A new feature of the Property Disclosure Blog: Current events the seller probably should have disclosed, but didn't.

This is the stuff of which non-disclosure lawsuits are made. (We could cite examples from case law to make the point, but real events "ripped from the headlines" are much more interesting!)

It's been estimated that up to 80 percent of buyer lawsuits against the seller"?or the seller's agent and broker are over non-disclosure issues. Some involve undisclosed agency representation, settlement practices, or gainful affiliate relationships.

But most, we suspect, are due to"?some hazard or property condition that was common knowledge ("the whole neighborhood knew about it!"), but nobody told the buyer -- who might not have purchased the property had the seller mentioned it.

You'd be surprised how naive an out-of-state or foreign buyer can be about local property issues ("they have earthquakes in California?").

Think about it. As the ad copy says, "Nobody knows [insert city] real estate like our local agents!" It's true. Real estate agents are (or should be) experts in the local issues where they do business. Buyers depend on -- and pay for -- that local expertise.

Outside of their core territory, however, the agent's local expertise becomes shaky. A little-known utility hookup fee, a quirky water-conservation plumbing retrofit ordinance, an obscure landslide abatement area, or a potential dam-failure inundation zone -- hazards that should be disclosed at the point of sale, can easily be overlooked by an agent unfamiliar with the local real estate landscape.

(And this has brokers worried, by the way! As the market softens, agents are taking listings farther from home to make ends meet, selling property several counties away or even across the state --"?where they are not necessarily local experts.)

Even seasoned agents can step in it big time when"?practicing outside of their own familiar market. So, it's no wonder that out-of-area buyers, who aren't real estate experts to begin with, can be blindsided by the relative horrors of seasonal brushfires, tornado alley, earthquake country, ceiling geckos, and tub scorpions -- facts of life that come with the property -- that local residents take for granted.

Buyers are frequently ignorant of the history, experience and conditions that are considered "run-of-the-mill" within the neighborhood. Discovering hazards after the purchase can lead to a lawsuit (which can be costly for the agent and broker even if they prevail).

As always, the best rule of thumb is: Disclose. Disclose. Disclose.

Hence, we dedicate here the inaugural issue of "Hazard du jour": a sidebar of something significant that someone could sue you"?for, if the seller fails to disclose it.

Today's Hazard du jour: Remember that tsunami threat I mentioned last month? Another one woke up the West Coast just a few days ago....