Author: Florence Steinberg

Gas Piping Inspection Certification, Signed and Sealed by the LMP

Florence Steinberg
Gas Piping Inspection

Pursuant to local law passed in 2016 (a lifetime ago in these challenging COVID times), all buildings except those classified in occupancy group R-3 must have their gas piping inspected. Upon completion, the LMP submits to DOB a gas piping inspection certification signed and sealed by them.

Before you select your LMP, check their license status and disciplinary and voluntary surrender records using the tool. For professional assistance, contact NYC Gas Piping Inspection.

As a building owner, you rely on gas to power your heating systems and appliances. It’s an efficient and affordable power solution, but it can be dangerous if pipes corrode or if there are leaks or connections to the utility line that are improperly installed. To ensure that your tenants and employees are safe, it’s important to schedule regular inspections of the exposed gas piping at your property.

Fortunately, the Department of Buildings, or DOB, has made it easier than ever for building owners to comply with new gas piping safety rules. These rules, outlined in Local Law 152, require that all NYC buildings have their exposed gas piping systems inspected on a four-year schedule. Only a licensed master plumber (LMP) or certain individuals with the right qualifications working under an LMP may perform these inspections. Within 30 days of an inspection, the LMP must submit a GPS1 report to the building owner. Then, within 60 days of the inspection, the LMP must file a GPS2 certification with DOB.

These inspections are a crucial step to keeping your gas lines up to code, and you must follow the rules strictly in order to avoid costly fines. If your inspection finds unsafe conditions, the inspector will notify the building owner, the utility company, and DOB.

To avoid the stress of a failed inspection, it’s best to make the inspection a priority and schedule it ahead of time. However, you should never have an inspection conducted more than 60 days in advance of the official due date, which can be found on your certificate of occupancy.

Additionally, if you’re planning on moving into a new building, you’ll need to have the gas piping inspection completed before the DOB issues your temporary or final Certificate of Occupancy. If you have any questions about your inspection schedule or other compliance requirements, FirstService Residential can help! We have a team of experienced compliance specialists ready to assist you. Contact us today to get started.

Find a Licensed Master Plumber (LMP).

Local Law 152 requires all NYC buildings to have their gas piping systems inspected by a licensed master plumber (LMP) or by a qualified individual working under the direct supervision of an LMP. The inspections must be performed on a four-year schedule. The inspector will complete and deliver to the building owner a Gas Piping System Periodic Inspection Report (GPS1) after each inspection. The owner will then submit a GPS2 to DOB via the department’s online submission portal within 60 days of the LMP conducting the inspection.

When choosing a contractor, it is important to choose a company that is reputable and has been in business for at least a decade. It is also a good idea to review the company’s background and qualifications, including prior jobs, certifications, and licensing information. The Department of Buildings (DOB) offers a License Search tool that can help you find a company and see if they are properly licensed, have an active permit, and have no history of disciplinary action or voluntary surrender of a license.

If the inspection reveals any conditions requiring correction, the LMP must immediately notify the utility providing gas service to your building and DOB. The LMP must also provide a copy of the inspection report to each tenant whose space is affected by the unsafe condition(s) or if the condition(s) affect the safe operation of combustible appliances.

There are many companies that offer these services. We recommend using a reputable, established, and vetted LMP. If possible, use an LMP that has performed these inspections in your building before or at other buildings in your neighborhood.

A reputable LMP will also maintain an active, valid NYC plumbing license and be up-to-date on current knowledge of city code requirements, best practices, new rules and regulations, and industry developments. It is important to avoid companies that change their names frequently, as this may be a red flag of insolvency or shady business practices.

Note that a firm that covers other subsurface plumbing firms under the same or similar name is not considered a separate LMP and may not be eligible for the Local Law 152 discounted rate. This is important because the company covering other firms is not on the job sites, has no control over the work being done, and does not know the status of the subsurface plumbing in each building they are servicing.

Pay the inspection fee.

