Retrofit Rip Offs Los Angeles Residential Property Report 9a

Retrofit Rip Offs! What do I mean by the term Rip Off? As part of the Los Angeles Residential Property Report 9a application, Home Sellers in Los Angeles are required to declare that they have made certain required retrofits to their home prior to selling their home. There are only 6 items that are required under this regulation and many times the Home Seller or their real estate agent will hire a Retrofit Company to come inspect the property.

These Retrofit Companies often add items that are not part of the 6 item list required by the city of Los Angeles Department of Building and Safety. These Retrofit Companies will try and hold sellers hostage by not signing the Department of Water and Power’s Certificate of Compliance over items not related to the Certificate of compliance. They will not give a clearance on their report unless you pay for and make the corrections they demand.  What compounds all this is that Real Estate agents mistakenly believe that hiring a retrofit company is mandatory.

This all boils down to Home Sellers believing these retrofit companies have the power to issue a “Clearance” which is not true.  The Retrofit companies can inspect and report.  If they find any of the 6 items required by the city do not comply, they can indicate what the correction may entail, but items not required by the city should not be part of the report with one exception.  The state does require water heaters to be strapped and braced for earthquake safety, but this 7th item should be the only item added on a retrofitting report if not compliant.

So what can you do?

1. If you have not listed your house with a real estate agent, call or text me (805) 432-7705) and we can walk through your house and check the items required by the City of Los Angeles.
2. You don’t have to hire a retrofit company to verify if you are compliant.
3. You can self check these items; they are easy to identify.
4. If your house is in escrow with a buyer and a retrofit company has issued a report; check to see if the items for correction are any of the 6 items required by the city of Los Angeles.  
5. Watch the video in this post.  I go through each of the 6 items.
6. The City of Los Angeles Dept of Building and Safety and the Dept of Water and Power each require a document.  The Seller Declaration is always signed only by the Seller and submitted to the Dept of Building and Safety.  It is never signed by a retrofitter or anyone else.  A Certificate of Compliance is signed by both Seller and Buyer and can be signed by your real estate agent.  It does not need a Retrofitter’s signature if your real estate agent signs it.
7. The Seller’s Declaration will have the 6 items that are required by the City of Los Angeles Dept of Building and Safety.  That paper will have the information you need to cross check any recommendation by a retrofitter.
8. You are only required to retrofit the items on the Seller’s Declaration to be in compliance with the City of Los Angeles Dept of Building and Safety requirements when selling your home.
9. Your water heater will need to be properly strapped and braced, this is a state requirement and it is not on the Seller’s Declaration.

The Seller’s Declaration needs to be filled out by you the home seller at the time you sign the paperwork to sell your home.  Real Estate Agents that wait until there is a buyer in escrow to bring you this paperwork are in error. This declaration is part of the application for the required Residential Property Report 9a.  The turnaround time runs about 10 days if the application is completed online and 21 to 30 days if mailed in.  The buyer for your property needs to get this report during their inspection contingency period, otherwise they could backout and cancel escrow.