Starting July 1, 2013, every contract for the sale of residential real property must contain a specified notice regarding gas and hazardous liquid transmission pipelines. This notice informs buyers that the U.S. Department of Transportation maintains the general location of these pipelines through the National Pipeline Mapping System at www.npms.phmsa.dot.gov. This new requirement is a response to the 2010 pipeline explosion in San Bruno and other tragedies that have occurred.
The new pipeline notice provides a valuable shield from liability for sellers and brokers. Delivery of the notice to a buyer will be deemed to be adequate to inform the buyer about the existence of a statewide database for the location of gas and hazardous liquid transmission pipelines, and information from the database regarding those locations. C.A.R. will revise our standard form purchase agreements to comply with this new requirement. Source: Assembly Bill 1511.
In a separate new law to commence on January 1, 2013, a county board of supervisors can adopt by resolution a charge up to $10 as the recording fee for certain real estate instruments. The existing cap on recording fees is $3 per instrument. This new law also expands the types of real estate instruments that may be charged a recording fee, which will include a deed of trust, abstract of judgment, CC&Rs, declaration of homestead, easement, lease, lot line adjustment, mechanics lien, quitclaim deed, notice of default, notice of trustee sale, and others. Exempt from the recording fee requirement, however, is a deed or instrument recorded in connection with a documentary transfer tax as defined, such as a grant deed. Funds collected from recording fees will be placed in a Real Estate Fraud Prosecution Trust Fund to help local law enforcement agencies pursue real estate fraud crimes. Source: Senate Bill 1342. The full text of these legislative bills is available at www.leginfo.ca.gov.