Service 17
Property File Review
Pull the municipal record before you buy and find out what is actually on file.
Every property has a file at the building department. What is in it — and what is missing from it — decides whether a deal closes cleanly, what a lender will accept, and what the next owner inherits. A file review reads that record before you are committed.
What is actually in a municipal file
Every property has a record at the building department holding some or all of the following: original construction permits, approved plans, every subsequent permit issued, inspection sign-offs, the certificate of occupancy, violation and complaint history, and any survey or plot plan filed along the way.
What matters is as much what is absent as what is present. An addition that appears on the survey and nowhere in the file. A permit issued in 1998 with no final inspection recorded. A certificate of occupancy describing a one-family dwelling in a house currently arranged as two.
What a home inspection will not tell you
A home inspection assesses the physical building. It says nothing about the municipal record, and the two are separate enquiries — only one of which is routinely ordered.
An inspector can tell you the finished basement is in good condition. They cannot tell you it was never filed, that the ceiling height means it cannot be legalized, or that the certificate of occupancy does not cover it. Those are record questions, and they are the ones that affect what the property is worth and whether it can be financed.
What the review produces
A written summary covering what the record shows, what is missing, what is physically present that should be on file and is not, and — the part that is actually useful — an assessment of what resolving each item would involve in effort and time.
That last element is what turns the report into a decision-making document rather than a list of problems. “There is an open permit” is information. “There is an open permit for a rear deck, the deck as built is larger than what was approved, and closing it means an as-built filing and a re-inspection” is something you can price and negotiate against.
Timing decides what it is worth
Run before a contract, a file review is a negotiating position. The same findings after signing are simply your problem, and after closing they are your problem plus your cost.
A property under contract accrues taxes, insurance, utilities and interest every day it sits, which is why the review is deliberately structured to be fast — days rather than weeks — so it fits inside a due diligence period rather than extending one.
Scope
- Municipal property file and permit history research
- Open permit and expired permit identification
- Certificate of Occupancy verification
- Violation and complaint history search
- Comparison of the record against what is physically there
- Zoning and non-conforming use assessment
- Written summary of issues, effort and likely cost to resolve
Who we work with
Investors, buyers, real estate agents, closing attorneys and lenders who need to know what they are taking on before a contract is signed.
Where we deliver this
Across Nassau, Suffolk, the East End and all five boroughs. Most requested in:
Related services
- Violations, Open Permits & Compliance
- Certificates of Occupancy & Compliance
- Legalizations
- Inspections & Site Observation
- Forensic Engineering
- Permitting & Expediting
Related guides
Common questions
How long does a file review take?
Usually a few business days, depending on how quickly the municipality produces records. If you are working against a contract deadline, say so at the outset.
What if the review finds problems?
Then you know before you are committed. Most issues are resolvable — the review tells you which ones, what they take, and roughly what they cost.
Is this the same as a title search?
No, and they do not overlap much. A title search examines ownership, liens and encumbrances. A property file review examines the building department record — permits, sign-offs, certificates, violations, and whether what is physically there was ever approved. A clean title report and a problematic building file routinely coexist on the same property.
Can you review a property I do not own yet?
Yes. The building department record is a public record, and that is the most useful point at which to look at it — before a contract is signed, while the findings can still affect price or terms.