Sidewalk lien

[namaste524]

Hi everyone,

I am appraising a SFR in Queens that has a sidewalk lien. Never encountered this before so not sure how to address it. It could be an obsolescence with a cost to cure. Or a potential safety hazard subject to repair. While I don't want to be unduly cautious I don't want to incur any liability either. Has anyone dealt with this issue before?

TIA

 

[residentialguy]

Take this with a grain of salt...I am not from NYC

Sounds to me like a cost to cure issue. This is probably a city issue. I would imagine the home owner would have to take out a permit, fix it and have it finaled to remove the lien. I would imagine that this sticks with the property, so the buyer would have to fix it. If they don't, my guess is that the city will repair it and send the HO the bill.

Hopefully someone from NY will come along shortly to verify or tell me I'm an idiot. You have to expect that from New Yorkers

 

[Tony V]

Nats..

As you know, I don't do the city thing or Nassau for that matter..However,

I think that you would handle it with a cost to cure, however I would contact the client and see how they would like to handle it..


Sidewalk Lien: (NYC only) Placed on a property by the Dept of Sanitation when there is damage to the sidewalk that needs to be repaired. Lien is removed after repairs have been done and the city has inspected the repairs.

The 1st link is to the NYC FAQ'S about the process
The 2nd is to a blog about the process and what one person went thru
The 3rd is a company that will represent you in handling it..(they may have some good info if you drop a quarter)

http://www.nyc.gov/html/dot/html/faqs/sidewalkfaqs.shtml

http://www.brownstoner.com/forum-archive/2009/06/how-to-clear-a/

http://newyorkcitysidewalks.com/


Resiguy...I'll leave the idiot calling to your favorite forum member out there..

 

[Tim The Enchanter]

Sounds like cost to cure to me too.

I'm amazed they force a private property owner to pay for repairs to public infrastructure. :Eyecrazy:

I'm surprised the brainiacs at LA City Hall haven't pointed out the example of NYC. I guess that would make a problem for their plan to spend 3 years and $10 Mil on a study. Idiots. m2:

 

[HF Mudd]

Frequently, the sidwalk lien is placed on the subject property AFTER the sidewalk has been repaired by the city. In NYC, homeowners are responsible for maintaining the sidewalks in front of or on the side of (for corner lots) their properties. The lien is usually placed on the property after the homeowner ignores requests for payment and the city has made a repair. The lien must be satisfied in order for the property to transfer.

 

[KONA]

Coming to a city near you. In Los Angeles, this is about to happen. Its just a matter of time.

 

[Tim The Enchanter]

Coming to a city near you. In Los Angeles, this is about to happen. Its just a matter of time.

Apparently it's already state law.

http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/cgi-bin/displaycode?section=shc&group=05001-06000&file=5610-5618

But that's not how it's being done in LA. My area is a patchwork. Some blocks have curbs and sidewalks, some only have curbs, some have neither. Are they going to require the people with no curbs or sidewalks to install them on their dime?

 

[Sid Holderly]

Sidewalks are generally a homeowners to maintain. Some exceptions might be those along a State or Federal highways where walking and or bike trials are required by law. When subdivision lots are developed, most must have sidewalks. Many rural subdivisions do not require sidewalks, especially those with larger lots. If there is a homeowners association it might maintain them with HOA fees. If there is no HOA the lot owner must maintain them. This is common in the Midwest. Get a copy of your local zoning and subdivision code (reading it will not keep you awake, but has lots of appraisers useful data).

 

[Stone]

Are they going to require the people with no curbs or sidewalks to install them on their dime?

Of course, this is done differently in different areas but...

In areas where they decide sidewalks are necessary, they do frequently install them at a cost to the owners. It is usually something that is done with input from the people in the area that will be impacted, but yes it is done on the homeowners' dime. Would it be better to expect people living across town who will never use the sidewalk to pay for it?

I lived on a corner lot in the city in an area without sidewalks or curb/gutter. Not only would it have been expensive if that changed (two frontages) but it would have pout a sidewalk within a few feet of our house and a bedroom. Yuck. I looked at the city's planning information and found that there were no planned projects in our area when we bought our place. At one point there was a mailing for a meeting about possibly putting them in but the neighborhood was generally against it and it went away. They still aren't there a decade later. Had they gone in it would have definitely been on us to pay for it...but I don't see how someone living across the city should have been on the hook for it. When the city pays for something, it isn't like the money just comes out of nowhere.

 

[residentialguy]

it isn't like the money just comes out of nowhere.

Just print some more and raise the debt ceiling :new_multi: