Your Many Options For Creating A Home Inventory
Ah, the home inventory. Whether you love it or hate it, it's a necessary evil if you want to keep track of your possessions for the purposes of homeowners insurance. But before you grab a pad of paper and a pen, you might want to know that the home inventory has evolved.
No longer do you have to spend hours itemizing your belongings manually; there are now many options available to you that only require internet access and a few minutes of your time.
Home Inventory Software
There are a wide range of options for home inventory software; some that cost money, and some that don't. Before you go and spend your money on software that may not do all you need it to, you might want to add this checklist of features that every piece of home inventory software should offer.
- Good home inventory software will allow you to store images of your items right in the program. This is a good feature to have, even though you might not be thinking about storing images right now.
- You should be able to enter all the information you need to into your program, including multiple properties. You should also be able to create multiple categories.
- A free trial will definitely help you decide if a program is for you. Put your free trial through its paces so you can see if it can handle all you need it to do.
Online Storage
Storing files online, or 'in the cloud' has become an increasingly popular way to save time and space. And you can do this with your home inventory log file. The main advantage of this is that all of your important documents will be stored safely away from computer crashes, flood damage and other threats.
However slim, the disadvantage is that, in storing your information online, you may be at risk of having your information stolen by a hacker or potential burglar.
Appraisal
You can easily figure out what your items are worth by tapping into the consumer market. Sites like Ebay are great places to get a starting point on what your precious items may be selling for. You can also find numerous consumer forums dedicated to the valuation of antiques and other items that may be in your home.
If you wish to get an appraisal online, the most important thing to note is that a photograph will be all the appraiser has to go by. So you must ensure that the image is well-lighted and clear, and that you have images taken from many angles.
And just as with an offline appraiser, the online professional you choose to work with should be well-researched. Check whether their registered with any overseeing organizations as well as the BBB, and read all reviews and complaints carefully.
Having technology on your side can definitely make your home inventory easier. But taking care to ensure you're getting as much quality as possible will benefit you that much more.