ALL THINGS REAL ESTATE Environmental disclosure gives ‘buyer’ way out
Q: We are selling our home in Suisun Valley. We’ve been in escrow for over four weeks and the buyers have just informed us that they want to cancel the contract based upon a disclo sure we made. Our Realtor said we needed to give a natural hazard disclosure to the buyers and that the best way to do it was to order one from this company for $99. Now they’re saying that we’re in a seismic zone and they want out of the contract based upon that.
We’ve tied up our house in escrow with them for a month and now they’re demanding their $10,000 deposit back and they want us to sign escrow can cellation instructions. I’m sure they have just changed their mind and were looking for any excuse to get out of the contract.
Our Realtor says the report was given to them during the due diligence period so we have to go ahead and sign. It’s not fair. Do we have to let them out?
A: It sounds like you’ll have to cancel the escrow, but not just because of the due diligence period.
In most purchase contracts the buyer is given a period of time to conduct whatever inspections they want to have. This is commonly called the “due diligence period.”
During the due diligence period homebuyers typically order roof inspections, whole house inspections, fireplace inspections and the like.
If they receive a report that shows a problem, they can make a written demand that the seller agree to fix the problem or, if the seller refuses, the buyer can back out of the deal and get their deposit back.
The due diligence period only involves inspections the buyer chooses to have, not disclo-
disclosure is not a due diligence from the contract on that basis.
any defects in the property that made on a statutory form known as the Transfer Disclosure State-
you’ve delivered the TDS the buyer can choose to withdraw for any reason within three days of receipt, if the TDS was hand delivered, or five days if it was mailed.
When the seller becomes aware of supplementary defects after the TDS was delivered they must either fix the defect or disclose it with a supplement to the TDS.
I know this gets technical, hang in there.
The law requires you, the seller, to give the environmental disclosure to the buyer, which is a type of supplemental disclosure. The law doesn’t charge the buyer with going out and getting it. So your Realtor was right regarding your need to give one.
Why? Because the law wants the buyer to know what hazard zones the property they’re buying is in. Even though it’s supplemental, it falls under the
SOLANO REAL ESTATE SCENE
The 50-year mortgage: ’Til death do us part
HHomebuilders bet on 1% mortgage rates to wake up US buyers
TRIBUNE CONTENT AGENCY
ousing affordability and the folks making ends meet each month is top of mind across the country today, but especially here in California where a gallon of gas costs 50% more than the rest of the country and the median home price is $900,000 while the median for the USA is below $450,000. A $600,000 mortgage at 6% for 30 years is $3,597 per month, not including taxes, insurance and PMI. Assuming the 50-year rate would be 6.25%, the payment for a 50-year term would be $3,269, a savings monthly of $328.
If a 50-year mortgage is introduced, the rate would likely be higher than a 30-year because historically the longer the term the higher the rate. The average 15-year rate today is around 5.7% and the 30-year rate is 6.3%.
My favorite affordable mortgage is what I call a Buzz Light Year loan that could go to infinity and beyond 50 years, with no part of the payment going toward principal. A $600,000 loan at 6% would be $3,000 per month interest only. Interest-only loans were somewhat outlawed for a while because of the unscrupulous Wall Street sub-prime lenders that screwed up the interestonly product by selling horrific adjustable-rate mortgage loans to the unsuspecting middle class from 2003 to 2007. There were 11 million foreclosure filings from 2009 to 2013 while there
With the average mort gage rate near 6%, U.S. homebuyers are looking at the most affordable monthly pay ments in a year. But San Antonio real estate agent Tavyn Weyman knows how to get them lower –much lower.
The trick is simple: buy new.
In markets across the U.S., homebuilders sitting on unsold inventory are subsidizing mort gage rates so heavily they sometimes match the record lows last seen during the Covid-19 pandemic. That’s in addition to perks like free appli ances, finished basements and zero closing costs.
Weyman said a large private builder just gave one client a 3.49% fixed rate on a $414,000 home on the west side of town. The sales agent even bumped up Weyman’s commis sion to cover the cost of breaking the buyer’s lease and threw in another $2,000 to make the first month effectively free.
are starting to dip, and landlords
“You want to pay $2,000 a month on a brand new 4-bedroom home and have a 2% rate, I can find that now – as crazy as that sounds,” Weyman said. “It’s all negotiable.”
