An earlier BLOG posted some valuable lesson learned info about buying a house without knowing the cost of insuring the property. That reminded me to tell my fellow Rainers about another valuable piece of information.
This Buyer's Agent did not inform the buyer that the cost of insuring the house was not a reason to void the contract. The property was an REO and the buyer was going to lose over $3,000 in earnest money because the buyer could not afford the premiums. The cause, they buyer had filed more than 6 claims on their renter's policies over the prior 4 years making them a "high Risk" client. They could obtain insurance but at a cost that was high. A trip to the insurance agent is as impartant as an approval letter in some cases!
Tell your clients to go get a CLUE...Have them go to their insurance agent and purchase a CLUE report on themselves and also on the property they are contracting (during the inspection phase) and they may find out a few interesting facts about themselves and the property. Choice point is an information gathering source for the insurance industry and it provides insurance companies with info on individuals and also on properties. This can be an invaluable source of information.
Below is an excerpt from the information page for Home Sellers on Choice Point's web site.
"About C.L.U.E. C.L.U.E. stands for Comprehensive Loss Underwriting Exchange, which is a database featuring loss information submitted by insurance companies. A C.L.U.E. report provides a five-year history of losses that have been filed against an insurance policy associated with a given property. The report provides information including the dates and types of losses and the amounts paid for each loss."
The value in this report for the home seller is to show any potential client information about the property...Let's say several houses were damaged in a wildfire, tornado or hurricane; the report could show that this property had minimal or no damage which is a BIG plus...or it could show that extensive repairs were done and paid for and the property is in sound condition which is still a plus if the house had suffered damage.
For first time home buyers a personal CLUE report to help them see how their previous insurance claims will affect their rates.
Do your clients have a CLUE?
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