Belmont Seeking to Halt, Control Home Sales

Simple question: Do you think a city should have the right to stop you from selling your home?

Most people respond with an emphatic “No.” Yet that’s what the Belmont City Council is proposing. The methodology the City Council wants to enact is commonly referred to as a “point of sale” or “transfer of title” approach. In this case, they want you – the private property owner – to inspect your sewer lateral pipes and, if needed, repair or replace them before they will allow you to close the sale of your home.

In fact, the Council will be voting on granting themselves this new power at their Tuesday, February 26 meeting. It starts at 7:30 p.m. in the Belmont City Hall, One Twin Pines Lane.

It is here that most people pause and ask… sewer laterals, as with sidewalks, water lines and the like, are what we pay property taxes for, correct? The answer is a resounding ‘maybe.’ Some time ago, most property owners will find that the responsibility for maintenance and repair of items such as sewer laterals passed to them from the city.

Some say, “but I’m not selling my property, so it doesn’t affect me.” Again, a resounding ‘maybe.’  If your home and the house next door are serviced by ‘Y’ lateral – they all have to be replaced - citywide - whether you sell or not if the other property owners sells.

Fact of the matter is, these “point of sale’ mandates are inequitable and will not achieve what the city is seeking to achieve in the treatment, disposal and control of wastewater and industrial waters in a timely manner. BTW: The Belmont Council is proposing this action as a consumer protection.

Point-of-sale mandates apply only to those who are selling their home. However, this is an issue that impacts the entire community so the solution should be on a citywide basis.  Ensuring the quality of the sewer lateral system throughout the city is an important health and safety issue, but with property turning over at a rate of 2.3% a year, it will take Belmont 43 years to inspect, repair or replace the laterals.
 
And the cost to home owners?  It averages $7,500 to $25,000. In an area such as Belmont, any incremental costs might render a home effectively unaffordable, especially for first time home buyers.  Some who think ‘point of sale’ is a really keen idea have opined that if that’s the case, then maybe the persons involved should look elsewhere for lower priced digs. In our current economic climate, there are a number of short sales and real estate-owned (REO) transactions that, for a number of reasons, require an expedited escrow process.  With the city able to halt a transaction, thereby adding an additional, costly step, this serves only to delay (or in some instances, void) the transaction.

Perhaps the most egregious aspect is that Belmont doesn’t need to take such an action. The Council already has a proposal in place to achieve the treatment, disposal and control of wastewater and industrial waters without using a point-of-sale mandate. Belmont is the only city in San Mateo County that is not being forced by litigation from a fringe group called Baykeeper to enact this requirement.

Given the budget constriants faced by local government, this isn’t the only city service that will ultimately become your responsibility... in Belmont or elsewhere. I’m already recommending residents attend the Council hearing next Tuesday and testify against this proposal.