The current California housing market has a low-inventory of existing homes for sale. This is enables a lot of homes to be offered in “as-is” condition where they are sold without repairs being made prior to the sale. It seem that in a “hot” housing market like this, buyers can't afford to take time to address these issues. Our company, Stillwater, has seen a spike in issues arising from these snap decisions. Applying for insurance during the home buying process is an important step. Ideally, properties will reflect pride of ownership, be well maintained and not have issues like debris spread around the property, inoperable vehicles parked on the property, etc.
How can we address this together? As your local insurance agency, this means we'll be asking you more questions up front! This will help address some of the aforementioned issues and it will certainly save us both a lot of time and frustration after closing. The worst case scenario if we don't both do our due deligence in this process? You'll receive a cancellation notice of your insurance due to maintenance concerns associated with your new home. Bottom line - bear with our questions as we pursue a policy for your new home, we promise it's in both of our best interest :)
Here are the Top 6 inspection issues that our company, Stillwater, is seeing (Please note, these issues are generally red flags for homes, but can vary depending on the context/situation):
Roofs
- Roofs long past their time with no aggregate left on the asphalt shingles.
- Roofs with mis-match patch-work evident
- Roof with rolled composition or torched down bitumen (a process by which rolled asphalt is installed) is okay but will need to be discussed in more detail AND in some cases a report from a roofing contractor may be required to confirm this roof type.
Paint
- Paint missing or flaking off from Facia, Eves or Stucco repairs
Trees
- Trees with limbs overhanging the residence.
- Trees with limbs in contact with the structure or roof
Exterior Wall Damage
- Snow or Irrigation damage to a wall.
- Neglected wood facia on walls with no updated stain or paint
- No paint on Stucco where windows were replaced or updated
Personal Property Scattered About
- Appliances on patios or side-yards
- Left over construction material from job sites scattered or piled
- Metal Storage Containers (Shipping Containers, etc.) are not acceptable
Trampolines & Treehouses
- Trampolines are Eligible for Homeowners if a net is installed
- Trampolines are Ineligible for Dwelling Fire risks
- Treehouses & Ziplines are Ineligible