There are 3 ways to value your home. One is the market value. If you were to sell your house today, how much would someone pay to buy your home? What would a real-estate agent list it for (which are sometimes 2 totally different things in themselves)? Another is the taxable value. The county will, for taxable purposes, come up with a value on your home and then tax accordingly. This value could be based on the tax revenue that needs to be raised in your community and not on the actual value of your home. The third is the replacement cost. If your house burns to the ground or is destroyed in that ever present Zombie apocalypse, how much will it cost to rebuild the same house for you again, same size, same number of rooms, same quality and similar construction?
For purposes of Homeowners insurance, the company only considers the replacement cost, because, in the event of a fire or Zombie apocalypse replacement cost is what they will have to pay. Using today’s building costs for the same size house, same number of rooms, same quality and similar construction. Of course some construction methods used in the early 20th century and before are impossible to duplicate today (like the bricks for our building were made on site, amazing), but the insurance company wants to be as close to replacing the same dwelling as they possibly can. Happy customers make for profitable business. Market value or taxable value may not pay enough to replace your house in the event of a fire or Zombie apocalypse, this would make for not happy customers.
If you still have questions or have more questions on another topic, give us a call. 419-732-3171
By Lori Madison