AB 596

Under current law, with certain exceptions, an owner selling residential real

property or vacant land must give a prospective buyer a form, known as a real estate

condition report for residential real property and known as the vacant land

disclosure report for vacant land, on which the owner discloses certain conditions of,

and other information about, the real property. Current law provides that if a

prospective buyer does not receive a real estate condition report within ten days after

a contract of sale or option contract (contract) is accepted, the prospective buyer may

rescind the contract by delivering written notice to the owner. Under the bill, a

prospective buyer who rescinds a contract under such circumstances is also entitled

to the return of any deposits or option fees the prospective buyer paid as part of the

transaction.

Under current law, a prospective buyer is entitled to a completed copy of a real

estate condition report, and if the buyer receives an incomplete report, the buyer may

rescind the contract and is entitled to any deposits or option fees the buyer has paid

as part of the transaction. The bill specifies that a real estate condition report is

considered complete only if the seller has completed or otherwise provided

information for each item on the report.

Finally, the bill adds to the real estate condition report forms a requirement

that the owner must indicate whether the owner is a foreign person for purposes of

federal taxation.