"Andrew Koenig" wrote in message
...
.... snip ...
I would think that whether or not your municipality requires it, you
should
ensure that the house meets all building codes before you buy it. Because
if it doesn't, you might be responsible for fixing those problems before
you
sell it. In other words, while you're there, whatever municipality it is
might decide to institute a rule that requires all houses to meet code
when
they're sold. In which case the problem is on your shoulders.

That is not practical. The general rule of thumb is that the building was in
compliance with the code at the time it was built or renovated and
subsequently inspected/signed off. Today's code is much stricter than in the
past. Having a municipality force you to come up to code would be
prohibitively expensive given the number of older homes.

-al sung
Rapid Realm Technology, Inc.
Hopkinton, MA