Earthquakes affect buying decisions for San Francisco Real Estate
A reader asks:I am considering buying a second home in San Francisco, but just about the time I decide to make the call to a Realtor, I turn on the news and hear that there's been an earthquake in the San Francisco Bay Area. I really want to own a home there, but how worried should I be about earthquakes when considering buying San Francisco Real Estate?
Our reply:
Disasters can happen anywhere with regard to "acts of God". Consider places that have tornados, hurricanes, horrendous snow storms, floods. And disasters like these can happen every year. So what's the big deal about an occasional earthquake???
Of course, we're joking. And earthquakes are no laughing matter either.
On the whole, buying property in San Francisco should be considered relatively safe with regard to earthquakes. They can happen anywhere, and the effect it would have on your property depends on several factors.
Questions you might ask your Realtor when considering specific properties are; what type of soil is it built on? USGS has a soil-type map for San Francisco which might help you when considering certain areas. Another question you might ask is, when was the property built, and has it been retrofitted with shear walls? Does the property have a bolted foundation and adequate reinforcement over the garage if it has one? (we'll discuss San Francisco parking issues in a later post!)
It is also going to matter how strong the earthquake is and where its epicenter is. After the earthquake in 1989 San Francisco adopted new building codes for any new construction or major remodeling using the latest engineering techniques and passed a law requiring unreinforced masonry buildings (called UMB by the building department) be reinforced to withstand the effects of an earthquake. So San Francisco has been preparing, and there are emergency systems in place. The City of San Francisco Department of Building Inspection has a site with lots more information on the latest building requirements.
You might also buy earthquake insurance that would cover damage to your home. Though there is a substantial deductible, it could protect your equity in the event of a catastrophic earthquake.
Regardless, there are no guarantees in life! So if you are really worried about earthquakes then maybe the California, and San Francisco in particular, is not for you. Earthquakes happen all up and down the west coast, and have even happened as far inland as Yellowstone Park. So we do not feel that San Francisco is more "unsafe" than anywhere else on the West Coast or even Hawaii. Having been in San Francisco for over 30 years, it is actually easier to face the risk of earthquakes than have to worry about having tornados every summer as they do in the Midwest and South!
In closing, let us review. The most important thing you can do is be prepared; retrofit your home, have emergency supplies and good insurance. If you want more detailed information about earthquakes, the California Geological Survey has an interesting website which answers specific questions about earthquakes.
- Janis Stone and Mick Orton
posted by SFResidence.com @ 8:02 AM
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