Buying a home can be overwhelming for anyone, and it can be especially hard to navigate as a newbie to the process. From selecting the picture-perfect home to choosing the right mortgage, you’ll be making decisions you’ve never had to make before – decisions that have long-term consequences, including increasing what you'll pay for home insurance.
Yes, home insurance. Your lender's going to require it, and you'll need to factor that cost in when you're deciding how much you can pay each month for housing. How much will it cost? That depends on several factors that are good to keep in mind as you search for the perfect home.
You've no doubt heard your real estate agent say it – location, location, location. He or she generally says it to refer to how close a particular house is to good schools or shopping or other amenities you might seek in a home. But location is important to home insurance, too. Here's how:
As you find homes you like, request that the owners turn over CLUE reports on the properties. CLUE stands for Comprehensive Loan Underwriting Exchange – it's a database that tracks insurance claims and losses for the home over the previous seven years. Consider it a CARFAX for homes.
Why does the CLUE report matter? Because insurance providers often consider what's on it when determining premiums for home insurance coverage for the property. They'll also consider your claims history if you've owned a home previously – consumers who file claims are considered more likely to file more claims.
In most states, providers also will consider your credit history when writing a policy. The idea, according to insurance companies, is that policyholders who have been responsible with their credit generally are much less likely to file claims.
When you're looking at houses, be nosy. Find out when the house was built and whether the roof has been replaced since then. Look into when the plumbing, electrical and HVAC systems were modified, too. If you don't, your insurance provider will – and will raise or lower your premium according to what it discovers. Older isn't better in any of those scenarios.
Do you want a swimming pool? How much? A swimming pool will greatly increase your home insurance premium, because of the risk it poses to guests – and for that matter, to trespassers. That's right – you can be held responsible if a trespasser – particularly a child – wanders onto your property and falls into your pool.
What that means for your home insurance is that you'll have to boost the liability coverage on your house. Your insurance provider also likely will require you to build a self-locking fence around the pool as a means to keep trespassers out.
The same goes for trampolines, skateboard ramps, jungle gyms and treehouses.
Don't call the whole thing off. Yes, all those things can drive up your home insurance premiums. But there also are some solid ways to save:
No one's advocating that you only consider insurance factors while you chase down that dream home. But knowing how certain features can affect what you pay for home insurance could help you avoid a big surprise when you prepare to close the sale. The last thing you want is for that dream home to turn into an insurance nightmare.
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