Natural Hazard Disclosure Report Improvements

HomeGuard Inc has made some changes to our Natural Hazard Disclosure (NHD) Reports. See what’s been changed below and see our NHD Sample Report.

New or improved Natural Hazard Disclosures or Advisories

Item 1 – Water Conserving Plumbing Fixture Advisory (new October 2016): See page 13 of sample

Senate Bill 407 establishes requirements for residential and commercial real property built and available for use on or before January 1, 1994, for replacing plumbing fixtures that are not water conserving. The law requires all single-family homes to have all noncompliant plumbing fixtures retrofitted with more efficient models by 2017, and applies for any current remodels or home alterations. The law also requires, beginning Jan. 1, 2017, that a seller or transferor of most types of real property to disclose to a purchaser or transferee, in writing, the requirements for replacing plumbing fixtures and whether their real property includes noncompliant plumbing. This law also applies to commercial property beginning in 2019.

For more information, please visit: http://saveourwater.com/

Item 2: Homeowners Flood Insurance Affordability Act of 2014

In 1968, Congress created the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) providing a means for property owners to protect themselves financially from flood events. The NFIP offers flood insurance to homeowners, renters and business owners if their community participates in the NFIP. Participating communities agree to adopt and enforce floodplain management ordinances that meet or exceed FEMA requirements. The National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) is in the process of implementing Congressionally mandated reforms required by the Homeowner Flood Insurance Affordability Act of 2014 that repeal and modify the Biggert-Waters Flood Insurance Reform Act of 2012. Flood insurance rates are increasing due to many factors. FEMA, which backs flood insurance, has experienced extraordinary expenses dealing with natural disasters. Under 2014 Flood Insurance Affordability amendments, homeowners who are required to carry flood insurance are likely to see premiums costs increase 15% to 25%. Owners of non-residential property are likely to see premiums rise 25%. Policyholders who have questions about their flood insurance policies should contact their insurance agent.

For more information, please visit https://www.floodsmart.gov/floodsmart/

Item 3: Flood Disaster Insurance Disclosure

The transferor must notify the transferee in writing on a document about the requirement to obtain and maintain flood insurance in accordance with applicable Federal law in situations where the owner received Federal flood disaster assistance. Failure to notify the transferee means that in the event the transferee fails to maintain the required flood insurance and the property is damaged by a flood disaster requiring Federal disaster relief, the transferor will be required to reimburse the Federal government.

Item 4: 200-year flood zone.

The BAM floodplains identify potential flood risks that may warrant further studies or analyses for land use decisions. Senate Bill 5 (SB 5), which was enacted in 2007, authorized the California Department of Water Resources (DWR) to develop the Best Available Maps (BAM) displaying 100-year and 200-year floodplains for areas located within the Sacramento-San Joaquin (SAC-SJ) Valley watershed. SB 5 requires that these maps contain the best available information on flood hazards and be provided to cities and counties in the SAC-SJ Valley watershed. This effort was completed by DWR in 2008. DWR has expanded the BAM to cover all counties in the State and to include 500- year floodplains. The California Department of Water Resources (DWR) has updated the Best Available Maps to display the latest floodplains in a web viewer located at http://gis.bam.water.ca.gov/bam/. This additional flood information is included in County and City-level disclosures in this report as local jurisdictions begin to include the zones when their General Plans are updated.

Item 5 – California Drought Advisory (added December 2015):

A drought is a period of drier-than-normal conditions that results in water-related problems. When rainfall is less than normal for several weeks, months, or years, the flow of streams and rivers can decline. Water levels in lakes and reservoirs could fall, and the depth to water in wells can increase. If dry weather persists and water-supply problems develop, the dry period can become a drought. California is prone to droughts which can have profound effects to the economy and lifestyles. Prolonged drought could increase the cost of living and have negative impacts on daily life. Other impacts include lower groundwater tables and land subsidence. Land subsidence is a gradual settling or sudden sinking of the Earth’s surface owing to subsurface movement of earth materials. Excessive groundwater pumping and aquifer depletion can cause land to sink, which can cause permanent loss of groundwater storage in the aquifer system and infrastructure damage. In coastal communities, the reversal of natural groundwater flows to the ocean as a result of groundwater pumping can cause seawater to enter the aquifer system. Seawater intrusion compromises groundwater quality and can be a costly problem to manage. For more information, please follow the links provided below:

California Water Conservation: http://saveourwater.com/
Where Does My Water Come From?: http://www.watereducation.org/where-does-my-water-come
Groundwater Information Center: http://www.water.ca.gov/groundwater/MAP_APP/
Reservoir Storage Information: http://cdec.water.ca.gov/cgi-progs/reservoirs/RES

Item 6– Improved Naturally Occurring Asbestos Disclosure (improved October 2016):

Naturally Occurring Asbestos Disclosure: The subject property is: Not located in a zone of ultramafic rock more likely to contain naturally occurring asbestos. Zone Explanations: Ultramafic rocks are dunite, peridotite, pyroxenite, and less common in California, hornblendite. Ultramafic rocks form in high temperature environments well below the surface of the earth. By the time they are exposed at the surface by uplift and erosion, ultramafic rocks may be partially to completely altered to serpentinite, a type of metamorphic rock. Sometimes the metamorphic conditions are right for the formation of chrysotile asbestos or tremolite-actinolite asbestos in bodies of ultramafic rock or along their boundaries. The State has produced detailed maps or naturally occurring asbestos for western El Dorado, Placer, and eastern Sacramento Counties. Reports prepared by HomeGuard for those counties make use of the referenced maps. For other counties in California, HomeGuard uses Open File Report 2005-1305, preliminary integrated geologic map database to disclose serpentinite and peridotite rock outcrops.

HomeGuard Inc Natural Hazard Disclosure Reports

HomeGuard strives to provide informative and useful home inspections, termite inspections, roof inspections, and Natural Hazard Disclosure Reports to our customers in a timely and professional manner. If you are thinking about a home purchase or you’re a realtor in Northern California connect with HomeGuard Inc and find the trained professionals you need at our offices throughout Northern California. Call 855-331-1900 or contact us online today!