Christmas Ornaments and Home Inventories? I don't get the connection!

“Tis the season to be Merry“….

Yes, my Christmas Tree went up as close after Thanksgiving as possible. Each year when I take out all my little ornaments it feels like I am saying hello to old friends. Some of these beauties I bought over the years by up and coming artisans (Christopher Radko, Patience Brewster for example) are now quite collectible. But if these were lost there is no way I could possibly remember the individual pieces or the artist that created them! Replacing them heaven forbid ...

This made me start thinking about home inventories. As a Realtor I know the importance of keeping records in case of disasters....I continually tell my clients about this very fact.
In the coastal south our big fear, as you must know,are the dreaded HURRICANES …..A close friend who lives on the water has a bag always packed of irreplaceable photographs, so as soon as she needs to evacuate she has her prized memories ready to go in a moments notice. But it is not just storms that can wipe our personal possessions out …it can be a fire…burglary….in Louisiana floods.

Replacing Frames of this size are expensive!

Most insurance policies today do replacement value on most of your home goods. It is always good to check and see just what the terms and requirements are on your home owner’s policy so you know you are in compliance and just what they will require from you. But say you have a loss and you cannot  remember all that precious "stuff." If you are caught without an inventory of your home a good way to show loss is with photographs. And they do not necessarily need to be specific ones you have taken for this purpose but ones of the kids that might show Aunt Susie’s prized cake plate in the back ground at a birthday party. Another solution is asking friends for photos and videos they may have been taken in your home. In the case of theft you can use the owner’s manual of that flat screen TV the hooligans took for your documentation!  Purchase receipts of electronic equipment are great. Alas, is there nothing we can throw away?

But the smart thing is to be to be pro- active! Make an inventory of all those precious things you have accumulated. Ideally, you should do a written one and also have photos for items that really have extra value. An excellent technique, if you do not want to photograph each piece,is to at least walk through your home with a video slowly scanning each room so though you do not have written evidence you have enough in the video to jog your memory of just what all you did loose. 

If you are young and just starting out in a new home do this right now and it will become such a rewarding habit as the years go by. Use the link to my inventory(.pdf) and start your list today. Things of real value like art work and jewelry deserve an actual picture or an appraisal. A home Inventory is an excellent item to put with all of your important papers like deeds, warranties and manuals in a home safe or a safety deposit box.

Argh ! Now after creating this wonderful form my husband is insisting I get started on ours …what is the saying? No good deed goes unpunished!


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