Los Angeles Unit Compliance Requirements

[Dominic Chi]

Hey guys,

I am in the process of negotiating a deal for a completely renovated duplex (e.g. major structural changes, some add-on bedrooms, copper plumbing, tankless water heaters, etc.) in LA and the seller is adamant about removing the following stipulations from the offer:

"Seller shall pay the cost of compliance with any other minimum mandatory government inspections and reports if required as a condition of closing escrow under any Law."

"Seller shall pay the cost of compliance with any other minimum mandatory government retrofit standards required as a condition of closing escrow under any Law, whether the work is required to be completed before or after COE."

Has anyone had any experience with this type of situation?  Does anyone know where I can find a list of these government requirements?  Are there any resources I can use to find out?

Also, the seller wanted to remove the following stipulations as well:

"Seller shall pay for installation of approved fire extinguisher(s), sprinkler(s), and hose(s), if required by Law, which shall be installed prior to Close Of Escrow. Prior to Close Of Escrow, Seller shall provide Buyer a written statement of compliance, if required by Law."

"Seller shall pay for installation of drain cover and anti-entrapment device or system for any pool or spa meeting the minimum requirements permitted by the U.S. Consumer Products and Safety Commission."

"Seller shall pay for any private transfer fee."

Does anyone have any thoughts or advice regarding these stipulations?

Any help would be greatly appreciated!  Thanks!

Dominic

[Verna M.]

If you are worried about LA Retrofit,  which is the same sort of thing as a CIty Occupancy Certificate, or what that contract language is talking about you can call these people for a free estimate to see if you meet the code. 

 http://complianceallianceretrofitting.com/

Is it ok to post? No affilation and they do free estimates!

Its basic stuff and anything newly built would have all the things needed. Almost all of it is stuff you can DIY cheaply if you don't. The one tricky thing is the seismic shut off valve on the gas meter. MUST be done by Lic contractor and costs about $150 bucks. 

 I have used Compliance Alliance before, and they were very cool. They did the estimate and went over what we needed to do exactly. The placement for CO2 and smoke detectors is VERY specific. 

After they left, we did all the work ourselves minus gas meter, then before COE  they came back  and did that for us.  You don't pay if you don't pass inspection.  You can even have it rolled into escrow, tho we paid cash. 

I don't know if sprinklers are required in any residential building in LA. Might be worth looking up in the building code.  I live in a high fire area and I am not required to have them. I do have to do major brush clearance!