Guam § 60314 - Documents Voidable and Not to be Recorded.

§ 60314. Documents Voidable and Not to be Recorded.

The Legislature finds that all buyers and transferees of real

property should be aware of the availability of water and power

on the land they buy or obtain at the time they purchase or obtain

it. Therefore:

(a) No document transferring an interest in real

property, except for leases of less than one (1) year, shall be

recorded until the transferee has signed and acknowledged a

statement, which should be included in the document,

indicating that the transferee is aware of the availability or

non-availability of power and water on the transferred

property. The statement shall be in substantially this form:

(1) AS TO WATER:

WATER IS IMMEDIATELY AVAILABLE ON

THE PROPERTY OR WITHIN 100 FEET OF

THE PROPERTY.

or

WATER IS NOT AVAILABLE ON THE

PROPERTY. THE BUYER (TRANSFEREE)

UNDERSTANDS THAT HE WILL HAVE TO

PAY FOR WATER HOOKUP AT HIS SOLE

EXPENSE. THE GOVERNMENT IS NOT

REQUIRED TO PAY FOR THE WATER

HOOKUP.

or

WATER IS NOT AVAILABLE ON THE

PROPERTY. THE SELLER (TRANSFEROR)

HAS PROMISED TO MAKE WATER

AVAILABLE WITHIN ONE YEAR OR LESS. IF

THE SELLER (TRANSFEROR) FAILS TO DO

SO, THE BUYER (TRANSFEREE)

UNDERSTANDS THAT THE GOVERNMENT

IS NOT REQUIRED TO PAY FOR WATER

HOOKUP.

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(2) AS TO POWER:

POWER (ELECTRICITY) IS IMMEDIATELY

AVAILABLE ON THE PROPERTY OR

WITHIN 100 FEET OF THE PROPERTY.

or

POWER (ELECTRICITY) IS NOT AVAILABLE

ON THE PROPERTY. THE BUYER

(TRANSFEREE) UNDERSTANDS THAT HE

WILL HAVE TO PAY FOR ELECTRICITY

HOOKUP AT HIS SOLE EXPENSE. THE

GOVERNMENT IS NOT REQUIRED TO PAY

FOR THE HOOKUP.

or

POWER (ELECTRICITY) IS NOT AVAILABLE

ON THE PROPERTY. THE SELLER

(TRANSFEROR) HAS PROMISED TO MAKE

ELECTRICITY AVAILABLE WITHIN ONE

YEAR OR LESS. IF THE SELLER

(TRANSFEROR) FAILS TO DO SO THE

BUYER (TRANSFEREE) UNDERSTANDS

THAT THE GOVERNMENT IS NOT

REQUIRED TO PAY FOR POWER

(ELECTRICITY) HOOKUP.

(b) In a document transferring an interest in real

property except for a lease for less than one (1) year, there is

an implied warranty made by the transferor as to the accuracy

and correctness of any statement to the effect that water or

power or sewer are available on the property or within one

hundred (100) feet of the property; and the transferor has

impliedly warranted to the transferee that the named utilities

are immediately available as of the date of signing the

document. Breach of such warranty, whether intentional or

unintentional, shall be enforceable in law or in equity in the

same manner as any other warranty, and the transferee may

also recover costs and reasonable attorney’s fees for breach

of such implied warranty.

(c) If there is no disclosure made by the transferor as to

the availability or lack of availability of water or power in a

document transferring an interest in real property, except for

a lease of less than one (1) year, a deed of gift or quitclaim

deed given for no consideration, court decrees, tax deeds,

marshal’s deeds and deeds of administrators or executors of

estates, there is an implied warranty made by the transferor

to the effect that the utility whose availability is not disclosed

is available on the property or within one hundred (100) feet

of the property; and the transferor has impliedly warranted to

the transferee that the omitted utilities are immediately

available as of the date of signing the document. Breach of

such warranty, whether intentional or unintentional, shall be

enforce able in law or in equity in the same manner as any

other warranty, and the transferee may also recover costs and

reasonable attorney’s fees for breach of such implied

warranty.

