When meeting with new clients, I always have a conversation about natural hazards. The reality is, one will have to determine their comfort level when it comes to natural hazard zones before they enter into a particular transaction. Many of my clients feel that it is inevitable that one will live in an earthquake fault zone, while others are adamant about living outside of that zone. Additionally, there are other hazardous conditions such as high fire, liquefaction and landslide to consider. In this seller centric market, many buyers will overlook hazards to win a property, but keep in mind, when a market shifts and inventory is higher than the buyer demand, some buyers may be discriminating when it comes to what they will accept or not. Last fall, I had a heart-to-heart with buyers who were strongly considering a home with the trifecta of natural hazards: earthquake fault, landslide and fire zones. I shared with them this could potentially impact future resale value. After sleeping on it, they decided not to write an offer.
This interactive website was provided to me by one of the structural engineers that I have worked with. http://pubs.usgs.gov/ds/
