What does SPDS and CLUE mean? Real Estate Abbreviations

April 27th, 2009 1:58 PM

There are a lot of acronyms and other "lingo" used in real estate listings.  Two of which I get asked about often are: CLUE and SPDS.

 

When a person is selling a house, they usually provide a SPDS, which is a Seller's Property Disclosure Statement.  It's a document that the seller fills out stating all the information they know about their property that would possibly affect a buyer's desire for the property or affect it's value, such as previous water damage, termite treatment, etc.  Rules governing what must be disclosed by law differ from state to state.  When a property is being sold by a lender, they do not provide a SPDS since they don't really have any information to provide on the home.

 

CLUE is an acronym for Comprehensive Loss Underwriting Exchange, which is really just a large database. The database is a collection of "insurance claims" against homes and automobiles and the like. Even an inquiry to your insurance company regarding POSSIBLE water or storm damage could result in a submission to your home's CLUE report. A CLUE Report shows all claims made on the property in the past 5 years, which is very useful information when buying a home, which is why buyer's may request this. Lenders selling a foreclosed property will not likely provide this.

Sometimes a Short Sale, which technically IS being sold by the owner and is not yet a foreclosure, also will not provide these documents because they're not making any money, so they are not motivated to do so.   

 

I hope that helps.  It's the norm for foreclosed properties and pre-foreclosure (short sale) properties to be sold without these documents.  The listing will say "No CLUE or SPDS provided."  Even if the property says it is being sold "as is," you still have a 10-day inspection period in which to discover any major problems with the property. So, don't let the lack of these document deter you from looking at foreclosures and short sales.

 

If you would like more information on these or any other documents involved in purchasing a home, please don't hesitate to call or email me.

  Lisa

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