When we see that dream home for the first time, our emotions take over and we just want to get into it as soon as possible. However, it is important that we hold our emotions in check. If you think you have found your ideal home, you should still take all of the necessary precautions that you did on other homes you were looking at. One of the most important things you can look at is the CLUE report.
What Is A CLUE Report?
CLUE stands for comprehensive loss underwriting exchange. The report lists a history of insurance claims on a specific property or the insured individual. Sadly, the buyer cannot request one on a property they do not own. Only the homeowners, insurance company, and lenders are allowed to review these reports. However, you can ask a seller to order the report and review it together.
This report can be particularly useful in determining the actual status of the property. The report details a seven-year history of all insurance claims. It provides information on the type of claim, the date, and how much the insurance company paid out. This information is compiled due to loss data reporting by insurance companies to LexisNexis who maintains the database. The only thing that you will not find on a CLUE report are home warranty claims, but nonetheless, it is still a useful piece of data if you are investigating a property to purchase.
The Types of Things You Can Find in A CLUE Report
There is an array of things that can show up on a CLUE report. It can include water damage, a flooded basement, storm damage, damage from an electrical fire, multiple fires, multiple thefts, and damage to the roof. If you find that there are multiple thefts on the report, then maybe you do not want to live in that neighborhood after all. If you find other things listed, talk them over with the seller, and see how they were resolved. Moreover, you should hire an inspector to investigate any repair work that was done.
One thing to keep in mind is that just because you find a lot of things on a report doesn’t necessarily mean that rules out you buying that property. Depending on the type of damage and how it was repaired, this means that the home could have a lot of new features that will save you money in the long run. However, it is important that proper improvements were made to prevent a flooded basement or busted pipes in the future.
The CLUE report can be an invaluable asset for the buyer. Naturally, if the seller has filed a lot of claims, they probably will not be too eager to order the report. However, if they are okay ordering their free annual report through the LexisNexis website, by mail, or by calling 1-866-312-8076, then that is usually a good sign. At the end of the day, this report can not only inform you what you are getting in to but also put to rest any thoughts about buying into a disaster.
