Chris is working on a system that alerts members when their website generates an order.
Right now it is slow, 48 hours before the client gets it emailed to him/her in a pdf. I don’t think we’ll get the report generation any faster than 24 hours as a human being has to do much of the research required.
Anyway… I couldn’t let the Pillar to Post franchise outdo us.
A new update will be live in an hour that asks for a zip code in large cities where there exists more than one zip code so that the report contains more local information. If you type in a large city, it will then help define the area by asking for the zip.
Does or will any of this negative stuff apply to NACHI and or individual inspectors who refer the service?
Cost and quality of reports:
The natural hazards industry is virtually unregulated. Wide differences exist in the quality of information, practices and insurance coverage. In California alone, dozens of companies supply natural hazards disclosure reports. Their cost ranges from $50-$100. Some reports fail to go beyond minimal state-mandated requirements and miss key locally mapped hazards. Others don’t investigate all local, state and federal maps and may not be comprehensive. Some reports may even contain inaccurate information.
Don’t shop for a natural hazards disclosure report based on price. Instead, compare the services of different companies in order to get the most comprehensive and accurate report. Ask for sample reports. If you have any questions, call and ask to speak with the company’s legal department. If you get the run-around, take it as a bad sign. Good natural hazards disclosure providers will:
Base their research on the most up-to-date and detailed local and state information
Base their research on your unique property boundaries—not some random computer icon (i.e. a caricature of a house, star or dot) that does not accurately reflect your property
Clearly outline whether the subject property is in a hazard zone
Give details of the source of information contained in the report
Guarantee the completeness and accuracy of its reports
Carry sufficient “errors and omissions” (E&O) insurance coverage
When you review sample reports, be alert for fine print notices or excessive “legalese” protecting the company from inaccurate or incomplete information. This can be a red flag that companies do not want to stand behind their reports.
In 2005, some of the largest California hazard disclosure firms were sold within months of being sued in a class action lawsuit that exposed them to enormous liability for research errors. Some of those same companies are now operating under different names. To guard against buying an incomplete, inaccurate or uninsured report from a company you haven’t dealt with before, ask how long the company has been in business under the same name and/or ownership. You may be able to double-check this information with the agency in your state that regulates business entities.
Court decisions have made real estate agents and sellers responsible to disclose material facts (situations that affect the value and desirability of a property) and to use “reasonable diligence” in the sources they rely on.
In California, a leading state in real estate disclosure requirements, the Natural Hazard Disclosure Statement (NHDS) requires that sellers or sellers’ agents disclose statewide hazards of potential concern to real estate buyers. The law outlines six required disclosure zones that apply statewide: Special Flood Hazard Areas, Dam Inundation Zones, Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zones, Wildland Fire Hazard Areas, Earthquake Fault Zones and Seismic Hazard Zones. The law also requires that locally mapped hazards affecting the value or desirability of the home be disclosed. Just because the property is not in one of these zones, it is not necessarily exempt from the named hazard.
Good hazard disclosure reports will notify you even if you are within a quarter mile of certain hazard zones. For instance, homeowners that purchased properties that were outside, but close to, mapped landslide zones have suffered serious damages in landslides. One example is the coastal La Conchita area in California’s Ventura County. In early 2005, a massive landslide destroyed 13 homes and killed 10 people along Vista Del Rincon Drive. Not one of the homes destroyed was in a state designated landslide zone, but all of them were within a quarter of a mile of the landslide hazard zone.