You’re selling or buying your home, and you are told to ‘talk to the retrofitter to get this or that …. ‘ and when you may hear many unfamiliar terms your head starts to spin. If you feel a little lost, you’re not alone—but don’t worry. It’s definitely a learning experience, but this hurdle will be one of the lowest in the entire process of buying or selling your home. Here is a list of common retrofit related terms, you can get a better idea of what’s going on in this short tutorial.
- 9A Report – The ‘9A’ report is a specific report that is required when selling in the city of Los Angeles. It is not needed in other cities. The 9A report is filled out by escrow, the seller and the buyer. More information on the 9A report here.
- CO (Carbon Monoxide) – First off, CO is different from CO2, or carbon dioxide. CO is short for carbon monoxide, a gas which can kill a homeowner ‘silently’. Code compliance retrofitters check to see if homes have CO, or carbon monoxide, detectors. More on carbon monoxide and its detection here.
- COC – The COC is the Certificate of Compliance, a document certifying the home is compliant with regards to the correct point of sale or transfer ‘code’ when selling. A retrofitter will issue a COC when they feel the home is compliant upon inspection. Some cities also have their own ‘COC’ for specific items. Here is the COC for the city of Los Angeles, issued by the LADWP.
- Hard Wired Detector – A smoke or carbon monoxide detector which is wired to a 120 volt source, and not solely battery operated. Some jurisdictions require hard wired detectors in some instances.
- Point of Sale – Relates to the time a property is usually for sale or is in escrow.
- Retrofit – Retrofitting involves changing a building’s systems or structure after it’s been constructed and occupied.. The term retrofit can have different meanings, but when buying or selling a home, it typically means only two things. (1) To inspect the home’s foundation for cracks or settling, then to estimate the cost to fix it. (2) Code compliance retrofit, meaning to bring older home items or systems up to the ‘current code’ for whatever city or jurisdiction the home is located in.
- SGSOV – Plumber shorthand for ‘Seismic Gas Shut Off Valve’ , or earthquake shut off valve, which is located on your homes gas meter and will shut off gas to your homes gas system, intended to prevent a fire from a broken gas line.
- Slider Door Glazing – In certain cities, including the city of Los Angeles, a glass slider door is required to be ‘glazed’, meaning it requires a clear coating on older slider doors to prevent being cut by large pieces of glass if one was to walk through one. This really only applies to older, single paned slider door made in the sixties and seventies.
- Water Cert (Certificate) – A certificate from a code compliance retrofitter certifying all water fixtures (showerheads, toilets, faucets, etc) at a given property are within the water flow standards for that city.
- Water Conservation Items – The State of California, as well as certain cities, have various water conservation regulations. A retrofitter can tell you what is required in each city in Southern California. Here is a list of the different cities in Southern California and what is needed in each city. Water conservation regulations may differ between cities in Southern California.