A single mother relocating from Florida is interested in a 3.99% fixed rate offered by D.R. Horton Inc., the biggest U.S. builder by stock market value. But it’s the introductory rate of less than 1% for the first year that really caught her eye, Weyman said.
Year-to-date job cuts have exceeded 1 million, the most since the pandemic, according outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas. Last month alone firms announced 153,000 cuts, the most for any October since 2003.
The anxiety is taking the wind out of a prophesied jump in homebuyer demand as mortgage rates decline.
disappointing feedback from the market. Century Communities Inc. in an earnings call said demand is especially weak from entry-level buyers. PulteGroup Inc. said first-time buyer orders plunged 14% in the latest quarter compared with a year earlier.
on incentives in the three months ended August, up from 4.8% in May 2024, according to the company’s builder surveys.
“There is an opportunity to buy new homes at really low rates,” said Eric Finnigan, vice president at John Burns. “The big surprise is why sales are still so soft.”
These aren’t the perks of a healthy housing market. They’re the tactics of an industry trying to get the attention of buyers as tariffs, the recent government shutdown and artificial intelligence add to feelings of job insecurity.
“We would have expected to see a little bigger bump out of the reduction in mortgage rates that we’ve seen,” D.R. Horton Chief Executive Officer Paul Romanowski said on a call with analysts last month. “It truly is choppy.”
“Lower interest rates are a positive for housing demand, but rates don’t operate in a vacuum,” Ryan Marshall, chief executive officer of PulteGroup, said in an earnings call last month.
“There is a clear offset if rates are coming down because the economy is slowing and people are worried about their jobs.”
Other builders have shared
A big obstacle for new sales agents is that renting is now much cheaper than buying. Rents
But not all rate buydowns are created equal. Some permanently lower borrowing costs for a full 30-year term, while others keep rates low only temporarily. Those deals can work well for households expecting rising income or a future refinancing – but they carry real risk for borrowers who aren’t prepared for the jump in monthly payments once the promotional period ends.
See Porter, Page 5 See Rates, Page 4
JIM WATSON/AFP/GETTY IMAGES/TNS FILE (2022)
Workers attach siding to a house at a new home construction site in Trappe, Maryland, Oct. 28, 2022.
Jim Porter
Solano real estate transactions
These are the local homes sold recently, provided by California Resource of Lodi. The company can be reached at 209.365.6663 or CalResource@aol.com.
BENICIA
TOTAL SALES: 8
LOWEST AMOUNT: $510,000
HIGHEST AMOUNT: $1,396,000
MEDIAN AMOUNT: $773,000
