Informed Decisions

The key to peace of mind when buying real property in areas where some natural hazards may exist is prior knowledge. If you know the property may be exposed to some natural hazard, you can evaluate and mitigate those hazards. For instance, if you know the property is in an earthquake prone area such as some areas of Southern California, you can have metal straps attached to secure the wooden frame of the home to the concrete foundation. Once you have evaluated the areas of concern, you can take positive steps to lessen the potential for damage or injury.

The Seller of such residential property could go to the public databases and access this information, but the process is confusing and takes no small amount of time and experience. GeoAssurance assembles the information for your report from the various public databases, saving the Seller time and effort.

The broker who represents the Seller of such residential property can satisfy the statutory requirements of the Natural Hazards Disclosure Law by relying on an expert to assemble the relevant information. The Seller's broker can simply order the Natural Hazards Disclosure report from GeoAssurance (customarily at the Seller's cost) and the legal requirements are evidenced by a signed receipt from the Buyer.

The Buyer can then make an informed decision concerning the purchase of the residential property. That informed decision goes a long way toward protecting both the Seller, and the Seller's broker from allegations that the Buyer did not know or could not evaluate both the natural hazards disclosed in the report, and the mitigation steps the Buyer could take to have peace of mind while residing in the real property.

GeoAssurance also provides Professional Services for Attorneys and Engineers.