Look up potential "Natural and Environmental Hazards" in your neighborhood before you buy or sell a home...

Law in the State of California requires that home sellers disclose to home buyers the potential environmental hazards that may affect the property for sale. I find that most home buyers are just excited at the thought of home ownership, and aren't necessarily thinking about this stuff. But it is definitely an important element for buyers to consider when making a decision where to purchase a home.

A resource that buyers can use in advance of starting a home search to locate potential environmental risks is the State of California Emergency Management Agency (CalEMA)'s Hazard Mitigation Portal. At this portal, you can enter an address and use a mapping tool to figure out if the house of your dreams is in or near a flood zone, for example. Or you can enter a zip code and determine what potential hazards an entire neighborhood may face. For example, if you enter my office address (4215 Freeport Blvd, Sacramento, CA 95822), you can see that FEMA maps indicate a potential flood hazard. You can also see that it is not in an Earthquake Fault Zone, not in a Tsunami Hazard Zone, etc. So if a buyer wants to do some research in advance, this is a great tool.

The paragraph (10B) in the current version of the California Residential Purchase Agreement that deals with Natural and Environmental Hazard Disclosures reads, "Within the time specified in paragraph 14A, Seller shall, if required by Law: (i) Deliver to buyer earthquake guide(s) (and questionnaire), environmental hazards booklet, and home energy rating pamphlet; (ii) disclose if the property is located in a Special Flood Hazard Area; Potential Flooding (Inundation) Area; Very High Fire Hazard Zone; State Fire Responsibility Area; Earthquake Fault Zone; and Seismic Hazard Zone; and (iii) disclose any other zone as required by Law and provide any other information required for those zones."

Most sellers will opt to provide a Natural Hazard Disclosure Report -- something Realtors tend to refer to "the NHD." There are a few third party companies that provide them for usually around $75 - $100. Those reports are extremely comprehensive and go well beyond items (i) and (ii) above. There are MANY types of "hazard" zones that are added in that cover item (iii) above as well. Another benefit of obtaining a third party report is most of the companies offer an insurance policy in the event they omit, or misreport a hazard zone. So the seller can shift liability to a third party in many cases...and the buyer has the benefit of a more comprehensive disclosure, as well as the insurance in the event of an omission. So that's generally a win-win.

What are the "other" types of zones? NHD reports cover things like Protected Species and Habitat Zones, Radon Gas Zones, Airport Influence Zones, Naturally Occurring Asbestos Areas, Abandoned Mining Operation Zones, Military Facilities Zones....I could go on and on.

Ultimately, it is important to know what you are buying so you can plan accordingly. It's nearly impossible to find a neighborhood that is free from any and all environmental hazards (this is California, after all!), but you can make an informed decision as to where you purchase your home, and take appropriate steps to protect yourself with additional insurance policies, preventative maintenance to the home, etc.

New Listing - 5420 D Street, (East) Sacramento, CA 95819

Adorable light and bright 2 bedroom, 1 bathroom 1,153sf East Sac home! You will love the updated kitchen with tile counters, dishwasher, and stainless appliances, wood floors, gas fireplace insert, updated bathroom with tub/shower combo, whole house fan, dual pane windows, central heat and air, and recently painted interior and exterior. Backyard offers a lovely brick patio, large yard, and shed. 216sf professionally installed sunroom offers so many possibilities! Short distance to restaurants, shopping, CSUS, K-8 schools, public transportation, the river, and downtown. Don't wait! Offered at $389,500. For more photos and additional information, please visit 5420 D Street, Sacramento, CA 95819.

Selling a Sacramento investment property is a lot different than selling your own home. Part I; Working with your tenants...

Recently I have received a lot of inquiries to list and sell small "investment properties." What's an investment property? An investment property is any rental property - for example, a duplex, triplex or fourplex, or a single family home or condo.

Since property values in Sacramento have increased in the last few years since the bottom of the real estate market, it seems that folks are looking to cash in their chips. The element that is most interesting to me is that most (not all) of the investment property sellers I am speaking with are looking to sell because they don't like being landlords, and rather than roll their equity or sales proceeds into a bigger better investment property via a tax deferred 1031 Exchange, they are just looking to cash out.

