The lack of a certain certificate has been holding up people looking to purchase houses from the Williams County Port Authority, and the authority is looking to change that.
Authority member Sean Rupp said the authority hasn’t been receiving a certificate of occupancy for the houses they build, which is causing problems with loan programs for which buyers are applying.
“Because our inspection process doesn’t have a county or city inspection and certificate of occupancies, we have to just jump through a lot more hoops,” he said. “Our homes qualify for the programs but because we don’t have a certificate of occupancy, we have to take another path through, which is more paperwork.”
Rupp recommended authority members speak to county entities that issue permits and ask them to add certificate of completion or occupancy.
He said it should also help the Williams County Auditor’s Office.
“You pull a permit when you start a project but you don’t put it on the tax books until it’s finished and having something that shows it was finished on this date may be helpful,” Rupp said.
Authority Vice Chair Dawn Fitzcharles said this is a standard document for lending.
This is necessary for new construction, only, and authorities want something saying the house is finished and habitable, Rupp added.
“It’s not a liability issue,” he said. “Most of the mortgage companies and the government aren’t going to come out and inspect it. They want somebody to say ‘It’s done, it’s complete, we’re not financing half a house.’”
Chair Dave Newcomer suggested the board bring it up when meeting with village administrators in March and the board approved that motion.
Separately, the board approved additional insurance coverage for the authority.
“I received back a quote for directors and officers, crime and cyber coverage, it comes in at $820 per year,” Fitzcharles said, adding the proposed coverage period would be for three years. “The total amount would be $2,460 for three years. Our coverage limit would be $1 million. It would not include any employees, obviously, because we don’t have any.”
It would, however, cover contractors and volunteers, she added.
Bill Martin, authority member and president/CFO of Spangler Candy Co., said this was a good deal.
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