Before Buying (NAPSA)—For many, finding and buying the right homeisstill a big part of the American dream. However, that dream home can turn into a nightmare when hid- den costs from weather and other types of damagestart adding up. It’s not uncommon for consumers to find out about these hidden costs rather late in the process. That’s because until now, buyers had to wait until just before closing to receive a “seller’s disclosure.” | There’s a new service that offers homebuyers a comprehensive history of a property. This is a documentthat reveals details about the house the buyers plan to purchase. At that point, it’s likely that a prospective buyer hasalready paid thousandsofdollars for legal fees, inspections, deposits and title fees and may be reluctant to back out of the deal. Fortunately, there is a resource that buyers can call on earlier in the process. Real estate tycoon and “Shark Tank” host Barbara Corcoran suggests going online to find property history and insurance claims on a home. An Insurance Claims report can give homebuyers and Realtors information that was previously only available to homeowners. For instance, a company called Housefax offers online reports that provide a comprehensivehistory of a home, including building permits; mortgage information; insuranceclaims; fire, flood, hail and catastrophic history; and other residential property details. The reports also include infor- mation on schools in the district, current property assessment val- ues and inspectoralerts. For more information, contact Housefax at www.housefax.com.
