myAssets Household Inventory is an app designed to enable Homeowners to catalogue their household assets. Yes, there are currently inventory services available to do this, but prices can be steep. With this great app and your iPhone, you can simply and easily conduct this inventory yourself.
Why inventory my assets? .... For many reasons....
* How much household insurance do I need?
* I need to catalogue and value my belongings in case of loss or theft. How?
* How much property do I own to put in my Net Worth?
* How can I clearly communicate how I want to gift my loved ones in my Estate? .... and more...
There are several reasons, but the primary reason is for insurance purposes. Not only to determine insurance requirements on household contents, but to assist in substantiating the existence and value of your items if you were to suffer a loss. An accurate accounting of your belongings is also very beneficial for a net worth statement and for estate planning.
Seldom do we prepare for events that happen every day. A flood, earthquake, hurricane, fire or other catastrophic event that can damage or destroy your home or business taking the contents along with it. It is not uncommon to suffer a loss from a theft or break-in. This unfortunately is a daily occurrence. Having a complete and accurate accounting of your belongings will prove to be extremely beneficial in settling an insurance claim and documenting losses for tax purposes. This information can also be great assistance for the police in a theft investigation and the possible recovery of stolen items and apprehension of the thief.
Insurance companies wish to honor your insurance claim but can only do so with proper documentation. It is your responsibility to provide this documentation. myAssets Household Inventory is a great solution.
What about conducting an inventory for another member of your family? Use this app for multiple inventories. Catalogue your mom’s house for example. This could be a great project for teens inventorying the family home to justify the price of their iPod?
How does it work? It is a well thought out and straight forward process.
Step 1: Enter a location such as “My Home”. And of course you can enter as many locations as you wish such as “My Mom’s House” or “My Sister’s House”.
Step 2: The inventory is divided into rooms, naturally. The second step is to enter your rooms.
Step 3: Start entering your asset information. For example, in your Den you have a digital piano. So enter a description such as “Digital Piano”. Enter a model number such as “Yamaha Clarinova” or enter the serial number. Enter any optional notes you feel appropriate. Choose a purchase date using the Date Wheel. Enter a purchase price or value using the number keypad keyboard. Enter or change rooms using the “Room Picker Wheel”.
Step 4: Now the fun part. Take a photo of your item. For example, take a photo of your “Digital Piano”. Now take a photo of the serial number name plate. Even take a third photo of the sales receipt if you have it. That’s it. Now imagine just how your insurance company or the police would appreciate this information; because you will have a report in your possession with all this information including the three photos. You can take up to 4 photos for each of your assets.
You may update your information at any time. When you purchase a new item, take a couple of minutes and document it. Generate a fresh report and e-mail it to yourself. The report is in a standard PDF format. Keep the report in a safe place and print it if you wish.
What are the requirements? You need an iPhone or iPod equipped with a camera. The email program on your device must configured to send out the report.
Be prepared. It is important to get that home inventory completed and keep it up to date. It makes good sense to protect your valuables or the valuables of other members of your family.