Guide
What a property file review tells you before you buy
The municipal record holds things a walkthrough and a home inspection will not surface.
A home inspector tells you the condition of what is in front of you. A property file review tells you what the municipality believes is there — and the two are not always the same building.
What the file contains
- Every permit issued for the property, and whether each was signed off
- The Certificate of Occupancy, and what use and layout it certifies
- Violations, complaints and orders
- Prior applications, including any that were denied
- Survey and plot information on record
The gap that matters
The useful part is not the file on its own. It is comparing the file against what is physically there. A finished basement that appears on no permit, a deck that is not on the survey, a converted garage the certificate does not mention — each of those is a difference between what you are buying and what the record says you are buying.
Why timing changes everything
Before contract, an issue found is a negotiating point or a reason to walk. Under contract with a closing date, the same issue is a problem with a deadline. After closing, it is simply yours.
What a review does not do
It will not tell you the condition of the roof or whether the boiler has a year left. It is a records and compliance exercise, not a physical inspection — and it complements one rather than replacing it.
More guides
- What an open permit is, and how it gets closed
- Legalizing an accessory apartment on Long Island
- Do I need a permit for a deck?
- Cracks in walls: when to worry and when not to
- What to do when you get a building department violation
- Variances: when your project does not fit the zoning
- Restaurant build-outs: the timeline nobody plans for
- Flood zones and house lifting on the South Shore
- Pool permits on Long Island: what actually gets reviewed