Is Lot Size Correct On Your Home?

Is lot size correct on your home? This is an interesting question. Recently on a listing, the county tax agency reported on their public site, a lot size of well over an acre. As Realtors, we are not supposed to do investigation on a property at the county. An investigation is the responsibility of the buyer or seller, depending on circumstances.

Agents help facilitate inspectors but we have no qualifications to be an expert at interpreting county records. Another risk an agent takes is you deal with one person at the counter who says one thing; but, if you report this information to your client and later they find out it was incorrect, it could be an issue. The legal departments at our brokerage cringe over stuff like this.

In this instance, the buyer did go to the county and it reported a smaller lot. We immediately called the escrow officer. She asked the title officer to verify a potential past lot line adjustment. The title officer did find a transfer of acreage to the lot next door. This updated lot size information was immediately shared with the buyer’s agent.

A buyer may feel they can then pay less for the lot and request a price reduction. However, in this case, the buyer had previously walked the lot and said it was perfect for their use. If there was an open field and the buyer was told this open field is part of the sale, it could have been a big problem, and then a price reduction may be a reasonable request.

This discovery of a lot size discrepancy is a good example of why the buyer’s inspection time period of 17 days, exists. Per the California Purchase Agreement, 17 days is the default. This time is for the purpose of confirming the property checks out. The reports, disclosures and buyer investigations were created to protect a buyer. If during this time period buyers decide that do not want to purchase the property, they can cancel.

Is lot size correct on your home? Typically, the answer is not always. Buyers should always investigate the property they are buying. If you want to buy a home and have your exclusive buyer’s agent review potential lists of inspections with you, call Weintraub & Wallace Realtors. We partner with RE/MAX Gold. We can be reached at 916-233-6759.

— JaCi Wallace