295 3rd street

They may be living there under a Temp C of O. Some banks will allow you to close under a Temp C of O and they will hold a certain amount of money in a non-interest bearing escrow account. Usually held by the title company.

It's not uncommon but if you have other options there is no reason in this market to settle if you are not getting 100% satisfaction.

Some older single and multi family properties in Hudson County have no C of O because they predate the filing of C of O's. I have personaly closed numerous transactions in Union City, North Bergen, Jersey City and Weekhawken that did not have C of O's.

Feel free to PM or send me an email if you would like to discuss further but I stress if you are not 100% happy don't buy as nothing is worse than buyer's remorse.

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Caps, where is this building?

there are other people living in the condos, i think there are 3 or 4 others but the inpection report was pretty bleak and it looks as if whoever renovated it did so without permits so it looks like a whole other headache. i think i'm going to bail out......

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Hello JadedJC,

I agree with the posters. This is very disconcerting. With all the experience I have had with the realtors, inspectors, sellers and permit office, you cannot trust anyone but your own research. There is a lot of corruption and collusion occurring STILL in JC. Even with a CO you could end up realizing it should not have been given and end up with streams of grief. If I was to do it all again, I don't think I would have bought in JC until the corruption is filtered out a little more.

Just yesterday I spent over 2 hours at the permit offices and I that's nothing - NOTHING! I've spent 5 hours there once waiting my turn. The thing is, the woman I needed to talk to was meandering around the office where I could see her talking to her peers, sitting on a sofa saying "I need a drink!" and the question I was waiting to ask her was under 2 minutes and she told me she wasn't even the right person to answer it. (After 2 hours of me standing there staring at her meandering around - I had to say out loud - "this is an insult waiting 2 hours to ask a 2 minute question while I watch her meander the office and not approach the counter." The pleasure she got saying it wasn't even her I should talk to. There are absolutely no standards of conduct at that office).

I would file a complaint but it's not worth it considering she is only one of many of the problems with that office.

Our realtor was worse. It was very evident he colluded with the inspector and also didn't provide us with the information required to make an informed decision - sometimes as buyers you can educate yourself tenfold but you "don't know what you don't know" and depend on the experts to inform you.

My biggest recommendation is to pay the money to get an amazing inspector who will likely talk you out of buying a place in JC. (One that has ZERO ties to your realtor or their realtor). Seriously, my situation after the fact is so ridden with legal scenario's based on the weasel contractors and their collusion with the permit offices. This is still a corrupt marketplace. Sorry I'm not rays of sunshine but I'm not speaking just for myself, it happened to my neighbors too. The other realtor telling them they are to pay out of pocket for things that the sellers should have had in place and their own realtor pulling a fast one on them at closing.

If you are uncertain - contact the State of New Jersey Department of Community Affairs, Division of Codes and Standards, Office of Regulatory Affairs. Tel: 609-984-7768.

Be prepared to walk away, nothing is worth the stress and grief and anxiety and costs and the realities of sitting in an 'investment' that's a sinking ship and further dealing with the city's permit offices.....NOTHING as far as I'm concerned. Unless you are made of money.

Hell yes, you need a C.O.!! I'm surprised YOUR attorney would even let you consider buying a home without a C.O. The place to go with C.O. questions is 30 Montgomery Street, 4th floor, office of the city's construction official.

caps,

Presumably if the condo is being offered to you for sale, there already IS a C of O on the property.

Are OTHER people living in the building?

Call City Hall and find out if there is a C of O on your prospective apartment.

Tread very carefully on this one caps! Yes, a C.O. is required and housing/construction/fire codes are pretty strict.

There are a few posters here that are better qualified to answer technical questions, you may want to pm Brewster too.

Does anyone know if a Certificate of Occupancy is required in Jersey City? I am looking into buying a condo in downtown. I had a home inspection and there are significant problems with the furnace being old and rusted and piping not insulated and most importantly the vent for the drainage spills out on the basement floor. I received a letter from the sellers attorney regarding certificate of occupancy and some terms about this and that and the cost regarding certificate of occupancy if required. i think i can repair some of the problems myself but if this certificate is required there will be significantly more excessive costs required to get everything to code.. any advice would be appreciated. thanks everyone.

P.S. if you know where i can find this info myself that would be appreciated as well. thanks!