s an old saying, it’s easy to fall in love with a home, but hard to stay in love. This is especially relevant in NYC as prices break records often. It’s easy to be swayed by the “perfect” property with the broker only praising the property. It’s easy to overlook the negatives, if they don’t mention any. Finishes, layout, and bathroom tiles can be easily changed, but dealing with DOB violations can be significantly more time consuming. The way to prevent this from happening is to research the property beforehand.

We’ll discuss what you want to ask about when buying a property, and how to get the best deal.

DOB/ECB Violations

Violations can prevent owners from making alterations, lower valuations, and cost thousands to remove. Violations are infractions of the NYC Building Code (BC) or other assorted codes. They are typically issued by the DOB, but might involve other agencies such as the DOT (for sidewalks) or FDNY (for sprinklers, fire alarms, etc). The most common violations are elevator and boiler violations, but are typically only an issue when buying entire buildings, as opposed to condos or co-ops, as they are the building’s responsibility to remove them.

Open Applications

Open applications are job applications at the DOB that were never signed-off. The work may have been completed, but the applications may not have been confirmed by professionals or the DOB as complying with the law. This may impede future construction, and interfere with financing from banks. Sign-offs must be obtained by professionals and can take from days to months. Contact us if your property has open applications to learn how we can help.

What can I do?

Once you know the issues that can affect pricing, it’s essential to discuss these issues with the broker of your property. To get the best price on the condo or co-op, it’s wise to consult with a professional. Direct Access Expediting offers modestly priced research and could act as a bargaining chip when negotiating the cost of a property. Many owners request consultations after the purchase of the property, although not too late, it’s best to get an idea of what exists prior to the purchase in order to negotiate. The cost of researching a building’s records is quite reasonable. Once the owner has possession of the property, they will be able to clear up prior issues and move forward with any plans they may have for the space.