TIGHT MONEY?

Getting a loan isn't the only thing buyers have to worry about these days. The insurance industry is making it even more difficult for some. Now the buyer not only has to prove his status of being credit worth, but the home, itself, must be vetted as well. The process is called "CLUE".

CLUEs are financial reports on people and properties generated by a national insurance industry databank called Comprehensive Loss Underwriting Exchange, nicknamed CLUE.

The system contains a five-year history of claims and payments, along with records of inquiries concerning coverage, said Chuck Jones, director of external communications for ChoicePoint Asset Co., the Alpharetta, Ga., data management firm that runs CLUE.

"CLUE speeds decisions at the point of sale, detects and deters fraud and insures a fair rate structure so homeowners with few claims don't pay as much as homeowners with a history of numerous claims," Jones said.

THe problem occurs, though, when a buyer of a home is ready to close his purchase, and the CLUE report says that the home has be burglarized in the past! In this case the premiums for the insurance may be doubled, tripled or even quadrupled!

THe best way for a buyer to handle these types of things is to get an insurance binder on the home he wants at the beginning of the process!! Then he won't be surprised at the last minute should something like this coming up.