As the building owner, you are responsible for ensuring that your property’s gas piping is inspected and up to code by a qualified vendor. After the inspection is completed, you will receive an inspection certificate from the inspector that must be filed with the Department of Buildings within 60 days of the inspection date. If you don’t file the certificate within that timeframe, you will need to pay another fee for a new inspection, and your current certification will expire.

The inspection is required in buildings with exposed gas piping, including boiler rooms and other mechanical spaces, amenity and common areas, and any public-accessible space that contains a gas utilization appliance. The inspection includes a visual inspection of the gas piping for atmospheric corrosion and a test with a portable combustible gas detector to detect leaks of combustible gases. The inspection also requires that all combustible gas appliances be tested for safety.

You must hire a qualified vendor who is certified to conduct the inspection, including a licensed master plumber (LMP) or a qualified individual working under their direct supervision. The inspector will provide the building owner with a GPS1 report within 30 days of the inspection, which will include a list of unsafe conditions that need to be corrected, such as frayed or worn piping components that affect safe and reliable operation, non-code-compliant installations or illegal connections, the detection of combustible gas, and more.

After the GPS1 is complete, you will have 60 days to submit it to the DOB through a city portal. If there are any corrections that need to be made, you have 120 days to make them, and an additional 180-day extension can be requested if necessary.

Earlier this year, the New York City Council passed two bills that affected compliance with Local Law 152’s gas piping inspection requirement. The new laws give buildings with inspections due in 2021 a reprieve by extending the deadlines for filing and correcting deficiencies. The new rules also require that buildings without gas piping have a certified letter from a registered design professional stating that the building does not contain a gas piping system and must file this certificate every four years by the end of the applicable inspection window based on their community district.

Get the inspection report.

Pursuant to Local Law 152 of 2016 (a lifetime ago in these COVID-19 times), most buildings with gas piping systems must be inspected by a Licensed Master Plumber or a qualified individual working under the direct supervision of a LMP at least every four years. This includes all buildings with public spaces, hallways, corridors, and boiler rooms that contain gas piping or gas utilization equipment. However, it does not include piping within apartments.

During the inspection, your LMP will be looking for unsafe conditions like frayed or worn piping components that could affect the safe operation of the system, illegal connections, and non-code-compliant installations or repairs. Additionally, they’ll need to verify that portable combustible gas detectors are installed in the building.

After the inspection, your LMP will send you a Gas Piping System Periodic Inspection Report (GPS1) outlining any issues that need to be corrected. You have 30 days to provide these repairs and file a GPS2 report with the DOB or risk being fined by the city.

Once you have all of the necessary documentation in place, submit your GPS2 report to the DOB through their online submission portal located on their website. This report must be signed and sealed by the same LMP who performed the original inspection, even if you need to have additional work completed.

It is important to note that it is not acceptable to submit an inspection certification more than 60 days before the official due date, which will vary depending on your community district. You can determine your community district by visiting the Department of City Planning’s website and searching for your address.

The purpose of this requirement is to ensure that the gas piping in all buildings, including those with apartment tenants, is free from leaks and other safety hazards. By conducting a professional and thorough inspection, your building’s gas piping will remain safe for all its occupants.

Avoiding the Disadvantages of Home Buying

Florence Steinberg
home buying

One of the most critical steps in home buying is the negotiation stage. Knowing what you want to buy, how much you have to pay, how much your mortgage rate is, and what other costs are involved in a particular house when you are shopping around for one will help you greatly negotiate your home for sale. An excellent negotiation tool to have in this phase is a real estate agent. These professionals at We Buy Cash can act as your representative and help you get the best deal for your home. They can also let you know what your rights are regarding house selling and what can be negotiated before you even step foot into a house.

The next step you should take is to find a good home buyer. You can do this by talking to the person you spoke to about your home buying hopes, the mortgage lender, and even with a real estate agent. You can use this part of the book to familiarize yourself with various business professionals that you will come across in the home buying process as well. The person you choose to purchase your home should not only have the ability to make you feel comfortable with them but also help you understand what is going on.

