On Mon, 11 Jun 2007 20:01:05 -0500, dpb wrote:
Well, I got curious again and did do (actually repeated because I
discovered pretty quickly my previous search _had_ been NJ as I thought
I recalled) a fairly long search of NJ statute and what I could find of
real estate buy/sell advice. I found _NO_ indication of any state law
requiring a jurisdictionally sponsored or required inspection other than
the seller disclosure form nor any other indication that any of these
restrictions are actually law, at least at the State level. In perusing
this, I found several sites of NJ-licensed inspectors and all of them
indicated their services were optional to the buyer except possibly by
the lending institutions, etc., as we all know.

My conclusion is still that many/most/(all?) of the hoops Art has jumped
through are either very local (and I found several sections in NJ
statute Sect. 46 that mentioned they overrode the localities' ability to
write their own regulations altho I can't swear in such a quick review
those cover all possible items) or a case of a realtor/broker/agent
handling the transaction and masking the actual legal _minimum_
requirements by handling it at a "higher level" if you will.

I'll be interested to see what additional info Art actually has as it
would be interesting to see just how bad it has gotten in some
localities if it is indeed that bad...

Well, I've been away on business and unable to follow up. I did a quick
search for paperwork relating to my previous home sales, and didn't find
anything germane.

But I did find something useful ... here is the relevant section of the
Code of Hamilton Twp., Mercer County:

Sec. 66-63. Inspection prior to change in occupancy; certificate of approval.

(a) Prior to any change in occupancy of any house, hotel, dwelling,
dwelling unit, roominghouse, rooming unit, boardinghouse, motel,
apartment unit or premises which is used, partially used or intended to
be used for human occupancy, a certificate of approval shall first have
been obtained from the office of the superintendent of inspections,
stating that the building and premises comply with the requirements of
the township ordinances. In the case of a hotel or motel, this section
shall only apply in those cases involving permanent, rather than
transient, residence.

(b) An inspection shall be obtained either by the owner or the owner's
agent prior to a change in occupancy and shall be performed by the
office of the superintendent of inspections for the purpose of
determining if a certificate of approval may be issued.

(c) Inspections pursuant to subsection (b) of this section shall be
conducted using the following criteria:

(1) All violations of township ordinances shall be reflected in the
inspection report in order to provide notice to the owner or prospective
owner or occupant of such violations.

(2) A violation of the plumbing code which poses a positive or obvious
major threat to the health, safety or welfare of any potential
occupancy, a violation of the electrical code which poses a positive or
obvious major threat to the health, safety or welfare of any potential
occupancy, or any other condition which poses a positive or obvious
threat to the health, safety or welfare of any potential occupancy shall
be deemed a major violation of the housing code and shall be designated
to the owner, potential owner or occupant separately on the inspection
report.

(d) Violations of the kind described in subsection (c)(2) of this
section must be corrected by the owner of the unit before the issuance
of a certificate of approval. The responsibility for correction of a
violation of the housing code which is not a major violation may, except
in the case of a rental, be assumed by the buyer, with the written
notification and approval of the seller, buyer and superintendent of
inspections. At the time of such assumption of responsibility, a
conditional certificate of approvalmay be issued, and the violations
shall be corrected by the buyer within 30 days of the date of issuance
of the conditional certificate of approval. The director of engineering,
planning and inspections may grant an extension not exceeding 30 days
for just cause.

(e) An unconditional certificate of approval shall be issued by the
office of the superintendent of inspections at such time as the
superintendent is satisfied that all violations have been corrected.

(f) The completed certificate of approval shall contain the names of
both the seller or landlord and the buyer or tenant. One copy of the
completed certificate of approval as provided by the township shall
remain each with the seller or landlord and the buyer or tenant.

(g) In the case of a rental, the landlord shall ensure that the tenant
shall sign a tenant's receipt as provided by the township upon receiving
the tenant's copy of the certificate of approval. The landlord shall
then, within ten days, upon securing the tenant's signature, forward the
signed tenant's receipt to the superintendent of inspections.

(h) A certificate of approval is valid for the authorization of
occupancy for a period of 90 days after issuance. The director of
engineering, planning and inspections may authorize extensions of 30
days only upon presentment of sufficient proof that the extension is
necessary due to unforeseeable circumstances beyond the control of
parties involved.

(i) The purpose of this section is to continue to ensure compliance
with the various township ordinances and the housing code in order to
maintain high standards of housing both for homeowners and apartment
dwellers within the township. However, the township, by this section, is
not acting as a guarantor of any property insofar as any potential owner
or occupant is concerned, nor shall the township be considered to be
involved in any manner in the contractual relationships between the
parties.

--
Art Greenberg
artg at eclipse dot net