With so many properties in New York, it’s not surprising that some of them are not up to code. The problem with that is that sellers and buyers may be caught off-guard when a property that they wanted to sell or buy is not up to code and needs repairs.
There are all kinds of different code violations that could hinder the sale of a property. Even if those violations were from months or years ago, they may still come up on a title search and influence the sale of the property if they were not repaired.
So, what can you do? Your priority should be to repair the property before its sale.
When you repair building code violations, they’re removed from the record
If you receive a building code violation or know that your property has one that a new buyer could discover during an inspection, it’s time to bring the property up to code. Even if you don’t get a violation from the state, you should take steps to bring the property up to code once you’re told that there is a problem by an inspector. If you don’t want to do this, you may be able to negotiate a reduction in the sale price of the property, and the new owner can take steps to make the repairs.
In most cases, buyers don’t want to walk into a home or building with potential code violations or a history of unrepaired violations. The only thing a seller can do to resolve that problem is to bring the property up to code and to get an inspector to sign off on the repairs. If there is already a violation on the books, then the seller will need to get the building code violation erased from public record before most buyers will be happy to go forward with the sale.
If you’re ready to sell your property, watch out for code issues
If your property hasn’t been repaired recently and you think that it may not be up to code, it may be worth talking to a building inspector before putting it up for sale.