When buying a house for sale, you will need to know if you are dealing with an agent or a seller. There are benefits to both when it comes to purchasing a home. An agent can assist you with information regarding the property, making your needs clear, and showing you houses that are comparable to your own in price. However, this comes at a cost. An agent will require upfront fees and usually requires a percentage (sometimes up to 20%) of the final selling price as their commission.

On the other hand, a seller may present a more difficult home buying process but will also require no upfront fees and will almost always have horses available that are close to your financial situation. Because of this, it’s often a better idea to work with a seller. You will almost always find that they are willing to work with you to ensure that you are completely satisfied with your decision. As long as you are aware of their processes and practices.

The main reason to work with a real estate agent or broker when you’re looking to buy a home is that they will have access to a large variety of houses. This makes the buying process much easier. Real estate agents will also have the knowledge and resources to find the home buyers market. They may be able to locate potential buyers that you may have previously not been able to locate. In addition, they will be able to make your home buying process as painless as possible. As a result, you may want to consider working with a home buyer rather than an agent.

On the other hand, working with a real estate agent will allow you to have a few different options available to you. For example, the agent can help you negotiate with the seller to get a price that is lower than what you initially thought was acceptable. Additionally, the real estate agent can also help you select from among the various homes that the buyer is interested in.

It’s important to note that while the real estate agent may assist in the home inspection and negotiating of the contract, you’ll still need to do the legwork on your own. The reason for this is that there will likely be items in your home that the home inspector finds that you did not see. In addition, you will most likely have a good idea of the repairs that will need to be made prior to moving into the house. Therefore, you’ll need to be able to arrange financing to pay for those repairs before you move in.

While a home inspection can be beneficial to your buying process, it may not be necessary at the closing stage of the process. In fact, some experts will suggest that you skip the home inspection and purchase without the sale. This is especially true if you are looking to purchase a new home rather than an established home. Many new home owners enter into deals without the inspection because they believe that since the home has been inspected previously, there is no reason that the inspector should be done again. However, in order to ensure that you purchase a home that meets your needs without having to go through the expense of a home inspection, you should purchase a pre-sold home.

Tips For Finding Good Automated Platform for Your Properties

Florence Steinberg

An essential facet of the growth of this short stay property platform is the growth in the use of Airbnb Management Solutions. A business that provides these sorts of services is called a ‘service platform,’ and there are currently a handful of these businesses. Companies providing these sorts of services are not limited to a geographic region. Any city in the world can have an Airbnb Management Company – and it helps if the city has an active culture of traveler-friendly accommodation and good connections to the relevant resources (air travel, for instance). These companies are rapidly gaining momentum.

Airbnb

An essential aspect of how Airbnb Management Dallas works is that it takes care of all the nitty-gritty issues when taking short-term rentals. For example, check-ins, clean-outs, check-outs, reservation status, security, tracking and maintenance, refunds, and deposits. We are not necessarily talking about a hotel management service, mainly concerned with reservations, booking rooms, and marketing. However, the term short-term let’s cover any let (owners can also set restrictions on how many people can stay at one time), be it a bed and breakfast, a vacation apartment, a small house, a studio apartment, a duplex, a row of flats, a condominium, a housing unit, a mobile home, a bungalow or a villa.

It is worth distinguishing between these types of accommodations. When people take short-term leases, they do so as a means of renting their home (typically) on a temporary basis, and while this is indeed convenient it is not sustainable. Most homeowners will not be able to take out loans large enough to sustain the expense of renting out a property for a significant length of time. For these reasons, most real estate professionals recommend that homeowners set up some type of a property management software system that automatically charges for their short-term vacation rental, as well as collecting and paying various fees and dues. As well, many property management software systems have a feature that allows a tenant to make their payment online using their credit card, or they can charge a per visit fee.

On the other hand, many property owners have chosen to take the ‘uberchain’ approach. This is where they allow a number of renters to rent from them via an ‘app’. When guest books a stay at their property through the app, the owner has to pay for the booking through the app. They can also charge per night, per week or per month. The advantage to this system is that a property owner can take care of all the necessary accounting details and the advertising part while the guests pay by the night or by the week.

