Realtors Warn Home Buyers of Possibility of Light-Rail Line

Real estate agents in the San Fernando Valley are warning prospective home buyers that a light-rail line may pass by their property, even though no decision has been made on when or if such a line will be built.

They are making the disclaimer to home buyers across the Valley, even those who live nowhere near the five light-rail routes proposed by the Los Angeles County Transportation Commission, said Tom Carnahan, president of the 8,400-member San Fernando Valley Board of Realtors.

That, according to several real-estate agents interviewed, is because no one knows what route, if any, will eventually be selected.

But many real estate agencies are attaching a map showing the five proposed light-rail routes, the brokers said.

“Everyone is doing it in the Valley,” said Temmy Walker, president of James R. Gary & Co. Ltd. East, a Studio City-based real estate firm.

Disclose Everything

“You have to give all the information you can to buyers. If you don’t, it’s like leaving out a piece of a puzzle,” Walker said.

“Buyer is aware that the subject property may be located in one of the areas in which public authorities are contemplating the location of a rail line,” reads a written disclaimer that one real estate agency provides to home buyers at the opening of escrow.

“Buyer agrees to make his or her own independent investigation as to the impact of said rail line on subject property as broker is unable to determine the eventual location or whether such rail line would affect the value or desirability of the subject property,” the disclaimer continues.

Under a state law that took effect Jan. 1, sellers of residential property are required to disclose anything that could affect a property’s value before the sale becomes final, said Steve Kolb, public information officer for the state Department of Real Estate.

The light-rail disclaimer is being issued as part of a list of warnings to a prospective buyer, such as what structural modifications have been made to a house and whether it is in a mud-slide area.

However, many brokers say they are not required by law to tell prospective home buyers about the possibility of a rail line passing by their property. They are doing so anyway, they say, because they have been stung by lawsuits brought by buyers seeking damages for previously undisclosed problems.

“We’re just covering our butt,” said Glenn Bevilacqua, president of Country Club Realtors in Woodland Hills. “People love to sue realtors.”

Said Geri Maddis, an escrow officer with Heritage Escrow of California in Encino: “We just advise people that they be aware of the possibility that rail may be near them. All we’re doing is telling them it’s a possibility.”

No Apparent Effect on Sales

The disclosure does not appear to have affected sales “positively or negatively,” Carnahan said.

Walker said that she has been warning her clients for more than a year and that the disclosure has “not changed the mind of anyone buying a piece of property.”

“Let’s face it, if you wanted to, you could be turned away from property most anywhere in Southern California with earthquakes, canyon fires and mud slides,” Walker said. “But, as long as people know what they are buying, they can cope and evaluate it on their own.”

The Transportation Commission, after its five proposed Valley routes ran into strong opposition last November, asked Valley elected officials to tell it what route, if any, has popular support.

The City Council is expected to give final approval Friday to placing an advisory referendum on the June 7 ballot asking Valley voters if they support construction of a light-rail line. The council, at the same time, is expected to form a 32-member citizens’ panel to recommend routes for the line.