Dealing with municipal closings due to Coronavirus.

Dealing with municipal closings due to Coronavirus.

Tinton Falls, NJ · Member since 2020 · 108 posts · 85 votes

I have a multifamily property in Asbury Park, NJ. I have one vacancy that I luckily got an application on last week before things started getting really crazy. Unfortunately the tenant didn't actually sign the lease until Monday, so we couldn't call for the CO inspection until then. By this time, all inspections were halted. So I figured they'd offer a temporary CO in the meantime. Basically they said, no move ins without CO's and no CO's are happening. 

My business partner also owns a construction company. He has several projects that are halted because he can't get inspections done. 

I assume other people are facing similar problems.

Has anyone experienced their local governments coming up with creative solutions to these issues? I'd like to go back to the city with some ideas on how to solve this while still respecting public health. The only thing I could think of was making Skype appointments or something similar to walk inspectors through the property, but I think that'd be incredibly difficult for the inspector to fully do their job. But maybe they could do it just as a temporary CO until things get better. 

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General Contractor · Palm Desert, CA · Member since 2016 · 193 posts · 79 votes
6y

As a General contractor, I have had to deal with many different cities and building inspectors. So here is my take; building inspectors do not accept anything without visual on the job inspections. They do not accept photos. They have been trained to trust but verify. Too many contractors and superintendents have tried to fudge (cheat and lie) to them about things that they hope the inspectors won't catch. The days of "drive by" inspections are over.

Don't even think about proceeding with any work until you have written approval from your inspector. That means make sure you have your job card signed off before you cover anything up.

Good luck

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  • General Contractor · Palm Desert, CA · Member since 2016 · 193 posts · 79 votes
    6y

    As a General contractor, I have had to deal with many different cities and building inspectors. So here is my take; building inspectors do not accept anything without visual on the job inspections. They do not accept photos. They have been trained to trust but verify. Too many contractors and superintendents have tried to fudge (cheat and lie) to them about things that they hope the inspectors won't catch. The days of "drive by" inspections are over.

    Don't even think about proceeding with any work until you have written approval from your inspector. That means make sure you have your job card signed off before you cover anything up.

    Good luck

  • Knoxville, TN · Member since 2019 · 111 posts · 57 votes
    6y

    If they aren't issuing CO's, is it safe to assume they also aren't driving around and issuing tickets to violators?

  • General Contractor · Palm Desert, CA · Member since 2016 · 193 posts · 79 votes
    6y

    Also, I have seen inspectors make contractors remove furniture if they don't have a Certificate of Occupancy

  • General Contractor · Palm Desert, CA · Member since 2016 · 193 posts · 79 votes
    6y

    If there is permit that has not been finaled, they will eventually catch it 

  • Jonathan GreeneBusiness Member
    Real Estate Consultant · Madison, NJ · Member since 2016 · 6k+ posts · 7k+ votes
    6y

    The permit inspections are halted in many towns around me, but the CCO inspections are moving forward, which makes no logical sense since you can't get a CCO with open permits. All of the towns here are trying to develop a way to get deals done, but they are banging their heads into one another. It's going to be an issue for a while, but I think it's going to get backlogged real quick if they don't figure out a way to do it. The worst part is that it's a great time to work on houses, but only if we can permits to do it. The workers need the work and we need to get our flips done.

    Zen and the Art of Real Estate Investing59 Reviews
  • General Contractor · Palm Desert, CA · Member since 2016 · 193 posts · 79 votes
    6y

    If it's just cosmetic rehab, don't worry about inspectors. They're all sitting home anyway collecting paychecks from our tax dollars

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