Many people who rent homes on the Internet have the wrong idea in the first place. Real estate professionals often tell potential tenants that they need to have multiple accounts for selling and renting out properties. In fact, it is not only common sense; it is also a legal requirement. It is recommended that buyers and sellers to maintain separate accounts for different transactions. This is especially true when it comes to renting properties.

If you are going to sign up with an Airbnb Management Company, you should know that most hosts automatically set up multiple profiles, which means that every time someone rents a unit or stays at a property through your services, they will be connected to your social media profiles. The problem here is that it may very well open you up to having your identity stolen by someone pretending to be a host. Therefore, before signing up for the service, make sure that the hosts you choose to work with have set up multiple accounts.

Finally, you should consider how easy it is for you to contact the hosts directly. You want hosts to be able to reach you quickly so that they can get your immediate attention. One way to make this easier for you is to use automated property management software solutions. These solutions will ensure that your communication is kept as simple as possible because of the automation that these tools provide.

Overall, it can be difficult to be a landlord or business owner. It can be even harder when you have multiple properties. However, if you plan on expanding your business and looking into new markets, you should take the time to look into the wonders of automation. Using automated property management software solutions is one way to reduce the hassle and stress associated with maintaining so many different accounts and profiles.

Tips on How to Buy Homes in Any Conditions

Florence Steinberg

We buy homes for a variety of reasons. Some of those reasons relate to investment, while others relate to owning a home that we need for security. It is interesting how quickly and how easily people come to regret making these decisions. These decisions are often not made until a buyer has already failed to pay the bill and is facing foreclosure. Here are some tips on what to look for when buying a home.

The first thing that we will need to do is identify the problem. There are many different things that we as home buyers can do to avoid problems in the future. We can usually provide a list of the services that we want. We Buy Homes helps people reach more of their potential by offering advice on money management, budgeting, and other aspects of homeownership. Don’t wait too long to get this valuable advice.

We as consumers can protect ourselves from financial hardship if we decide to purchase a home to purchase a homeowner’s insurance policy. The cost of this type of policy should not put anyone off, as it does not usually cost that much. It is an important aspect of owning a home because it helps pay the monthly mortgage amount on time. Don’t forget to check out the details of the policy to understand exactly what you are purchasing. Many policies provide coverage for routine maintenance that can be quite expensive.

In terms of the actual physical structure, it is important to evaluate what repairs and maintenance might be necessary. This will vary according to the age and condition of the home, so it is up to the buyer to weigh the pros and cons of any renovation or remodeling project. The more expensive projects may require the assistance of a contractor, which can add quite a bit to the final cost of the home.

One aspect that we hear a lot about, yet seldom actually experience, is that many homeowners who buy homes in “desirable” areas are paying too much for their homes. If you are looking to buy a home in a neighborhood that has seen an increase in property values, there are some tips that you can use to help you determine the value of your home. Visit the assessor’s office for the town in question. If the values have increased, there is likely to be an increase in value for homes within the surrounding area.

Homeowners who are selling their homes are probably feeling quite anxious about the prospects of recouping any amount that they have paid in mortgage interest. That is why they need to list their home at a price that will entice buyers. Do your research. Ensure that the asking price is reasonable and ensure that no red flags indicate to potential buyers that the home is likely to be difficult to sell. While many homebuyers pay top dollar for homes, there are also a select group of savvy buyers who will not pay anything more than a fair market price for a desirable home.

We buy homes from people who know their stuff and want to get rid of the current mess to make room for a cleaner, more attractive home. For example, we often buy homes located next to attractive parks and schools. Why? Because those properties are usually maintained by owners who want to entice buyers to move in. This means that they are less likely to attract burglars or vandals and are more likely to be protected by homeowners insurance.

Another tip we give buyers is to look for homes within walking distance to grocery stores or other local businesses. Many buyers are motivated to buy homes close to their place of employment to easily access the groceries or other local needs that they need daily. However, if your home does not offer easy access to a local store, it may be better to pay a little more than you have for a home in a nice neighborhood. The peace that comes with owning your own home is something that we should all take advantage of.