The Importance of C.L.U.E. Reports

If you want to know more about a home's history of property damage, you can ask the seller to provide you with a copy of his or her C.L.U.E., or Comprehensive Loss Underwriting Exchange report from LexisNexis at www.choicetrust.com. These are the very same reports most major insurance companies use when a new policy is written on a home.

According to Traci Reese of Brian P. Reister Insurance Agency they are seeing numerous new policy applications where recent claims have been made and in many cases the repairs have not been made. In these cases policies cannot be written.

As an inspector I've seen numerous houses in the past few years with obvious storm damage to the exterior. In these cases I always advise my clients to obtain a C.L.U.E. report from either the seller or their own insurance agent. In the majority of these cases there is documentation that a previous payment and claim has been made.

If a recent claim has been paid but the repairs have not been made, be prepared to negotiate the repairs with the selling party before an insurance policy can be issued.

www.minnesotahomeinspectors.com

Poison Ivy - The Chameleon of Plants

Poison Ivy, Toxicodendron radicans, has many leaflet forms. Sometimes the edges will be almost smooth (Photo 1), but there can be few (Photo 2) or many edge serrations (Photo 3).

The defining characteristics, however, are common in all versions:

• Compound leaves with three leaflets
• Symmetrical center leaflet serrations
• Larger serrations at the bottom sides of the two lower leaflets than on their upper sides
• Upper leaflet stalk is longer than stalks on the two lower leaflets

The vines can vary in color from green to red. Greyish white berries can be found on the plants and birds eat these berries without any problems. Humans, however, can be extremely sensitive to urushiol, the oil in the plant.

Professionals should remove this plant, but if you choose to remove it, we recommend first spraying with a systemic plant killer, such as Brush-B-Gon. After it dies back, wear
protective clothing and gloves, and place the plants in sealed plastic bags for disposal - urushiol is still present. Discard the gloves and wash remaining clothes, using a hot water cycle. Urushiol remains wherever located for a long time, i.e., for several years. Never burn this plant - the oil is in the smoke.