Searching for CLUEs: What Homebuyers & Sellers Need to Know About Homeowners Insurance

Homebuyers and sellers should be aware about issues involving homeowners insurance and the C.L.U.E. database. C.L.U.E. stands for Comprehensive Loss Underwriting Exchange and is a collection of homeowners insurance claim history enabling insurance companies to access five years worth of prior claim information to evaluate risks. The database is maintained by Choice Point Inc., a private Georgia firm, and contains over 40 million claims records on houses in all 50 states. Over 90 percent of insurers providing homeowners coverage provide data to the CLUE system.

In the same way that having a bad credit record affects your ability to finance a home, negative information in the CLUE database can affect whether a purchaser can get a homeowners insurance policy and at what cost. Many homebuyers are facing the grim reality of the decreasing availability and affordability of homeowners insurance. When a homeowner applies for insurance on a property, the insurance company will usually check the CLUE database to see what claims or reports of damage are on file about the property, and may charge higher premiums or possibly decline to offer insurance coverage. Without homeowners insurance it is nearly impossible to obtain a mortgage loan and in most instances a sale will fall through. Sellers of properties who never made an insurance claim but only lived in the house for a short period of time may be unaware of potential problems because of claims made by the prior owner. Another problem arises with "zero-dollar" claims which refers to things that did not result in a loss for the insurer being listed as a claim in the CLUE database, such as a homeowner calling the insurance company about possibly filing a claim, even if the claim is never filed.

The National Association of Realtors® believes that home sellers, buyers, and Realtors® need more education about CLUE. Homeowners and sellers may obtain the CLUE report on their property from www.choicetrust.com for $12.95. It is important that sellers review this report carefully to correct any inaccuracies which may inhibit a new owner from obtaining homeowners coverage. For buyers, it is critical to find out the claims history of a property before purchase by requesting a copy of the CLUE report from the seller in a contingency clause in the contract. Getting a C.L.U.E. report as soon as possible during a real estate transaction will help ensure that buyers and sellers do not receive unpleasant surprises at the last moment causing unneeded stress and delays and possibly causing a sale to collapse.

Brian Block is a Realtor with Re/Max Allegiance in Alexandria, Virginia. He is also a real estate attorney. He can be contacted at 703-626-0715. If you or anyone you know has real estate questions or is looking to buy or sell real estate in the Northern Virginia and Metropolitan D.C. area, contact Brian Block. For more information and to start your home search, visit his website at http://www.brianblock.com

---

Selling Your Own Home ? Pet Issues

If you are selling you own home, you need to... Read More

Cutting Edge Real Estate, Is the Bubble Ready To Burst?

Of course, this is the big question in real estate... Read More

Condo Hotels Offer Luxury and Great Investment Potential

Not Your Typical Vacation HomeWhat could be more perfect that... Read More

Conditions Are Right For Buying The Higher Priced Home You?Ve Always Wanted

Higher interest rates and home prices in the past have... Read More

Buying and Selling Real Estate: Negotiating to Win-Win

You don't get what you deserve - you get what... Read More

How To Buy Real Estate - Yes, YOU CAN!

If you want to buy a house but don't think... Read More

Do You Want To Sell Your Rehabs Fast?

That's an obvious question ? we all do! So what... Read More

Landlording And Other Aggravations

Here's the gripping story...You are the landlord of a small... Read More

What Homeowners Should Know to Stop Foreclosure- Speaking Your Lenders Language

Financial literacy is the means of empowering consumers to make... Read More

Buying To Let Top Ten Tips

Buying to let is considered a serious investment and should... Read More

Is An Old Home for You? ? The Pros

If you prefer a home that is unique and has... Read More

Quality of Life in Sussex County Delaware. Facts, Statistics, Observations and even opinions!

We Sussex Countians are fortunate in many ways as we... Read More

Finding The Perfect Maui Home For Sale

If you are thinking of relocating to Maui, this article... Read More

Negotiating A Short Sale ? The High Road to Huge Foreclosure Profits

Buying foreclosures can be extremely profitable for real estate investors.... Read More

Real Estate Bubble: Fact or Fiction?

The real estate market buzz across the country these days... Read More

Log Homes - What is the Log-Home Lifestyle?

Typical log home company advertisements in popular log home magazines... Read More

Flipping Houses for Gold: Three Tips to Help You Find the Perfect Fixer

Many real estate investors enjoy "flipping houses," or buying and... Read More

Should You Sell Your Home Yourself?

Are you thinking about selling your home? Would you like... Read More

Dont Buy Ugly Houses!

Ugly houses can be great investments, but we don't buy... Read More

Why Average Sale Price Statistics are Misleading

One of the most common statistics used when gauging the... Read More

Why Do Realtors Advertise Your Home in Print,on the Radio, on Television, etc.?

Why Do Realtors Advertise Your Home in Print,on the Radio,... Read More

A Beginners Guide to Flipping Houses

If you're dreaming of making money in real estate, it's... Read More

How to Prequalify a Buyer When You Sell Your Home By Owner

One questions many "for sale by owner" sellers... Read More

Foreclosure

Foreclosure under a mortgage requires a court ordered sale conducted... Read More

Flipping or Fixing Houses for Profit

Many real estate investors make $5,000 to $10,000 or more... Read More

A $100,000+ Discount On Miami Condos

By this point and time, many people have heard about... Read More

Negotiating and Sales Skills Are Critical

When I first started getting active in creative real estate,... Read More

What Should You Do If Your Home Isn?t Selling?

It can be very frustrating to put your home on... Read More

No More Estate Agent Fees

Follow a few simple guidelines, and marketing your own home... Read More

So, You Wanna Buy Pre-Foreclosures?

So you wanna buy pre-foreclosures? or at the courthouse steps?... Read More

Staging Homes for Top-Dollar Sales

Wouldn't it be nice to have Roger Hazard's design team... Read More

How to Buy a Property in Bulgaria

The CostAlthough the property prices in Bulgaria are quite low... Read More

Homes in Chapel Hill

Chapel Hill is located right in the middle of North... Read More