Buying a house that is in violation of a local setback ordinance?
<p>I am in the process of purchasing a house in Ohio. It has passed inspection/appraisal and we were waiting for closing. The title company ordered a land survey and it was found that the house is over a building line setback by about a foot. The sellers claim they did not know about the encroachment and the house has been sold several times since it was built without issue.  </p>

<p>My question is two fold:</p>

<ol>
<li>What can the sellers do to remedy this and how long would that process take?</li>
<li>If I decide to take possession of this home what kind of risk am I opening myself up to?</li>
</ol>

<p>Finally, if the answer is to confer with a lawyer on this, what should I be looking for? My understanding is that there are lawyers that specialize in property issues. I am just unsure what to plug into google to get what I am looking for.</p>

<p>It would depend on what the local ordinances' history is. If it was legal when the house was built, then it's likely grandfathered unless you try to modify that wall. If the local laws don't have a grandfather clause, or it was always illegal, you can ask the owners to check with the local inspections office to get a variance as mentioned in RonBeyer's comment. </p>

<p>I can't imagine the local inspector ordering a house wall demolished and rebuilt, but I suppose it's possible.</p>

<p>It is possible to buy insurance against such potential problems; if the local authority does decide to make an issue of it, the insurance company will get its lawyers to fight the point, and pay a specified sum in the unlikely event that they both have to fight and lose.</p>

<p>You need to consult a lawyer to avoid the many pitfalls (should the insurance be in your name or the name of whoever owns the house?), but this sounds like a specialised form of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Title_insurance" rel="nofollow noreferrer">title insurance</a>.</p>

real-estate ohio