As homeowners along the Eastern seaboard assess the damage done by Hurricane Irene, we may be looking at more than just property damage incurred.
The hurricane is likely to create a setback for an already uncertain real estate market in communities from North Carolina to Vermont, where residents have already seen their homes severely damaged or even destroyed.
Experts say the storm could delay pending homes sales and, in the longer-term, potentially depress home values. For homeowners teetering on the brink of foreclosure, the devastation caused by Irene could be a deciding factor in losing their homes. Insurers say total damages from the storm could be between $7 and $10 billion, according to published reports.
Some insured homeowners may not have policies that cover the full cost of the damage. That could pose challenges in paying for repair or rebuilding costs.
Banks may also face a tough time in processing home foreclosures. Bank-owned property that is badly damaged and unoccupied could delay the process.
Home sales that are about to close could see delays that last days, weeks or even months depending on the extent of storm damage.
The communities devastated by Irene could see their home sales dramatically impacted in the coming months. Homeowners may be asked to sign affidavits attesting that their home values are the same as when they were previously appraised.
It’s never too soon to assess your homeowner’s insurance policy to make sure you’re adequately covered the next time Mother Nature comes calling. We all know it’s not a matter of if, it’s a matter of when. So take the time now to make sure your insurance covers you for the things that matter.
Paying for more homeowners insurance than you need is a waste of money, but it can prove even more costly to get caught without enough coverage.
What you need is “just the right amount” of coverage. Here’s how to get it, and it shouldn’t take more than 4 or 5 hours of your time spent reviewing your homeowners insurance policy, talking to your agent, and doing a little research.
Review Your Coverage
All homeowners insurance isn’t created equal. That’s why it pays to review your coverage every year to ensure your policy meets your changing needs. Begin by understanding the types of coverage available.
Actual cash value coverage reimburses you for the value of your home based on its current condition. If your home was built 10 years ago, you’d receive only the depreciated value of decade-old windows, cabinets, appliances, and so on.
Most insurers recommend the more comprehensive replacement cost coverage. With it, you’ll be reimbursed for the amount it will cost to rebuild your home like new with the same kind and quality of materials. Depreciation doesn’t factor into the settlement equation.
To get the full benefit of replacement coverage, you need to purchase enough insurance to cover the total cost to rebuild your home, excluding the value of the land. Many people make the mistake of insuring at the market value. But the amount you could sell your home for today isn’t necessarily the same as how much it would cost to rebuild.
Construction Costs Are a Big Factor
Look to current construction costs in your local area for guidance. If you’ve purchased a newly constructed home in the past year, you already have the answer. The same is true if you’ve refinanced within the past year. You almost certainly paid for an appraisal during that process that likely includes three valuations: replacement cost, market value, and actual cash value.
If you’re determining replacement cost without those head-starts, call several local homebuilders and ask the average square-foot construction cost in your area. If the going rate is $175, and your home is 2,000 square feet, you’d purchase $350,000 in coverage. For just a few bucks you can also order a valuation report online at a website like AccuCoverage ($7.95) or Home Smart Reports ($6.95).
Remember that any time you spend at least 5% of your home’s value on a remodeling project—or $5,000, whichever is less—you should contact your insurer to increase your coverage.
Valuables and Liability
Be sure you’re insured at the right value for your home’s contents and for personal liability. Most insurance polices provide only actual cash value on contents. To get replacement cost coverage, you’ll need to purchase an endorsement. If you have valuables not covered by your policy—silverware, jewelry, furs—purchase endorsements for those, too.
Many people pay no attention to the liability coverage limits in their policies, but that’s a mistake. If you have a dinner party and a guest falls down your front steps, you don’t want to be underinsured. In recent years the average liability claim for bodily injury and property damage has been $15,854. You can often times increase your liability coverage by several hundred thousand dollars for just $10 to $15 more per year.
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How To Get Your Insurer to Pay Your Disaster Claim
Seems that more and more states are being affected by hurricanes today than any other natural disaster, so we wanted to take a close look at hurricanes and your insurance.
Your big challenge may come in the way of getting your insurance company to pay up instead of trying to deny your claim.
You may have to dig deeper into your pockets, because insurers have been steadily increasing hurricane wind coverage deductibles and imposing other policy limitations, often burying the wording of such in the renewal policy that most consumers don’t even bother to read.