AVERAGE AMOUNT: $869,625
644 Brown Court - $1,200,000
10-02-25 [4 Bdrms - 3050 SqFt - 1998 YrBlt], Previous Sale: 04-07-16, $825,000
1774 Devonshire Drive - $620,000
10-02-25 [3 Bdrms - 1601 SqFt - 1985 YrBlt], Previous Sale: 06-30-00, $229,000
1109 Grove Circle - $625,000
10-01-25 [2 Bdrms - 1130 SqFt - 1978 YrBlt], Previous Sale: 04-21-17, $412,000
507 Hastings Drive - $920,000
09-30-25 [4 Bdrms - 2569 SqFt - 1977 YrBlt], Previous Sale: 07-27-17, $705,000
456 Ofarrell Drive - $1,060,000
09-29-25 [4 Bdrms - 2569 SqFt - 1977 YrBlt], Previous Sale: 08-10-21, $900,000
480 Raymond Drive - $510,000
09-29-25 [4 Bdrms - 1531 SqFt - 1978 YrBlt] 1620 Saint Francis Court - $1,396,000
09-29-25 [4 Bdrms - 3169 SqFt - 1998 YrBlt] 1736 Stuart Court - $626,000
09-29-25 [2 Bdrms - 1055 SqFt - 1985 YrBlt], Previous Sale: 08-07-23, $575,000
DIXON
TOTAL SALES: 5
LOWEST AMOUNT: $400,000
HIGHEST AMOUNT: $620,000
MEDIAN AMOUNT: $595,000
AVERAGE AMOUNT: $526,500
390 South Almond Street - $620,000
09-29-25 [4 Bdrms - 2155 SqFt - 1973 YrBlt]
230 Fuller Lane - $595,000
10-03-25 [3 Bdrms - 1371 SqFt - 1990 YrBlt], Previous Sale: 00/1991, $160,000 505 West H Street - $415,000
10-02-25 [3 Bdrms - 1196 SqFt - 1975 YrBlt], Previous Sale: 11-18-99, $90,000 1100 Jacobs Drive - $400,000
09-30-25 [3 Bdrms - 2032 SqFt - 1989
YrBlt], Previous Sale: 06-26-13, $269,000 1540 Sundance Court - $602,500
09-30-25 [3 Bdrms - 1444 SqFt - 2021 YrBlt], Previous Sale: 04-26-21, $498,500
FAIRFIELD
TOTAL SALES: 12
LOWEST AMOUNT: $320,000
HIGHEST AMOUNT: $864,000
MEDIAN AMOUNT: $660,000
AVERAGE AMOUNT: $628,458
4575 Avondale Circle - $840,000
10-02-25 [4 Bdrms - 3158 SqFt - 2000
YrBlt], Previous Sale: 01-13-00, $366,700 3105 Cherry Valley Circle - $864,000
09-29-25 [4 Bdrms - 2492 SqFt - 1993
YrBlt], Previous Sale: 07-06-10, $415,000 2752 Hillview Drive - $619,000
09-30-25 [4 Bdrms - 1859 SqFt - 1995
YrBlt], Previous Sale: 07-13-20, $425,000
919 Hoover Street - $355,000
10-02-25 [3 Bdrms - 1106 SqFt - 1952
YrBlt], Previous Sale: 02-17-10, $149,000
1239 Mallard Court - $489,500
09-29-25 [4 Bdrms - 1380 SqFt - 1972
YrBlt], Previous Sale: 11-14-12, $147,000 4652 Opal Court - $685,000
10-02-25 [4 Bdrms - 2164 SqFt - 2006
YrBlt], Previous Sale: 07-26-12, $251,000
225 Pennsylvania Avenue #A3$320,000
09-29-25 [2 Bdrms - 930 SqFt - 1986 YrBlt], Previous Sale: 12-04-17, $220,000 1765 Quincey Lane - $520,000
10-03-25 [6 Bdrms - 2443 SqFt - 1980
YrBlt], Previous Sale: 02-22-12, $260,000
4130 Shadow Brook Court - $665,000
10-03-25 [3 Bdrms - 1783 SqFt - 2001 YrBlt], Previous Sale: 02-17-16, $420,000
3868 Torrington Way - $859,000
09-29-25 [5 Bdrms - 3101 SqFt - 2014 YrBlt], Previous Sale: 07-15-14, $633,500
2921 Willow Court - $655,000
10-03-25 [3 Bdrms - 1905 SqFt - 1989 YrBlt], Previous Sale: 05-29-25, $450,000
2124 Woodhaven Court - $670,000
