Real estate professionals and their customers are facing particular challenges as a result of the fight against the coronavirus.
Some communities are continuing to provide inspections for home buyers and renters while others are not.
And when there’s no inspection, there’s no moving into your new home or new apartment rental.
Inspections are required before a home can be sold from one party to another. New tenants may not occupy apartments until inspections take place.
According to area real estate associates, Asbury Park is not providing inspections at present, while Neptune and Bradley Beach have continued to perform them.
Applications for inspections in Neptune must be completed online rather than in person. Applicants then call the township by phone to provide a credit card number for payment.
“With regards to certificates of occupancy and fire inspections at the municipal level, we understand there have been instances of municipalities not issuing these,” New Jersey Realtors, formerly known as the New Jersey Association of Realtors, told its members in an e-mail earlier this week. “If you know of any instances, please let us or your local board know and we will be happy to look into it. The same goes for title and deed searches on the county level.”
Through there are roadblocks posed by the virus fight, home buyers have received some degree of relief as they negotiate the customarily difficult process of obtaining a mortgage loan.
Charles Shulman, vice president of NJ Lenders Corp., said Tuesday evening that federal officials have allowed the use of “appraisal alternatives,” such as drive-by appraisals, to eliminate the need for appraisers to enter properties through May 17, 2020.
“Also, in the event lenders cannot obtain a verbal verification of the borrower’s employment before loan closing, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will permit lenders to obtain verification via an e-mail from the employer, recent year-to-date paystubs from the borrower, or a bank statement showing a recent payroll deposit,” Shulman said.
Title insurance is considered an “essential business” under provisions of a recent state order.
Real estate brokers and associates are continuing to work, many of them from home while offices operate with reduced staffing.
