As far as I know you have 3 days to rescind after signing the contract. If they disclose required information after that you should be able to void the contract.

In any case I don't think there is any property in the Bay Area that meets these three criteria:
- low earthquake hazard
- low liquefaction hazard
- affordable

Hi Verna,

It is possible that this late disclosure could have provided you a three day right of recission. Recission is the cancellation of a contract by putting all parties back to the position before they entered the contract. You may want to contact a Real Estate Attorney if this disclosure would have impacted your decision to purchase this property had you known about it earlier.

Hello Verna and thanks for your question.

Because virtually all of California is located in seismic zones, part of the disclosures that should be ordered and given to the buyer during the 17 day contingency period is a "Natural Hazard Report." Here in Santa Clara (the south bay), a Natural Hazard Report is traditionally ordered and paid for by the seller and presented to the buyer after the purchase contract has been accepted. In other parts of the Bay Area, a Natural Hazards report may be optional or may need to be ordered by the buyer. Either way, your Realtor should have ordered or obtained this report and provided it for your review. Perhaps you have the report and it was not called to your attention?

The information contained in the Natural Hazards report can, for many, be enough of a concern to necessitate cancelling a contract. Depending on the information in the report for this home, there may be concerns that you have to answer or digest in order to feel comfortable about the future of the property. Geologists from the USGS have said, for years, that we will--in all likelihood--face a major quake witin the next 25 years, and, at present, the most active fault appears to be in the East Bay, so you should certainly read the report to allay any concerns you have about this home.

Good luck in your home purchase. For more information about earthquake activity in the Bay Area and in the United States as well as useful information about earthquake hazards, check out the US Geological Survey's website at http://www.usgs.gov.

Sincerely,
Grace Morioka, SRES, e-Pro
Area Pro Realty
San Jose, CA

I'm wondering why you did not check on this, didn't you know the information was available or that there were Seismic Hazard Zones in the Bay Area?