Was it really this easy to get a CO in NJ in the 1960s?...

One of the final components to final close on a sale is the issuance of the town's CO or Certificate of Occupancy, ensuring the home is cleared for occupancy for the new owner. Some towns only issue a Fire Certificate, required for the Smoke and CO detectors to be operable, while other towns can be stricter, sometimes requiring home repairs prior to issuing the certificate.

My grandma once told me a hilarious story of when she was selling her home and needed to get the CO, and it made me think about the lengths people would go to in order to get the deal done.... 

It was 1966, and my grandma was in the middle of selling her home in Newark. She and her family had been living in what could generously be called an “illegal” two-family home and now she needed a Certificate of Occupancy to make the sale official.

When the inspector arrived, he dropped the bomb: they needed to perform a list of repairs, including removing the stove from the second-floor unit. Problem was, the buyers were purchasing it as a two-family home, so… yeah,the list of alterations would've been a dealbreaker.

But my grandma with her shiny blonde hair, tan skin, and striking green eyes had a plan. With one dazzling gaze, she looked him dead in the eye and promised, “You can come back later to take me out, if you hand over that CO right now. I promise I'll take out the stove.”

Apparently, the inspector liked both the plan and the promise because he handed over the certificate with a smile and a wave, saying he’d be back later. And just like that, the CO was hers.

Fast-forward to 6:00 PM. A sharp knock on the door startled my grandma, who was watching TV with her boyfriend.

“Duck! Duck!" she hissed. Her boyfriend, completely bewildered, dove under the shag carpet while she peeked through the curtains. They waited, tense and quiet, for the knocking to stop.

Finally, she sat up, brushing herself off. “Joan, who the hell was that?” he asked.

“Oh, that was just some guy trying to sell me something earlier,” she said casually. “And, by the way… I got the CO today!”

I don't think I can legally condone this behavior in order to get the CO from the town, but what lengths would YOU go to do so? ... Haha.