Updated:
Monday, March 18, 2019
5 Overlooked Factors That Can Affect Your Homes Insurance Rates
Written By: Paul Martin, CPCU
1. The age and condition of your house.This is one of the most obvious factors and also one of the biggest. The age of your house and the wiring, pipes, roof, lumber, square footage, and even how many corners it has all play a role in the price of your insurance.It comes down to the risk associated with the house and the costs that come with rep...
Until the late 19th century virtually all rain gutters were made of wood. With the advent of metal roll forming machines around 1900, the ability to create metal gutters became possible. The roll forming process shapes long coils of flat metal into long, formed sections of gutters in a variety of designs. Up until the 1970s, most rain gutter was...
1. Spruce Up the Front Door Your homes front door is like a welcoming smile. Make sure yours is bright and attractive. If its in terrible condition, consider replacing it. Otherwise, a fresh coat of paint in a color that compliments your home will do. Polish or replace the doorknob and hardware. A metal kick plate at the bottom will do wonders t...
Answer. If you have the time -- and perhaps the patience -- to put up with the sales presentation, it certainly pays to make the appointment. However, you should look long and hard before you commit yourself to purchasing any kind of time-sharing condominium unit. If you do want to buy into a time-sharing arrangement, you should do so cautiously...
Deciding whether or not to sell or rent your vacant home is an incredibly big decision that requires a lot of thought. Therefore, you should always look at the pros and cons of selling or renting your home.nbsp;The Main Reason to Sell Your HomeBefore you can look at the pros and cons of selling your home instead of renting it, its important to l...
Adding Smart LightingDid you know the lighting in your home can increase or decrease the overall value? Itrsquo;s one of the easiest and least expensive upgrades you can make. You may be wondering ldquo;How does adding new lighting save me more money?rdquo; Most lighting inside homes comes from incandescent light bulbs, which are filled with mer...
Define your goalsRearrange your kitchen by clearly defining your different goals.A well-organized kitchen:---gt; Must be clean and smell good.---gt; Must look spacious and unencumbered. There is enough space in the drawers and cupboards.---gt; Must be tastefully decorated: there must be no ugly or dated objects.---gt; Must be welcoming: the buye...
Itrsquo;s Waze. Yes, the crowdsourced traffic app people use to find alternate routes when driving.ldquo;Waze isnrsquo;t technically real estate agent software, but if yoursquo;re stuck in traffic, yoursquo;re not selling houses,rdquo; said Fit Small Business, who names the crowdsourced traffic app as one of their best bets on the list of the ld...
But therersquo;s something else to consider: The future value of the home. Equity growth is likely something yoursquo;ve at least thought about if yoursquo;re in the market for a home. After all, the idea of paying someone elsersquo;s mortgage payment interminably instead of building equity in your own place has probably been driving you crazy. ...
Answer: Herb. First, as I always tell presidents of their condo association, ldquo;my condolencesrdquo;. Itrsquo;s a tough job, no one ever thanks you, the hours are long and there is no pay. But, its your investment and presumably thatrsquo;s why you accepted the task.Lease restrictions are the current hot-button topic in community associations...
Projects Under 1001. Rearrange Furniture. Pull furniture away from the walls and position it at new, more inviting angles. Yoursquo;ll change the look and dimension of your room.2. Paint Walls. Choose one wall to paint in an accent color. Select a hue thatrsquo;s already a part of the deacute;cor, one that complements and highlights your pieces....
ldquo;Ninety percent of older Americans would prefer to live in their own home as they age, according to AARP,rdquo; said Lifeline. But doing so typically requires changes to the home to accommodate the realities of agingmdash;changes HomeAdvisor highlighted in their most recent Aging in Place Report.ldquo;As we heard from survey respondents bot...
Did you take a >Whatrsquo;s the origin of your mish-mash of fact-amp;-fantasy regarding your ldquo;herersquo;s how it worksrdquo; approach to living in your home? For most of us, our education was a mix of parental training, copying friends, guesswork, and replicating what we saw in the movies and on television; millennials and younger generatio...
Question: Can a homeowners association force unit owners to use its contractor to repair unit interior damage when the HOA is responsible for repairs? In this case, water seeped in due to failed waterproofing and damaged carpet, drywall, paint, baseboards and insulation. The HOA is paying a contractor to do both exterior and interior repairs but...
For many others, who do have enough money set aside to make a substantial down payment, the question is: how much? Conventional wisdommdash;not to mention most of the banks and a good portion of homebuying and financial expertsmdash;will tell you that 20 percent is the standard bearer when it comes to down payments. But is it really necessary to...
1. Change your addressYoull have to stop into your local post office or visit the United States Postal Services website nbsp;to change your address at some point. Doing it early ensures that your mail will make as smooth a transition as you do. A side benefit to changing your address is the coupon package that comes with the form. That 10 off Lo...
Every mortgage has closing costs, both from the lender and third parties. But what about those so-called ldquo;no-closing costrdquo; loans that borrowers hear about? Why wouldnrsquo;t someone go with a lender that doesnrsquo;t have any fees. I mean, thatrsquo;s common sense, right? But there are fees on all loans, itrsquo;s just a matter of who ...
Consistent MaintenanceOne of the greatest benefits of a professional manager is consistent maintenance of the facilities. A facilities evaluation identifies and prioritizes maintenance needs. Needs that are creating damage are top priority followed by long range capital repairs and replacements like roofing, painting, etc. A good manager integra...
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