Selling an investment property is a lot different than selling your own home. First and foremost, somebody else, a tenant, is likely living in the property. Second, since you don't live there, you may not know much about the property. Third, there are things like deposits, maintenance expenses, utilities, repairs, and rental income to factor into the equation. And fourth, often times the monthly rental income the property produces is an important element in determining value -- not just the property as compared to the sales prices of other recent sales of comparable properties.

Over the next few weeks I will write about the different considerations investment property owners face when selling...

Let's talk about tenants first. A tenant can really make or break your property's sale. An uncooperative tenant can cost a seller thousands of dollars in a sale. For example, are they tidy or messy? Some tenants treat rental property like their own home, are clean and take pride in its appearance, maybe do minor maintenance themselves, and let their landlords know if something is broken and needs fixing. On the other side, I've seen some tenants who are borderline hoarders, their units smell bad, there are dirty clothes and moldy food everywhere, and they haven't cleaned the bathroom in a few years. A new buyer looks at those issues and immediately thinks in terms of potential cleaning and repair costs, and may pass on the property all together or hit you up for a lower price or concessions for repairs. Another thing to consider when selling a property with a tenant: are they going to be cooperative with allowing showings, or not? Some tenants are very understanding, want to make a good impression on their possible future landlord and accommodate showings and access to the property for inspections. Other tenants will feel threatened by the possibility of a new landlord, feel afraid they will be kicked out of their home, and not make the effort to make the unit available on their own accord. Some tenants will insist to be present for showings and sabotage the potential buyer’s impression of the property.

So what do you do when you have a tenant who falls into the problem category? I find the best approach with tenants is complete and total transparency -- do not hide the fact you are planning to sell. Nothing creates more tenant hostility than a landlord who lists a property and the first notice a tenant gets is a seeing a “for sale” sign in the front yard. Communicate with them. Let them know that you want/need to sell and that you want to make the process as easy as possible. Ask to make an appointment with them and meet at their unit - this allows you the chance to talk, and allows you to see the unit. If the unit is messy, offer to have it professionally cleaned for them. Most tenants will jump at the chance to have their unit cleaned for free. If you can afford it, you might offer to incentivise the tenant by offering a temporary reduction in rent in exchange for cooperation with showings while the property is for sale. If you do that, be sure to do it in writing with very clear parameters. Be sure to introduce your Realtor to the tenants and make sure they know how to contact each other. Set clear parameters for arranging showings and access -- like “by appointment with 24 hours notice.” If you need to arrange extended access to a buyer for inspections, maybe offer them some movie tickets in exchange for being away 3-4 hours.

Most tenants do want to help you succeed in your sale and make a smooth transition to the new owner...next week I will talk about disclosures for a rental property since you don’t have first hand knowledge of the potential idiosyncrasies about the property...

I finished a 50k run! I am officially an "Ultra Runner" now...

In my never-ending quest to make sure that my shoes never fit and that my feet never look good in sandals again, I finished my first ultra run this weekend: a 50k! A 50k is approximately 31.07 miles, which is about 5 miles longer than a marathon. Why on earth did I do this? Honestly, I finally caved to peer pressure from my hard core running friends. I have completed several marathons, and they all would joke around and say "oh, it's only 5 more miles!" Whatever. I caved. I participated in the "Jed Smith 50k" which is an annual event by Sacramento's own local Buffalo Chips Running Club. For added fun, my husband also completed it, albeit a little faster than I did. This race was a nice flat local course along the American River Parkway, starting at the La Riviera access and doing a circular loop over by the Sacramento State campus and back. My next big run is another 50k, coming up in May. That one is in Almaden Quicksilver Park in San Jose, and the terrain is mountainous. Yikes!

Excited and honored to be named as a "Five Star Real Estate Agent" in Sacramento!

I am so honored to have been named as a "Five Star Real Estate Agent" in Sacramento for 2015. The Five Star organization does research in metro areas and surveys those who have purchased or sold property. In order to be named a "Five Star Real Estate Agent" in Sacramento, consumers have given me the highest marks for exceptional client satisfaction and service. It's nice to be recognized by my clients and the community. And there is an article in this month's Sacramento Magazine as well. Good stuff!