You've been a regular Sherlock Holmes while looking for a different home for you and your family. You've done extensive research – ferreted out the best location, measured once, maybe twice to make sure it's the right size for you and your family, inspected both the interior and exterior, and worn your fingers to the bone on your calculator to make sure the cost would fit into your budget! But did you think to check the home's background? Your sleuthing isn't done until you get a CLUE, a generalized industry term for property loss history.

What will the property loss history tell you? While the homeowner's disclosure indicates if there have been any problems with the property, the property loss history will tell you the extent of any damage. You can see what the claims have been -- maybe a water problem, or if the roof has been replaced due to a storm, or even if a portion of the house has been rebuilt because of fire damage. This can be incredibly important information since previous claims on the property can impact your ability to insure the home as well as your homeowner's insurance rate.

Who collects the property loss history? There are a couple of well-known property claims databases used by the insurance industry. CLUE (Comprehensive Loss Underwriting Exchange) is administered by Choice Management Company, and A-PLUS Property Loss Underwriting System is run by The Insurance Services Offices. Both of these are "information gathering" places, much like the credit bureaus. But instead of how much money was borrowed and whether it's been paid back, the property loss history includes the type of loss (including the cause), date of claim, as well as the amount of money paid (which may be less than the total claim because of the deductible) for repair. Property and casualty insurance companies provide the information for these databases.

Insurers have been using loss histories as an underwriting tool for decades. However, computer technology has made this information more reliable and easier for the consumer to get. Choice Management has theirs available on-line at www.choicepoint.com. Consumers can call A-Plus at 1-800-709-8842 to request a copy. A small fee is charged for the report.

While you can't order a report on someone else's property, you can ask the owner of the property you are buying to make it available to you. Remember that the report might not be a complete history on the home because data on a property is only kept for five years. To protect consumers, federal regulations allow only loss history information to be stored on the databases, not a homeowner's personal information. You can also order a report to check the history of your own primary residence. You can add information to the report on your property to indicate improvements you have made, such as replacement of a leaky roof or the addition of dead-bolt locks on outside doors. This helps lower the risk profile on your property.

Property loss reports are becoming an increasingly important part of real estate transactions. Many buyers now request that a property loss report on the home they are buying be included with the real estate contract. Some state legislatures are even considering making this a requirement for any real estate transaction. And, homebuyers should shop for insurance to cover their new purchase before the completion of the real estate transaction. So, finish your detective work before you buy that home. By checking the property loss history, you can see if there are skeletons in the closet!