(d) Power and water shall be considered immediately

available on the property or within one hundred (100) feet of

the property at the time the document is signed if utility

hookups can be applied for at the office of the utility and can

be made within ninety (90) days of the application with a

hookup of not more than one hundred (100) feet from the

property line. Power and water shall be considered not

available on the property if hookups are not immediately

available, if the distance to the hookup from the border of the

property is more than one hundred (100) feet, or although

applied for at the office of the utility, the hookup cannot be

made within ninety (90) days of the application.

(e) If any document transferring an interest in real

property, except for a lease of less than one (1) year, fails to

contain such statement as to water and power as is indicated

in Subsection (a) of this Section, the document shall be

voidable and the transaction may be rescinded at the sole

option of the transferee or his successor for a period to ten

(10) years from the date of the transaction if water or power

is not available on the property or within one hundred (100)

feet of the property. Failure to include such a statement shall

not preclude recording if the transferee or successor records

an acknowledged statement stating that under no

circumstances will the government of Guam be in anyway

responsible for paying for any required power or water

hookups, power line extensions, or waterline extensions.

(f) If the transferor agrees to make water or power or

sewer available to the property, such shall be stated in the

document transferring an interest in the property, and such

hookup shall be made available to the property by the

transferor within one (1) year or such lesser time as may be

agreed upon between transferor and transferee.

(1) Failure to make power or water or sewer

available to the property within one (1) year or such

lesser time as agreed upon will result in the transferee

being allowed, at his option, to:

(A) rescind the transaction and recover all

money paid, reasonable interest, and reasonable

costs and attorney’s fees; or

(B) recover from the transferor all amounts

required to make the promised utilities available on

the property, plus all related costs and reasonable

attorney’s fees.

(2) Failure to put the promise to make a utility

available in the document transferring an interest in the

property shall not be a defense raised by the transferor.

(g) This Section shall not apply to applicable transfer

documents recorded before the effective date of this Act and

no implied warranties contained in this Section shall attach

to any document signed before the effective date of this Act.

This Section shall not apply, for a period of ninety (90) days,

to applicable transfer documents which were signed and not

recorded before the effective date of this Act. Thereafter,

applicable transfer documents signed before the effective

date of this Act may be recorded if the transferee executes

and records an acknowledged statement as indicated in

Subsection (e) of this Section.

(h) None of the provisions of this Section shall be

waived by the parties or by the government of Guam

including the Guam Power Authority.

(i) The disclosures contained in this Section should be

placed at the end of the applicable document, immediately

before the signature lines of the parties, unless the

Department of Land Management designates some other

place on the document by rule or regulation, however

placement of the required disclosures at some other place in

the instrument shall not void the effect of the disclosures.

(j) Prior to the transferee signing any contract of sale or

other document evidencing an obligation to buy an interest in

land, any subdivider, except for a parental subdivision or a

subdivision of fifteen (15) or fewer lots, must provide a

transferee of land in the subdivision with an accurate written

estimated cost of hooking up to power and water if such are

not immediately available within one hundred (100) feet of

border of the property and are not to be provided within one

(1) year or less to the property by the subdivider. Each buyer

must acknowledge receipt of the estimate in writing. Failure

to provide such estimate shall allow the transferee to rescind

the transaction or to recover from the subdivider or from any

real estate broker, title insurance company or escrow

company involved in the transaction, the cost of hooking up

the utility concerned, plus reasonable cost and attorney’s

fees. This Subsection (j) does not apply to parental

subdivision or subdivision of fifteen (15) or fewer lots.

(k) All provisions of this Section as to breach of implied

warranty or express agreements to provide a utility may be

enforced by the transferee, his successors in interest or

through the Attorney General’s Office by the government of

Guam.