Getting all the housing 'fax' could speed up closings

A new service that offers background checks on homes before they are purchased could speed up times to close, it has been claimed

A new service that offers background checks on homes before they are purchased could speed up times to close, it has been claimed. 
 
Eddy Lang, CEO of HouseFax.com, says that his newly launched service will be able to provide critical information to homebuyers that could otherwise delay closings. 
 
His company produces background reports with both public and proprietary information about houses on the market. For example, reports might include historic water/flood damage claims on the house that were previously unknown, changing the expected cost of home insurance.  These are factors that a homebuyer should know well-before they reach the closing table, to avoid any unexpected delays, said Lang.  The information is typically not available in a regular inspection, which just covers existing problems with the house.
 
Lang came from a home insurance career, he said, so he discovered some of the problems that homebuyers had.  He found that many times, buyers could not get insurance if there was prior water damage claims, he said. 
 
There are many other factors that go into the report that could turn a buyer away or make him more comfortable with a purchase, Lang added.  HouseFax has partnered with both government and county data to find historical data about prior building permits, which could tell if a previous homebuyer truly repaired his roof, finished his basement.  
 
Reports even detail whether or not the house was previously a meth lab; some would say, a critical component to know before buying a home.