The beginning of the New Year is a perfect time to complete the task of taking a home inventory. We work incredibly hard to buy all our beautiful belongings, but often skip this final step. It’s an investment in time but really worth the effort, and could literally save us thousands of dollars.
Why It’s Important
There’s the obvious reason. You need an inventory list to give to the insurance company in the event you need to file a claim. However, you also need to ensure you are properly compensated for that claim, so you must
have a full accounting what of what you own. Not to mention, the second reason to have an inventory is that the vast majority of homeowners are dramatically under insured. So to put it simply, if you know what you have,
you will know how much coverage you need.
What’s On the List
A home inventory list is a list of the items or personal belongings you have in your home. You can organize the list however you want, however is should contain the following.
- Description
- Make, Model or Serial number if applicable
- Description of the item
- Evaluations of items, Appraisals or cost at the time of purchase
- Where the item was purchased
- Date of purchase
- Receipts or photos in an attachment if relevant
- May also include what you think it will cost to replace “today” if you have this information. (What you bought on sale, may not be on sale at the time of loss)
Replacement Value VS Actual Cash Value
Consider the amount of replacement cost and not actual cash value. This is also a good time to ask your insurance company what the basis of claims settlement will be, and if you will get replacement cost. Make sure you have a full understanding of replacement cost vs. actual cash value.
Go Digital
Don’t have time to go room by room just now? Take photos and/or videos of everything. Go room by room and open drawers, and closets. DO NOT FORGET serial numbers or labels. You can sit down and go through all
your images and fill out a worksheet.
Get an APP
There are a lot of good APPS out there to help you be through and systematic. Make sure you EXPORT the list when done. Sorthly is one of the highest ranking. However, do your own research. Read reviews and see what appeals to you. Here’s a list to get you started.
- BluePlum Home Inventory
- Nest Egg
- MyStuff
- Inventory Manager
- Sortly
- Encircle
- Liberty Mutual Home Gallery
- DreamVault
Make Multiples
Finally, once you’re satisfied with your home inventory, make more than one copy. You may want a copy for your home, but make sure it’s not your only one. A safety deposit box, a trusted friend of family member, or even locked away at your office are all good alternatives to store this important information.
Tips
Just Start. Even though you may not have time to complete the entire thing, or feel overwhelmed, just start with one room at a time.
Contact Lee for more information on how to make the most of your investment and for anything and everything related to real estate.