Sidewalk Violation and Mortgage Applications
Hi, This topic came up in one of our building meetings. Does anyone have an informed opinion on whether the fact that our building has an outstanding sidewalk repair violation (in actuality very minor) will prohibit a prospective buyer from being able to obtain a mortgage approval. thanks! Jeff
Hi,
This topic came up in one of our building meetings.
Does anyone have an informed opinion on whether the fact that our building has an outstanding sidewalk repair violation (in actuality very minor) will prohibit a prospective buyer from being able to obtain a mortgage approval.
thanks!
Jeff
Thank you all for your comments so far. Much appreciated!
If the property is in Brooklyn and you want to clear the violation call 718-222-7232 Ms Carson. You will need a money order or check for $70. They will give you 30 days from the date you give them in which you want to start repairing the sidewalk. After repair is completed an inspector will come out and do an inspection.
I just closed on my house and there was a sidewalk violation. After closing I went down to dot 16 Court St and file the job. If you want help I can do it for you for a small fee. e-mail me flawlessphoto06@verizon.net
This isn’t directly on point, but I pass it along FWIW. I got the mortgage commitment, and a week before closing, the lender starts complaining about DOB violations from the 1980s (this was in 2007, and before the contraction of the mortgage market). They were for things like broken light bulbs in the entry from when the building had rental units. It was insane. I pulled out the “I’m a lawyer, and I will sue your ass and run up $50k in legal fees for you before you blink” card. The lender compromised when I gave them a personal indemnification for any losses associated with the 20-year-old piddly-ass violations, and we closed a few days late only. The post-script is that I got all the outstanding violations cancelled (someone in the intervening time had fixed them all anyway). Good luck.
We are in the process of closing (as buyers) on a two-family brownstone that had a sidewalk lien that came up in the title inspection. It was an issue that was eventually resolved between the seller and the title insurance company. However, it did not affect our ability to get mortgage approval. As far as I could tell, the title inspection was independent of the home appraisal and bank approval. That said, of course the bank expects that all title issues will be cleared before closing.
The only real problem will be is if the city has placed a lien on the property for the violation. They typically do this even if they haven’t done any repairs. The lien is for $0 but could prevent a title company from issuing title insurance on the property. I have much success doing a refi with the problem by calling the Dept of Transportation. They were very helpful. 212-839-4308. 212-839-4310
in general it will but you can usually get away with it with an escrow agreemet as it s not that expensive to fix.