10-03-25 [4 Bdrms - 1991 SqFt - 1991 YrBlt], Previous Sale: 00/1991, $199,500
RIO VISTA
TOTAL SALES: 1
LOWEST AMOUNT: $416,000
HIGHEST AMOUNT: $416,000
MEDIAN AMOUNT: $416,000
AVERAGE AMOUNT: $416,000
304 Birch Ridge Drive - $416,000
10-02-25 [2 Bdrms - 1154 SqFt - 2014 YrBlt], Previous Sale: 03-10-20, $330,000
SUISUN CITY
TOTAL SALES: 4
LOWEST AMOUNT: $505,000
HIGHEST AMOUNT: $570,000
MEDIAN AMOUNT: $542,500
AVERAGE AMOUNT: $540,000
905 Canada Goose Drive - $505,000
10-03-25 [4 Bdrms - 1890 SqFt - 1978
YrBlt], Previous Sale: 00/1989, $135,000
1403 Humbolt Drive - $525,000
10-01-25 [3 Bdrms - 1492 SqFt - 1984 YrBlt]
64 Rodondo Avenue - $560,000
09-29-25 [4 Bdrms - 1490 SqFt - 1977
YrBlt], Previous Sale: 10-06-20, $455,000
513 Wood Duck Drive - $570,000
10-03-25 [4 Bdrms - 1971 SqFt - 1978 YrBlt]
VACAVILLE
TOTAL SALES: 20
LOWEST AMOUNT: $350,000
HIGHEST AMOUNT: $850,000
MEDIAN AMOUNT: $557,000
AVERAGE AMOUNT: $582,400
5350 Alonzo Road - $525,000
10-03-25 [3 Bdrms - 1132 SqFt - 1956 YrBlt], Previous Sale: 02-01-21, $399,000
1109 Amber Ridge Lane - $570,000
09-30-25 [3 Bdrms - 1933 SqFt - 2007 YrBlt], Previous Sale: 07-12-14, $340,000
161 Andover Drive - $533,000
09-30-25 [4 Bdrms - 1402 SqFt - 1977 YrBlt], Previous Sale: 09-13-13, $235,000
7666 Blue Ridge Road - $735,000
10-03-25 [4 Bdrms - 3200 SqFt - 1997 YrBlt], Previous Sale: 02-18-20, $449,000
142 Brockton Court - $535,000
10-02-25 [3 Bdrms - 1164 SqFt - 1977
YrBlt], Previous Sale: 10-30-20, $440,000
182 Carlsbad Circle - $350,000
10-03-25 [2 Bdrms - 1408 SqFt - 1972
YrBlt]
868 Clifton Way - $585,000
10-03-25 [3 Bdrms - 1312 SqFt - 1993 YrBlt]
403 Eagle Lane - $639,000
10-01-25 [4 Bdrms - 2466 SqFt - 1993
YrBlt], Previous Sale: 04-20-12, $288,000
163 Fairoaks Drive - $402,000
10-01-25 [2 Bdrms - 1066 SqFt - 1979 YrBlt]
872 Flint Way - $549,000
10-02-25 [3 Bdrms - 1127 SqFt - 1995
YrBlt], Previous Sale: 12-14-21, $520,000
119 Lighthouse Way - $660,000
10-02-25 [4 Bdrms - 2158 SqFt - 1989
YrBlt], Previous Sale: 02-27-17, $480,000 156 Linda Street - $500,000
09-29-25 [3 Bdrms - 1053 SqFt - 1954
YrBlt], Previous Sale: 02-28-14, $241,000 761 Linwood Street - $565,000
10-03-25 [4 Bdrms - 1551 SqFt - 1968 YrBlt]
185 Mojave Court - $650,000
09-29-25 [4 Bdrms - 1878 SqFt - 1974 YrBlt]
122 Monterey Drive - $425,000
10-02-25 [2 Bdrms - 1023 SqFt - 1964
YrBlt], Previous Sale: 06-11-25, $255,000 1091 Ruby Drive - $505,000
10-03-25 [4 Bdrms - 1290 SqFt - 1993
YrBlt], Previous Sale: 02-19-15, $330,000
1955 Southwood Drive - $535,000
10-02-25 [4 Bdrms - 1248 SqFt - 1972
YrBlt], Previous Sale: 01-18-17, $190,000 485 Stonewood Drive - $775,000
10-01-25 [4 Bdrms - 2110 SqFt - 1988
YrBlt], Previous Sale: 07-01-15, $505,000
248 Via Del Sol - $760,000
10-01-25 [4 Bdrms - 2483 SqFt - 2010 YrBlt]
248 Vine Street - $850,000
10-03-25 [4 Bdrms - 2800 SqFt - 1973
