When we are successful in negotiating a Contract on your behalf for the purchase of your home one of the tasks to be accomplished is obtaining home owners insurance coverage. The short hand method to describe this policy is "Homeowners Insurance".
The first step in this process is to obtain a report that will reveal if there have been any prior insurance claims made for repair of damage to the house or for the loss of personal property. This report commonly referred to as a "CLUE Report" or a "Loss History Report" is provided by the Seller. I will of course be responsible for obtaining that for you. Our standard Arizona Contract requires that the Report be furnished to you within a period of five (5) days following final acceptance of the Offer. The Report will reveal the information required for a period of five (5) years.
When we receive the Report I will want you to take it to your Insurance agent or broker. If you do not have an agent or broker I will give you a list of responsible competent agents and brokers representing well known and well financed Insurance companies. You can meet with any one you choose to discuss the insurance you will require. The Report will aid your agent or broker in determining (1) if the house can be insured and (2) the amount of the premium.
If, in the unlikely event the house cannot be insured because of prior claims or the prior claims while allowing a policy to be placed will cause the premium to be substantially more than normal you will have the contractual right to cancel the Contract and receive a full refund of your earnest money deposit.
The other purpose that the Report will serve is to determine if the disclosures we have received from the Seller are accurate. So the Report actually serves a dual purpose.
Please be aware that is has been estimated that some 66% of US homes are underinsured by an average of 16%. Your insurance agent or broker will or certainly should have information on replacement value so that when your insurance is placed it is placed in the appropriate amount.
Here are just some of the questions that will need to be answered;
1. Do you need flood insurance?
2. Are you going to operate a business out of your home?
3. Do you have the correct replacement cost covered, both for the property contents
4. Will the Policy have inflation protection?
5. Will any unique personal property that would require a separate Appraisal be kept in the property
Finally, after we close on your new home, please as a special favor to me and certainly for you as well, prepare a complete inventory of all the personal property that will be in your home. In the unfortunate event of a loss you will need this inventory. It is a good idea to use your computer to date up a remainder to update the inventory, once a year is a good idea. The inventory should be put in a safe location outside the house.
Today it very easy, utilizing your digital camera or your video camera to photograph all of the rooms in the house, please do not forget the closets and other storage places. This is an easy way to prepare the inventory and obviously is very descriptive.
The proper insurance and the idea of maintaining an inventory of your personal property is often overlooked and should not be.
So you see as an Exclusive Buyer Agent, I go beyond just selling my clients a home. The subject of insurance is too often overlooked between a client and their agent. As your exclusive buyer's agent this will be a topic of conversation that we will discuss together as well as a number of referrals I can provide to you to be sure you are getting the right coverage for you individual situation.
If you are n the market for a home in the next 90 days, for a property priced between $300,000 and $1,500,000, have been pre-approved, and want an agent on your side that is a Certified Negotiation Expert, never represents a Seller and will $ave you thousands of dollars on your next real estate purchase, contact me, TJ Harris at Buyers 1st Realty, Fountain Hills, AZ. 480-836-4338 Email tj@azbuyers1strealty.com website www.azbuyers1streatly.com
Comments(0)