the Home Records Handbook: Building, Keeping, and Using Record That Protects Your

Every house outlasts everybody's memory of it.Years later somebody asks what the kitchen looked like before the ceiling came down, whether the basement was finished with a permit, or what the deck cost in 2019. The answer is either in a folder or it is gone - and there is no way to make it retroactively.The Home Records Handbook is about that folder. Not filing for its own sake: the specific moments a home record decides an outcome, and what it has to contain before you get there.It covers what belongs in the record and why, and how to keep it in a form that survives fire, flood and eleven years of good intentions. Then the part almost nobody plans for - using it: - Making an insurance claim, and proving a loss you never photographed- Enforcing a warranty a manufacturer is resisting- Questioning a contractor invoice that grew- Dealing with unpermitted work you inherited from a previous owner- Producing the figure a tax preparer asks for when you sell- Handing the whole record on to whoever comes nextEvery item carries one of three marks - Record (just write it down), Confirm (check this against your own policy or jurisdiction), or Consult (bring in a professional first) - so you always know how far a general rule is meant to carry.Every figure in the book traces to a named authority, and where no authority states one, the book says so instead of guessing.Written for homeowners in the United States and Canada, at any stage of ownership. Companion to The First Home Handbook, and readable on its own.This book is not legal, tax, or insurance advice.