YrBlt], Previous Sale: 11-15-21, $910,000
VALLEJO
TOTAL SALES: 24
LOWEST AMOUNT: $290,000
HIGHEST AMOUNT: $1,920,000
MEDIAN AMOUNT: $470,000
AVERAGE AMOUNT: $554,083
118 Amherst Avenue - $360,000
09-30-25 [4 Bdrms - 1285 SqFt - 1966
YrBlt], Previous Sale: 09-02-09, $160,000
305 Baywood Drive - $415,000
10-01-25 [3 Bdrms - 1017 SqFt - 1953 YrBlt], Previous Sale: 05-01-13, $150,000
140 Bluebell Place - $580,000 10-02-25 [3 Bdrms - 1464 SqFt - 1985 YrBlt]
116 Bret Harte Way - $375,000 10-03-25 [4 Bdrms - 1576 SqFt - 1961
YrBlt], Previous Sale: 09-29-25, $342,500 1066 Caldwell Avenue - $480,000
10-02-25 [3 Bdrms - 1313 SqFt - 1950
YrBlt], Previous Sale: 05-11-11, $130,000
161 Crowsnest Court - $790,000 10-03-25 [4 Bdrms - 2539 SqFt - 1987
YrBlt], Previous Sale: 04-02-14, $425,000
108 Curtis Drive - $511,000
09-29-25 [3 Bdrms - 1248 SqFt - 1966 YrBlt]
28 D Street - $465,000
10-02-25 [2 Bdrms - 1034 SqFt - 1941 YrBlt], Previous Sale: 07-24-20, $380,000
6597 Deerfield Drive - $735,000
10-03-25 [3 Bdrms - 2205 SqFt - 2008 YrBlt], Previous Sale: 10-18-18, $566,000
161 Edgemont Avenue - $560,000
10-03-25 [3 Bdrms - 1668 SqFt - 1939 YrBlt], Previous Sale: 08-08-16, $324,000
2019 Georgia Street - $290,000
10-03-25 [2 Bdrms - 910 SqFt - 1949 YrBlt]
1412 Granada Street - $675,000
10-03-25 [4 Bdrms - 1931 SqFt - 1978 YrBlt], Previous Sale: 03-24-11, $245,000
1515 Illinois Street - $530,000
09-30-25 [3 Bdrms - 1580 SqFt - 1940 YrBlt]
453 Knights Circle - $430,000
09-29-25 [3 Bdrms - 1545 SqFt - 1988 YrBlt]
457 La Jolla Street - $443,000
09-29-25 [3 Bdrms - 966 SqFt - 1953 YrBlt], Previous Sale: 04-11-25, $344,000
15 Marina Ridge Court - $1,920,000
10-02-25 [3 Bdrms - 2015 SqFt - 1990 YrBlt], Previous Sale: 03-14-00, $268,000
1123 Ohio Street - $399,000
10-03-25 [2 Bdrms - 1100 SqFt - 1952 YrBlt], Previous Sale: 10-28-04, $312,000
3003 Overlook Drive - $765,000
09-30-25 [4 Bdrms - 2746 SqFt - 2001 YrBlt], Previous Sale: 11-05-01, $419,185
397 Quartz Lane - $355,000
10-01-25 [4 Bdrms - 1529 SqFt - 1980 YrBlt]
1406 Rollingwood Drive - $550,000
09-30-25 [3 Bdrms - 1175 SqFt - 1955 YrBlt], Previous Sale: 01-03-20, $405,000
1113 Sacramento Street - $323,000
10-02-25 [2 Bdrms - 1092 SqFt - 1915 YrBlt]
1539 Sereno Drive - $475,000
10-03-25 [3 Bdrms - 1060 SqFt - 1958 YrBlt]
400 Vergel Terrace - $422,000
09-29-25 [4 Bdrms - 1910 SqFt - 1980 YrBlt]
137 Viewmont Avenue - $450,000
09-29-25 [2 Bdrms - 1600 SqFt - 1939 YrBlt], Previous Sale: 08-13-10, $56,000
From Page 2
same rules as the TDS. So by giving it later, you triggered the three- or five-day cancellation rule.
As a result, the buyer had three or five days to give you notice of their intent to withdraw.
If they gave you, or your Realtor, notice within the statutory period then you have to give them their money back and cancel the escrow.
That’s the law.
