Hi Nick,

I'm not sure if you are specifically interested in buying in Belmar only. I do know that Belmar does a full inspection for certificate of occupancy (not just smoke detectors & fire extinguishers). They look for a variety of things, mostly safety/code issues. In some cases (check with the individual towns), they may allow a buyer to receive a temporary CO if there are remaining things to be completed. They usually will not allow anyone to live in the house until the items are completed and the town has inspected the home. Typically the buyer will hand to sign off that they are responsible for completing the work within a certain amount of time.

Again, verify the guidelines within each town and check with the listing agent regarding any specifics on this particular house. If you are working with an agent, they can assist you with this research also.

Good luck with your search.

Nita Rose
Diane Turton, Realtors
908-309-9405
email - nrose@dianeturton.com

AS Bill mentioned there is no set rule though there are the norms. Look at the listing info as often the listing agent will indicate buyer is responsible for certificate of occupancy. The buyer will pay for the PMI as well as title insurance as these protect the lender and teh buyer. Read the listing info, speak with your agent and or lawyer and carefully read any contrat before you sign it. (often the co requirements is addressed in the contract)

Hi Nick: You've muddied the waters a bit; Insurance is one thing, COs another. There are three insurances that you deal with in a realty transfer, all paid by the buyer. The first is mortgage insurance, if you haven't got 20% equity in the property, the second is title protection and the third is homeowner's insurance. Sorry, no one is going to help you out there, except by way of a general closing cost contribution from the seller.

The CO is a different thing altogether. The municipality passes ordinances on this one and it varies among the 500 municipalities in NJ. The state does have a mandatory fire protection inspection that the municipality handles as well. You can negotiate the cost CO inspection and repairs. In a standard deal, the homeowner handles the repairs and then gets a "clear" CO for the buyer. There is no cost to the buyer, if that is the way it's done. As-Is sales MAY be without repairs. In most municipalities, the CO inspection itself is still the seller's responsibility (Up to $200.00) and the seller can be forced to pick up the tab by municipal ordinance, (They MAY try to duck it but truly can't, without being liable for the fine.) After the inspection, the buyer may be asked to "assume" responsibility for the fixes. In most municipalities, I've seen that this is allowed but in one or two, the town has said no transfer without fixes. This seems to be a Mexican standoff and I've never seen it wrestled to the ground, so I can't speak from experience. A complete gut job that needs only a Ground Fault Indicator per town inspection seems too silly to debate.

At any rate, if there is no CO (sometimes called other things, such as a Certificate of Code Compliance,) the municipality WILL NOT allow occupancy of the premises. So, be guided by that condition and negotiate what you want. Most post foreclosure owners will not repair but it gets to be a matter of practicality for them. They HAVE to get the property off the books. I've seen them (reluctantly) do major things or give major credits. For example, in th case of a septic system, the bank will not have tested the system and if the buyer does and finds it bad, they can either allow additional credit or, if they see one deal go away, fix it so they can get rid of the place. Realize that the bank wants to: one, get rid of the place and two: spend as little as possible in so doing. Often this works out to the point where a competent redeveloper can get a property for very little but he or she is assuming all the repair costs, all the unseen and unknown conditions risk for even more repair costs, the costs of marketing the place after repairs and the risk of true value in the market.

If you're game, it's a way to make (or loose) a buck.

The c/o is the certificate of occupancy. It is an inspection done by the town to insure that the home is safe for occupancy. Some towns the inspection is more thorough than others. Some towns just do a fire certification for their c/o.
Normally, the seller is responsible for obtaining the c/o and making any necessary repairs to obtain one. However, more and more, when a house is sold "as is" and the contract requires, the buyer may be responsible for obtaining one.
As the buyer, if you are responsible for obtaining the c/o, call the town for the list of things they will be checking for. Then, be sure everything is in order the day of your inspection. There is a charge for a c/o and if they come back, they will charge again. More importantly, without a c/o, you cannot close. It's always good to have extra batteries with you, too! You never know when they'll go dead in the smoke or co detectors! Good luck. (I'm pretty sure Belmar is more than just a fire cert.)

Hi Nick,
Do you mean certificate of occupancy? If so, the seller is usually responsible for the CO however they can state in the listing that the buyer is responsible. If the home is a foreclosure or a short sale than the buyer is responsible for the CO.

Thanks,
Heather Daccurso
Weichert Realtors
732-580-5309
Email: heather@heatherdaccurso.com