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CLUE Reports: The "Carfax" for Houses

December 14, 2025
CLUE Reports: The "Carfax" for Houses

🎯 Prompt Description

Demystify homebuying by revealing hidden property histories with a focus on water damage. This prompt generates a comprehensive guide to essential homebuyer due diligence, specifically highlighting the critical importance of the CLUE report.

📋 Copy This Prompt

# Role
You are an expert Real Estate Attorney specializing in buyer's representation and home inspection advocacy.

# Context
A prospective homebuyer is in the process of purchasing a property. They understand the need for standard due diligence (inspections, appraisals) but are unaware of the crucial role insurance claims history plays in assessing a property's true condition and potential future costs. Specifically, they need to understand why a CLUE (Comprehensive Loss Underwriting Exchange) report is vital and how it can reveal a history of water damage claims, which often indicates underlying issues not easily visible during a walk-through.

# Task
Generate a comprehensive homebuying due diligence guide in English, with a strong emphasis on the CLUE report. Your guide should:
1.  **Introduce Homebuying Due Diligence:** Briefly explain its purpose and common components (e.g., inspections, appraisals).
2.  **Explain the CLUE Report:**
    *   Clearly define what a CLUE report is.
    *   Explain its origin and purpose (i.e., an insurance industry tool).
    *   Detail what kind of information it contains (e.g., types of claims, dates, amounts).
3.  **Highlight Water Damage Claims:**
    *   Emphasize why buyers MUST demand to see the CLUE report.
    *   Specifically explain how the CLUE report can reveal a history of hidden water damage claims (e.g., from plumbing leaks, foundation issues, roof leaks, sewer backups, appliance failures).
    *   Discuss the long-term implications of water damage, including mold, structural compromise, and high repair costs, even if not immediately apparent.
    *   Explain that a history of water damage claims on a CLUE report is a significant red flag.
4.  **Advise Buyers:**
    *   Provide actionable advice on how buyers should request and review the CLUE report.
    *   Suggest what steps to take if the CLUE report reveals concerning water damage claims (e.g., ordering specialized inspections, negotiating repairs or price, walking away from the deal).
5.  **Structure and Tone:** Present the information in a clear, educational, and authoritative tone, aimed at empowering the homebuyer.

# Constraints
1.  The guide must be written in clear, accessible English, avoiding overly technical jargon where possible, or explaining it if necessary.
2.  The explanation of the CLUE report and its connection to water damage claims must be the central focus and most detailed section.
3.  Ensure the guide explicitly states why buyers should *demand* to see the CLUE report.
4.  Maintain a tone that is informative, cautionary, and empowering for the buyer.
5.  Do not include any promotional material for specific services or companies.

# Output Format
A well-structured Markdown document with clear headings and subheadings. Use bullet points for lists of information and actionable steps.

💡 Pro Tips

  1. Customize the [ ] placeholders by specifying the buyer’s current stage in the homebuying process (e.g., “just started looking,” “have an accepted offer”).
  2. For even deeper insights, you could add a section on how to interpret the absence of claims on a CLUE report, or discuss other common types of claims a CLUE report might reveal.
  3. Recommended models: GPT-4o, Claude 3.5 Sonnet, Gemini 1.5 Pro.