Fighting over that $10,000 could cost you many times that amount in attorney and court fees as well as continue to tie up your property until the escrow is actually cancelled.
Tim Jones, Esq., is a real estate attorney is Fairfield. If you have any real estate questions you can contact him at AllThings RealEstate@TJones-Law.com.
From Page 3
Lennar Corp. is in the midst of a nationwide “Inventory CloseOut Sale,” offering rates of 3.75% in Denver and up to $70,000 in price reductions in Charleston, South Carolina. Lennar spent 14% per home on incentives as a share of revenue this year, up from 10% in 2024.
The strategy of undercutting the resale market seems to be working, at least according to Weyman. The agent in San Antonio said seven of the eight homes he sold this year were newly built.
“New home buyers are expecting a lot of things so you’ve got to get them more,” Weyman said. “I always advertise that I’m never going to make a client pay for closing costs, especially now.”
September flower planting makes riveting fall colors
As I write this, the first week of November, the fall leaf colors have barely made a ripple in my area. The sweetgums show a hint as do the gingkos. My Japanese maple looks like it did in July, and the list goes on. But I have been enjoying the oranges and yellows of autumn via the prettiest flowers ever.
It began with an early September planting. This year I went heavy, so to speak, with Luscious Marmalade lantana. The flowers are flaming orange and large for a lantana. As in a celebration of orange the migrating Monarch butterflies have made visits. We also have had a new generation of Gulf Fritillary and American Lady butterflies for a real Fall Garden Fest.
When I planted the Luscious Marmalade lantanas I added their complementary blue flower partners with Supertunia Tiara Blue, Mini Vista Indigo and Mini Vista Ultramarine petunia
One last blue partner I have to tout is the Superbells Grape Punch calibrachoa. This is the perfect partner for Luscious Marmalade. Add a sprig or two Lemon Coral sedum with its chartreuse foliage and you will have combos that are beautiful with just the right amount of gaudy.
I also made a couple of baskets to copy a recipe from last year’s winter garden. They feature Supertunia Persimmon petunia. Whoever came up with that color of petunia deserves a trophy. The cooler temperature of fall seems to supercharge the colors.
The baskets look like twins as I gave the Supertunia Persimmon partners of other
This Luscious Marmalade lantana, far left, planted in September has provided large flaming orange blossoms in November in zones 8-10. Supertunia Tiara Blue petunia, middle, creates a perfect complementary color scheme. This gulf fritillary, right, shows off its fall orange color.
Honey and Tiara Blue petunias
They look like a floral version of Skittles candy.
We have had three nights in the high 30s and by the time you read this I may be flirting with a 33. The nice thing is that I am getting my most intense sun of the year even though high overhead is a canopy of trees, deciduous and evergreen. This canopy helps trap some warmth that gets released from the soil and the rock wall and patio where the containers reside.
I am in zone 8, to be exact 8b, but I am not necessarily a believer in the new zone map yet. I use good lightweight potting soil in my containers and baskets. During the cool season I use water soluble fertilizer and feed every two to three weeks. This will be my sixth winter at this house. I always go into freezing temperatures making sure I water just before sunset. I try hard to never have the containers go into the freezing period thirsty.
The first five years have
Supertunia petunias, Superbena verbenas and Superbells calibrachoas. This includes containers and those planted in beds.
Last year I flinched and moved a lot of containers to the garage for about 7-10 nights. I left other containers outside muttering “I can’t move anymore” and apologizing to those left to die. The ones outside all lived too.
I expect the lantanas to freeze, and I hope to cut back and let their partners cover them up until they sprout in spring. We will see if this works. If we have a 50-year freeze all bets are off.
So right now, in west Georgia, the fall colors are riveting. Not the trees yet but Luscious Marmalade and Basket Tangeglow lantanas, as well as Supertunia Persimmon, Honey, Tiara Blue and Mini Vista Indigo petunias. The Superbena verbenas are coming on strong.
Norman Winter is a horticulturist, garden speaker and author.
Norman Winter
Solano County Listings: Homes, land for sale
$1,650,000
$2,250,000 4 320 Edinburg Ct Fairfield
$779,900
$799,000
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