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What should a Leonia home buyer verify after searching with ChatGPT?
Short answer: A chatbot such as ChatGPT can help you build a list of Leonia homes and questions, but its answers can be out of date or wrong. Before you make an offer, verify five things from the source: listing status, property taxes, association charges, flood zone, and the borough resale requirements.
Updated October 31, 2026.
It has happened:
"Yes, during a home inspection on a Leonia sale. The buyers were running the inspection through an AI overview, and it kept generating more questions. None of them were wrong exactly, but they were generic. They did not account for the age of the house, the condition it was in or the situation the buyers were actually in. And the tool never sorted the small items from the ones worth negotiating over. So the buyers carried all of it as worry, instead of bringing the report to me or their attorney and asking which items mattered. That is the gap. A chatbot can give you a list. It cannot tell you what to do with it for this house, in this town, in this deal."
Scott Selleck
1. Listing Status and Price
A chatbot may show a home that is already under contract or sold, or an old price. Confirm the current status and price with the listing agent or through a licensed agent with MLS access before you plan a showing.
2. Property Taxes
Do not rely on a tax number from a chatbot. Ask the Borough of Leonia Tax Collector or Tax Assessor (201-592-5780; Tax Assessor ext. 226) for the current assessment and tax bill on the specific property, and ask your attorney or CPA what the figure means for you. This guide gives no tax figures.
3. Association Charges and Rules
For a condominium or townhome, ask for the monthly common charge, what it covers, and whether any special assessment is approved or pending. Get the answers in writing from the association or the listing agent.
4. Flood Zone
Look up the address on the FEMA Flood Map Service Center. Then ask a licensed insurance agent what coverage the property needs and what it costs. This guide gives no insurance figures.
5. Borough Resale Requirements and Open Permits
Ask the Leonia Building Department (201-592-5780, ext. 253) what certificate the seller needs before closing and whether any permit on the property is open. Your attorney can confirm how this fits the contract.
The one buyers skip most:
"The condo or co-op financials. Buyers verify the price and the taxes because those are numbers they can look up. What they skip is reading the association's financials and understanding how the building is being managed. Are reserves funded, what has the board deferred, what is coming? If you skip that, you can end up paying a large special assessment over years, when a buyer who read the documents would have negotiated for the seller to cover it at closing. The chatbot will not read the financials for you. Your agent and your attorney will."
Scott Selleck
How to Use a Chatbot Well
- Use it to list questions, not to answer them.
- Ask it for its sources, then open them yourself.
- Never share account numbers, wire instructions or passwords with it.
How I use it myself:
"I use AI every day. It drafts, it organizes data, it helps me explain a topic faster than I could type it. I do not let it make a judgment call for a client. Pricing, condition, what a town will require at resale, whether a building is a good risk: those come from the source documents and from doing this in these towns since 1993. The line is simple. If a client is going to act on it, I verified it myself. And I tell clients when AI helped me build something, because they should know how the work was done."
Scott Selleck
Check It Yourself
- Flood maps. FEMA Flood Map Service Center.
- County record. Bergen County Clerk land records search for recorded deeds and mortgages.
- Agent license. NJ DOBI licensee search. Mine is #9236275.
Questions and Answers
Q: Can I trust a chatbot's property tax figure? A: No. Confirm the current assessment and tax bill with the Borough of Leonia Tax Assessor or Tax Collector.
Q: How do I check a Leonia address for flood zone? A: Look it up on the FEMA Flood Map Service Center, then ask a licensed insurance agent about coverage.
Q: Who tells me about open permits on a Leonia home? A: The Leonia Building Department at 201-592-5780, ext. 253. Your attorney can confirm how the answer fits the contract.
Meet with Me
Found a Leonia home online? Meet with Me or ask me a question anytime at delphi.co/scottselleck.
Cell: (201) 970-3960 | Office: (201) 592-8900
About the author. Scott Selleck, Broker Sales Associate, The Selleck Group, KW City Views Realty (NJ) and Keller Williams Boca Raton Realty (FL). Licensed since 1993. Over 500 transactions closed.
Disclaimer: This article is general information only and is not legal, tax, insurance or financial advice. Review the steps here with your CPA or attorney before acting on them.
NJ License #9236275 KW City Views Realty | FL License #SL3588731 Keller Williams Boca Raton Realty | Equal Housing Opportunity
Sources
- FEMA Flood Map Service Center: https://msc.fema.gov/portal/home
- Bergen County Clerk, land records public search: https://bclrs.co.bergen.nj.us/landrecords/
- NJ Department of Banking and Insurance, licensee search: https://www.nj.gov/dobi/licenseesearch/licsearch.htm
- Borough of Leonia, Building Department and Employee Directory pages, checked Oct 27, 2026: https://www.leonianj.gov/borough-government/borough-departments/building-department and https://www.leonianj.gov/borough-government/employee-directory (201-592-5780 is the Borough Hall main line; Building Dept. ext. 253; Tax Assessor ext. 226)
