Arlington MA home inspection questions and pre-offer checklist

This is general information, not legal advice. Talk to a Massachusetts real estate attorney before you sign anything.

Before you bid on an Arlington house, pull the assessor year-built and building permits history, treat pre-1978 homes as lead-law deals until the transfer packet says otherwise, and ask whether the property is on sewer or septic. A signed Offer to Purchase can bind you before those records are in hand—keep an inspection contingency.

Every house has a catch. In Arlington, the catch on an older single- or two-family often shows up in permit history, a pre-1978 paint file, or a binding Offer to Purchase signed before those records are in hand (McCarthy v. Tobin, 429 Mass. 84).

This guide is a buyer-sided Arlington MA home buyer checklist for houses (and two-families): which town records to pull, what lead and sewer questions to ask, and copy-paste questions to use before you bid. Statewide rules live in the linked pillars — this page adds Arlington-specific places to look.

Why Arlington house paperwork matters

Arlington’s housing stock is older and tilted toward one- and two-unit buildings — the profile where building permits history, lead, and finished-basement questions matter most.

U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey (ACS) 2020–2024 5-year estimates for Arlington CDP, Massachusetts (table B25034, Year Structure Built) report 20,746 housing units, of which 9,774 (47%) were built 1939 or earlier, and 17,803 (86%) were built before 1980 (sum of the 1939-or-earlier through 1970-to-1979 buckets). Treat any listing that may be pre-1978 as a lead-law deal until the assessor year and transfer packet say otherwise.

On building type (ACS B25024, Units in Structure), 7,856 units (38%) are 1-unit detached, 1,532 (7%) are 1-unit attached, and 4,957 (24%) are in 2-unit structures. On tenure (ACS B25003), 61.6% of occupied units are owner-occupied (QuickFacts shows the same 61.6% owner-occupied rate for 2020–2024).

Practical takeaway: an “Arlington MA house before offer” checklist is mostly permits + year built + lead, with zoning and sewer questions that follow from what the public record shows.

Competitive offers: the OTP can bind you before the packet arrives

Greater Boston offer windows are short. In Massachusetts, a signed and accepted Offer to Purchase can bind you before the home inspection, lead inspection window, and permit pull are done. Read Is an Offer to Purchase binding in Massachusetts? before you waive exits to “win.”

Keep, at minimum:

• A real home inspection contingency (see M.G.L. c. 143, § 101 / 760 CMR 74 for covered residential sales — do not treat a waiver as routine advice)
• A lead contingency and notification package on any pre-1978 home
• Clarity on municipal sewer vs private septic before you price capital work

Pair this page with the statewide questions before making an offer list.

Public records to pull before you bid

Do this even on a Saturday open house. None of these replace counsel or a licensed inspector.

1. Assessor card / year built / living area — The Town Assessor’s office publishes online assessment data (Patriot Properties WebPro; see the town’s Assessor page and the town news item announcing WebPro). Confirm year built, living area, style, and use against the listing. For FY2026 the Assessor page states the residential and commercial tax rate is $10.67. A mismatch on year built or finished area is a lead and permit flag, not a curiosity.
2. Building permits history — Arlington Inspectional Services enforces the Commonwealth’s Building, Wiring, Plumbing, and Fuel Gas Codes and the Town’s Zoning Bylaws. Apply and track through Town of Arlington Online Permitting (OpenGov ViewPoint), linked from Inspectional Services for building, electrical, plumbing, gas, signs, demolition, and related permits. Before offering, look for open or recent permits that may mean unfinished renovations, unpermitted work, or a conversion still in progress. The town also posts downloadable Building Permit Activity spreadsheets that separately list 1 or 2 Family Building Permits (Residential) and other-than-1-or-2-family activity by fiscal year — useful context, not a substitute for the address-level portal search. The town’s Look Up hub also points to Property Search and building-permit tools.
3. Lead Safe Homes — Search the state’s Lead Safe Homes tools for Letters of Compliance, Interim Control, or prior inspections. An empty result is not a clean bill of health.
4. Sewer vs septic (ask; do not assume) — Arlington’s town bylaws (Title VIII, Article 3, Section 1) require that every building thereafter erected on a public street, court, or passageway in which there is a public sewer be connected by a good and sufficient particular drain to that sewer, unless the Board of Health orders otherwise. That is a connection rule when public sewer exists — not a claim that every lot is sewered. Before you offer, ask whether the property is on municipal sewer or a private system. If it is septic, use the statewide Title 5 septic before an offer checklist; do not invent local Title 5 timelines the town has not published for you.

