It's a great feeling when moving into a new home. Whether it's newly built, or new to you, owning another - or your first - home is exciting! We at Grandview Lending completely enjoy sharing these times with you and are pleased with the great feedback we receive about the smooth and professional process we provide.

When moving into a new house, often new furniture, appliances and decorative items are purchased. We'd like to encourage you create an inventory of your belongings.

Why? You know you have proper insurance coverage on the house itself, as the value is determined. But what about the contents – the items that might be stolen or destroyed by fire or natural disaster? Do you have high-end clothing, a lot of jewelry and/or collectibles? Are your furniture pieces high-dollar, name brand items? If so, you might not have enough insurance because the personal property coverage is based on a percentage of the house value. So, how do you know? A list of your belonings will supply that answer.

You’re probably thinking, “But I have insurance, so why do I need to have this information?” If you have to file an insurance claim, even though you have insurance, you will be required to list each item in your home, when you purchased it and what it cost. That’s a daunting task! Try it … list everything in your garage without looking. Hand tools, power tools, lawn and garden equipment, toys, sports equipment, possibly even a compressor, power washer, ladders - the list goes on. Do you know the manufacturer and model numbers of the tools and lawn equipment? It’s overwhelming thinking of doing that for the entire house; can you image pulling this information together when under the stress and emotion caused by the situation that created the need to file a claim?

A record of all that you own (photographs and written report), prepared now, will help you remember and prove value. If you don’t want to create your own inventory, Hartman Inventory will complete that task for you. They will also help you identify items that should be appraised or covered on a rider. All of this will ensure you’re properly insured, and will be able to recover if you have a disaster.

The right mortgage, the proper insurance coverage and a thorough inventory. Ahhh…now you can sit back, feet up, and enjoy peace of mind.