Thought this article from the Wall Street Journal was quite interesting citing the trend of buying a new home and bailing on the old one which has depreciated in value. Anyone interested in weighing in on the ethical aspects of this "buy and bail" trend? If indeed, any of you believe there are any.... Anyone seeing this in their marketplace? You can certainly see this trend growing and perhaps creating sales opportunities but.......Read the entire article at http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121314811278463077.html?mod=fpa_mostpop

Recently, I went to the marathon 12 hour continuing education program to complete the hours that I needed to renew my license in Massachusetts. Hard as I try, I can never seem to get my act together to take the more prudent and leisurely route of single classes at a time. Anyway, I never really expect to gain a whole lot from the classes that are offered. I really tend to consider it a day I simply pull off the calendar every two years. Well listen to this... I actually learned something. I was (along with my classmates) completely unaware of the extent to which properties and individuals are being scrutinized by the insurance industry and the potential impact that it can have on some of our sales. Log on to www.choicepoint.com. It is a database that has been created to share our personal and property insurance claims. This information is taken into account when our clients are obtaining binders for homes they have purchased. Big deal, maybe yes, maybe no. I checked with my Insurance Agent about the potential of past claims effecting future coverage rates. The example I gave him was water damage but there are obviously countless others. His response to my inquiry was,

"A past claim history for a particular property could effect the buyers ability to get coverage. This would be an issue if the past claims indicate some continuing defect or extra risk associated with the property. Your example of past water damage causing future mold problems could be a reason for an underwriting to shy away from a risk. The insurance costs get substantially higher if standard coverage is not available and coverage has to be obtained through surplus/excess insurance carriers (or organizations such as Lloyds). Those rates are not as regulated and basically they can charge what they want."

In some cases, I am led to understand that the consequences of unusually larger than expected insurance rates have disqualified buyers and cancelled closings. At the last minute-no less. YIKES!! I am also led to believe that Massachusetts is somewhat behind the times on this and that those of you practicing in other parts of the country are already dealing with this situation. Are contingencies of "no more than x insurance rates" commonly used? Do sellers obtain insurance price ranges prior to listing? I'd really love to know. Please share your experiences with all of us. Thanks