Lake Tahoe - Truckee, CA Real Estate for Sale

Tahoe Buyer Disclosures 101

Tahoe Buyer Disclosures 101

Tahoe Buyer Disclosures 101

Congratulations you’ve decided to buy, or sell a Tahoe home or condo.  The sales process is more than fancy brochures, or looking at properties.

What happens when it comes time to make a offer, or when you get an acceptance?  What happens during the contingency period when Buyers should be doing their property investigations and Sellers should be completing and providing their property disclosures?

During the escrow process, Buyers will be informed of specialized conditions that affect the home, or can control the property (recorded rules, restrictions) you wish to purchase. They may include the following:

Lead Paint

Sellers of properties built prior to 1978 have the following obligations to you:

  • Give you a HUD pamphlet entitled “Protect Your Family From Lead in Your Home”
  • Disclose all known lead-based paint and related hazards and provide you with any available reports
  • Include a standardized warning as an attachment to the contract
  • Complete and sign statements verifying that requirements have been met
  • Retain the signed acknowledgement for 3 years
  • In addition, sellers must give you a 10-day opportunity to test for lead

Natural Hazards

California law requires sellers to disclose to you, via a “Natural Hazard Disclosure Statement” or NHD,and  if the property is located in one of six predetermined “natural hazard” zones.   Typically the NHD report is prepared by a third party company and will cover the following:

The six zones are:

  • A flood hazard zone as designated by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)
  • An area of potential flooding after a dam failure (also known as an inundation area)
  • A very high fire hazard zone
  • A wild-land fire area, also known as a state fire responsibility area
  • An earthquake fault zone
  • A seismic hazard zone

If an NHD is delivered to you after you signed the Purchase Agreement, you will have three days to rescind the agreement.

Note:  Often third party NHD reports will not only cover the hazard zones, but will also provide other information on the property as well such as Mello-Roos information, Megan’s law, airport traffic flight patterns, location near industrial areas, methamphetamine reminder, along with other information that is unique to the region, or property location.  Not all NHD reports are the same.  If your Tahoe real estate agent has a preference, you’ll note it in your purchase offer.

Mello-Roos Districts

Especially (but not exclusively) if you are buying a home in a newer area, you may be locating into a Mello-Roos tax district, and the seller must provide to you a “Notice of Special Tax” to let you know. If this notice is delivered to you in person, you have three days to rescind your offer. If it’s delivered via U.S. mail, you have five days to decide.

Basically, a “Mello-Roos Community Facilities District” is formed by a local government, district, or agency to finance public services and facilities including police and fire departments, ambulance and paramedic services, parks, schools, libraries, museums and cultural facilities.

Condominiums , or Planned Unit Development, or Property with a mandatory HOA group

If you’re buying a condominium, townhouse or other planned development (for purposes of this discussion, we will call them all “condominiums”), there are things you need to know about common areas (such as greenbelts and recreational rooms) and the homeowner’s association.

You will be required to make monthly, quarterly, or annual payments, known as regular assessments, to maintain common areas, as well as special assessments to replace a roof or repair the plumbing, as determined by the homeowner’s association (HOA.)

Condominiums also may have regulations regarding architectural requirements, limitations on pets, and age restrictions (i.e., senior housing). These must be formally disclosed to you during escrow. You may receive this information via the following documents, to the extent that they exist and are available:

  • Declaration of Restrictions: Commonly known as “CC&Rs”, or Conditions, Covenants and Restrictions
  • Articles of Incorporation or Articles of Association Bylaws
  • All current financial information and related statements, including operating budget, estimated revenue and expenses, HOA reserves, estimated remaining life of major components (including roofs, plumbing etc.), and regular and special assessments
  • A statement describing the HOA’s policies and practices in enforcing lien rights or other legal remedies for default in payment of its assessments
  • A summary of the HOA’s property, general liability, and earthquake and flood insurance policies
  • On existing HOA’s, a statement describing any restrictions on the basis of age, such as authorized senior citizen housing

Many smaller HOAs will not have all of these documents, but must provide what they do have. We recommend that you review these documents thoroughly, because they will affect you firsthand.

Megan’s Law.

If a registered sex offender lives in the neighborhood in which you want to locate, you have the right to investigate – this is made possible due to a 1996 statute known as “Megan’s Law.” (Note that the seller does not have an obligation to provide this information to you.)

To investigate, you may:

  • Log on to: http://caag.state.ca.us/megan/index.htm
  • Call (900) 448-3000 to access the California Sex Offender Information Database. (There may be a charge to check names by telephone.)
  • Call your local police department to locate a CD-ROM records viewing station.

Local Disclosures.

In addition to the mandatory state disclosures that a seller is required to make to you, there will also be a number of local disclosures that are specific to the property location, or area.

Seller Disclosures:

In addition to these specific topic disclosures, Sellers will complete additional disclosure forms including the Transfer Disclosure Statement (TDS) and Seller Property Questionnaire (SPQ).

These are just a few of the topics and disclosure forms that a Buyer will receive as part of the disclosure process.

Both Buyers and Sellers need help through the entire property sale/purchase process.  If you are a second home Buyer, or Seller, call me and I can help prepare you for a successful transaction.

Need more help in trying to figure out your North Lake Tahoe-Truckee home/condo buying options? 

Do you want more information on the different neighborhoods, HOA fees, home owner amenities, locations, and which ones will best meet your individual needs?  Call me at 530.414.1260 and I can help you find the right place to buy!

Overview and summary completed by:
Laura A. Allen | 530.414.1260  | Laura@TahoeLaura.com
BROKER ASSOCIATE, Tahoe Real Estate Agent
CalRE# 01473598
Coldwell Banker, Tahoe City, CA CalRE#01908304

All information is deemed reliable, but is subject to change, and/or correction without notice.
Buyers and Sellers should investigate and verify all information to their own satisfaction.

Tahoe Buyer Disclosures 101