When Buying A Home, Get a C.L.U.E.

When purchasing a home, whether it is a foreclosure or a "regular" sale, it can be very important to be aware of the insurance claims that have been brought against the property.  This information can make a big difference in whether or not the home is a viable alternative for a buyer.  There are two primary reasons that insurance claims brought against a property can make a difference to a prospective buyer:

1)  If there have been many claims against a particular property, the house may be deemed as difficult and/or expensive to ensure in the future.  As a result, a buyer could find it difficult to obtain property insurance at a reasonable rate for their new home.
2)  Significant insurance claims that have not been adequately addressed (i.e. water damage), could cause massive problems later on for the new home owner.

Insurance claim history can be found in what is called a C.L.U.E. (Comprehensive Loss Underwriting Exchange) Report which can be ordered by the owner of a property at PersonalReports.LexisNexis.com. (Formerly known has Choice Trust) The report is available for a nominal fee.  When selling your home, if you have not had any significant claims on your property in the past five years, it is to your advantage to proactively provide this information to prospective buyers.  When purchasing a home, you can write in a request to review the C.L.U.E. report as a condition of your purchase.

Now, more than ever, when buying a home, it is important to get a C.L.U.E.