Roller Coaster

Whoops, here I am! Surfacing from the emotional roller coaster of writing offers, Giants World Series win, election, Sandy and Athena. Not boring, these times we are living in, that's for sure.

Hurricane Sandy has put my last couple of posts about water intrusion into perspective, and then there is the earthquake in Guatamala, and various other enormous challenges people are facing. Construction professionals will be very busy.  So for today we give thanks that our housing and commercial buildings are intact, dry and functional, and send prayers and money to help those who are not so fortunate.

That said, the shadow side of the Bay Areas economic rebound is that competition for desirable properties is fierce. It remains an excellent time to buy (and a terrific time to sell), with the rental market also "hot hot hot", interest rates still at record lows, and prices moving up. Inventory continues to be especially low, and there is a lot of pent up buyer demand. Find a good realtor ( I can help you with that) and believe them when they tell you the time for low balling is long gone. Next post: game plan for success in this market, because all this interesting earth based real estate advice is nice, but home ownership requires actually getting in to escrow.

Natural Hazard Disclosures

Free stock photography

Making an offer or going into contract on a property in California, and especially in San Francisco, your first  major document review will be of the (sometimes an inch thick) property "disclosures".  Some listing agents will request a signed disclosure package be submitted with the offer; in any event the signed document is often due quite early in the contingency period.

Schooner Property

In the rush of putting in an offer, it is easy to skim this dense document without really comprehending what's in it. Fear not! This is one place your agent can really offer value, helping  you to filter the truly property specific information from what is boiler plate legalese, so you'll know what is really important to understand before you commit to a contract and start spending money on inspections. 

Liquefaction Hazard Maps

Of most relevance to this blogger, as your earth based realtor, is the Standardized Natural Hazard Disclosure Report, which details the possible risk of floods, fires, earthquakes, liquifaction, and landslides occurring at the  property. At the risk of sending you to a competitor, here's a link to a nice summary of how to review the Natural Hazards report. When a property is listed, the agent orders this report from one of several companies that search the hazard maps and lists the hazards that are potential issues with that specific property. Also, there is the Combined Hazards Book, which you'll need to review and sign off on during escrow.

Disclosure Booklets

 If you are the kind of person who likes to educate yourself ahead of time, you can look at hazard maps yourself (see links in my past posts re: slope and extreme weather  and also in the resource bar) for the areas you are considering. Ponder your level of comfort with various environmental risks, do a little insurance research, and you'll feel more prepared to make an informed purchase.

Putting Down Roots in Earthquake Country