Lead paint on Arlington’s older houses

Massachusetts requires the Property Transfer Lead Paint Notification package before a purchase-and-sale agreement on covered pre-1978 homes (M.G.L. c. 111, § 197A). You generally have at least 10 days after notification to conduct a lead inspection if you choose (parties can agree to longer). If a child under six will live in the home after closing, plan for the owner duty under M.G.L. c. 111, § 197. Full detail: Massachusetts lead paint law for buyers.

Local Arlington add-on from the town bylaws (Title VIII, Article 3, Section 5): a Board of Health permit is required for removal of paint by abrasive blasting, including machine sanding, on any interior or exterior surface of a structure in town. That does not replace the statewide transfer packet — it is another reason to ask how any recent exterior or interior paint work was done, and whether it was permitted.

Zoning only as it affects pre-offer questions

Arlington’s Zoning Bylaw is enforced by the Building Inspector (Section 3.1). No person may erect, construct, reconstruct, convert, or alter a structure — or change use, lot coverage, or intensity of use — without applying for and receiving the required permit(s). Residential districts include R0 through R7; the bylaw also defines Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU) and conversion concepts that often appear in older-house listings.

Pre-offer questions (not a zoning opinion):

• What zoning district is the lot in, and does the listed use (single-family, two-family, ADU, finished basement as living area) match what the Assessor and any permits show?
• Were any special permits, variances, or Zoning Board of Appeals decisions issued for this lot?
• If the listing markets an in-law, ADU, or “legal two-family,” where is that written in permits and the Assessor card?

This is not a use-table walkthrough. If the deal depends on expanding, converting, or renting a unit, have counsel and ISD confirm before you treat the marketing language as fact.

If the Arlington listing is a condo instead

Use the statewide packet in Massachusetts condo documents before an offer and the money/risk lens in condo special assessments in Massachusetts. This house-focused page still helps on lead and permits for the building.

Copy-paste questions (listing side)

1. Please confirm the Assessor / WebPro year built, living area, style, and property use for this address, and share a printout of the property record card.
2. Please provide the complete Property Transfer Lead Paint Notification and Certification Form before we sign a P&S, plus every lead inspection, Letter of Compliance, or Letter of Interim Control you have.
3. Have you searched Lead Safe Homes 1.0 and 2.0 for this property? Please share what you found (or confirm no records).
4. Will any child under six live in this home after closing? If yes, what is the plan and timeline for interim control or full compliance after title?
5. We request at least a 10-day lead inspection contingency (or longer as agreed) with a licensed inspector of our choosing, plus a home inspection contingency — please confirm the seller will not require waivers as a condition of considering our offer.
6. Please list open or recent building, electrical, plumbing, and gas permits for this property (including through Arlington Online Permitting / OpenGov), and any known unpermitted work.
7. Is the property connected to municipal sewer or served by a private septic (or other) system? If septic, please provide the most recent Title 5 inspection report and system location sketch.
8. What zoning district is this lot in, and does the Assessor coding match the listed use (single-family, two-family, ADU, or other)?
9. Have any special permits, variances, or Zoning Board of Appeals decisions been issued for this lot? Please share the decision documents.
10. Does the Assessor card match the listing for bedrooms, bathrooms, and finished areas? Which spaces are permitted as living area?
11. For any recent exterior or interior paint removal by machine sanding or abrasive blasting, was a Board of Health paint-removal permit obtained?
12. What parking, storage, yard, or exclusive-use areas convey, and where is that written?

Copy-paste questions (your attorney / buyer’s agent)

13. Given short offer windows, how do we keep OTP language binding-aware without stripping lead, inspection, and (if needed) septic exits?
14. Any red flags in permits, Assessor year built, lead history, or zoning/use coding that change price or whether we bid at all?
15. If the listing implies an ADU, in-law, or two-family conversion, what town records must we see before treating that as real?

How Fyts fits

We are building a Massachusetts catch list so buyers can put the right questions — permits, lead, sewer/septic, contract exits — in front of the offer. Arlington competition does not erase those questions; it makes the list shorter and earlier. See also a worked Arlington house example.

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