uying a place with a shake roof.

For sellers this can be a disaster, since you could have a much harder time selling your property unless you either replace the roof or agree in the purchase contract to provide a credit to the buyer for a new roof. If

Whenever I guide someone through the process of selling or buying a property in Incline Village I always take a close look at the issue of homeowner's insurance. What can seem like a routine or mundane matter in most of America is of great importance and fraught with many issues that affect property owners in mountain and resort areas like the Lake Tahoe Basin.

A great example of this which pertains directly to properties at Lake Tahoe and specifically real estate in Incline Village, is the insurability of properties with shake roofs. Originally, it was part of the local regulations that all residential properties had to have shake roofs so as to blend in with the environment. Current wisdom, (which should have been the case from the beginning) is that wood shake roofs are a hazard in the residential/wildland interface due to fire danger. However, there are still a large percentage or properties in Incline Village with shake roofs and not every insurance company will write a policy on your home if you are buying a place with a shake roof.

For sellers this can be a disaster, since you could have a much harder time selling your property unless you either replace the roof or agree in the purchase contract to provide a credit to the buyer for a new roof. If

aught with many issues that affect property owners in mountain and resort areas like the Lake Tahoe Basin.

A great example of this which pertains directly to properties at Lake Tahoe and specifically real estate in Incline Village, is the insurability of properties with shake roofs. Originally, it was part of the local regulations that all residential properties had to have shake roofs so as to blend in with the environment. Current wisdom, (which should have been the case from the beginning) is that wood shake roofs are a hazard in the residential/wildland interface due to fire danger. However, there are still a large percentage or properties in Incline Village with shake roofs and not every insurance company will write a policy on your home if you are buying a place with a shake roof.

For sellers this can be a disaster, since you could have a much harder time selling your property unless you either replace the roof or agree in the purchase contract to provide a credit to the buyer for a new roof. If

of properties with shake roofs. Originally, it was part of the local regulations that all residential properties had to have shake roofs so as to blend in with the environment. Current wisdom, (which should have been the case from the beginning) is that wood shake roofs are a hazard in the residential/wildland interface due to fire danger. However, there are still a large percentage or properties in Incline Village with shake roofs and not every insurance company will write a policy on your home if you are buying a place with a shake roof.

For sellers this can be a disaster, since you could have a much harder time selling your property unless you either replace the roof or agree in the purchase contract to provide a credit to the buyer for a new roof. If

od shake roofs are a hazard in the residential/wildland interface due to fire danger. However, there are still a large percentage or properties in Incline Village with shake roofs and not every insurance company will write a policy on your home if you are buying a place with a shake roof.

For sellers this can be a disaster, since you could have a much harder time selling your property unless you either replace the roof or agree in the purchase contract to provide a credit to the buyer for a new roof. If

uying a place with a shake roof.

For sellers this can be a disaster, since you could have a much harder time selling your property unless you either replace the roof or agree in the purchase contract to provide a credit to the buyer for a new roof. If you're a buyer, homes that pose insurability problems become less desirable if you can't get affordable insurance or need to immediately incur a huge cash expense such as a roof replacement at the time of purchase just to get insurance. When I bought my house in 2005 with a shake roof this was a huge issue and only American Family Insurance would write a policy for my property.

Another thing to look at is the issue of complaints and claims satisfaction and how different companies rate. The statistics compiled by the State of CA department of Insurance for 2004 (the most current year available) show Kemper Insurance at the top end of the spectrum with 0 justified complaints for homeowners insurance in 2004. In contrast State Farm and Allstate are tied with the 3rd highest number of justified complaints of all 50 insurance companies in the study in 2004. If you are using either one of those firms you may wish to get bids from other companies and look at changing your insurer.

Copyright 2006 Don Kanare -