Many homeowners are dealing with this frustration now, in the wake of Hurricane Irene. So we urge homeowners to be vigilant with your insurance company to ensure you receive a full and fair settlement.
How to Boost Your Odds of Getting Paid
Don’t dilly-dally when it comes to reporting your claim: Insurance companies generally handle them on a first come, first serve basis.
Once your claim is filed, be sure to get your claim number and write it down. You’ll need it every time you call to follow up on your claim.
Build Your Evidence
Anticipate the possibility of push-back from the insurance company, and be ready to hit them with documentation. Start a notebook detailing every contact you have with your insurance company or adjuster.
Make a list (detailed) of all your possessions that were affected by any disaster. You should have a complete inventory, including photos, of everything you own before a storm or natural disaster strikes. Also take photos and list any damage you have temporarily repaired since the storm to avoid secondary damage. Most policies require that you “mitigate damages” before the adjuster can get there.
Get repair estimates from a contractor before the adjuster shows up, if possible. Keep all receipts for any emergency repairs you made, and costs such as those associated with staying in a hotel, if your home was not habitable after the storm.
Be Prepared to Fight
Don’t just file a claim then sit back and wait for your check to arrive. Be prepared to check in regularly with your insurance agent or company on the progress of your claim. If you are denied, don’t just accept it. Demand that your insurance company identifies the language in your policy that served as the basis for them denying your claim.
Watch for insurers who try to pull a “gotcha” by putting a limit on replacement cost payments, which might come into play in the event that a home is totally destroyed. A typical cap is 20% above the face value of the policy.
For example, if a home was expected to cost $200,000 to replace and that amount was the limit on the policy, the insurance company would pay no more than 20% more, or $240,000. If the surge in construction costs due to extreme demand caused the price of replacing the home to jump to $300,000, the homeowner would be short $60,000.
Know Your Rights
The squeaky wheel gets the grease. Do complain to the powers that be in the insurance company if you feel like a denial was unwarranted or the reimbursement too little. Don’t stop there. Complain to your state insurance department: It will make an inquiry with your insurer. See a lawyer if you want to take it a step further.
Expect the worst, but hope for the best. Not all insurance companies handle claims badly, so go into the claims process with an open mind. Be vigilant though, or you run the real risk of being shortchanged.
If you were unaffected by Hurricane Irene, take the time now to count your blessings, and do the things you need to do in order to prepare for whatever Mother Nature has in store next. Take inventory of your possessions, especially including taking photographs of everything you own. Then be sure to store those photos somewhere away from your home. If you have photos stored in your home and your home is destroyed, there goes your evidence with it.
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Buying a New House? What You Have to Do First
If you’re moving into the home buying mode, here are some “must do” things to consider first.
What Can You Afford?
You must take your time deciding what you can really afford before buying. It is critical that you know your status financially, inside and out. Only then can you truly know how much you can afford to pay for your new home. Use one of the many online calculators to help you better understand your affordibility. Understand how your income, expenses, and debts, affect what you can and cannot afford.
Where Will You Live?
You should think carefully on where you really want to live. Some things to consider when deciding the location are: Do you have kids? Then you might want to buy a house in a good school district. Not all school districts are the same. For most home buyers with families, buying a home in a good school district is fundamentally important. By doing this, you also enhance your property value when it comes time to sell your home in addition to providing your children with better schooling.
Check Your Credit
You must ensure that your credit history is the best it can possibly be. A few months before you start actually looking for a house to buy, you will need to check your credit score, get your credit report, and do credit repair or credit counseling to ensure your credit is optimal for your situation. It is important that you stay on top of the facts in your credit report and remedy any problem that arises.
Which Mortgage is Right for You?
The next step is to choose the right mortgage loan for your situation. Deciding on the right type of mortgage can be an experience equivalent to being in the middle of a minefield. There are so many choices from: fixed or adjustable rate mortgages, interest-only or sub-prime mortgages, and many more. So how do you know which mortgage is best for your current financial situation and as well as your long-term goals? Well, you can seek the help of a trusted mortgage broker or lender for expert advice and personalized service. Moreover, a trusted personal mortgage consultant gives you competitive low rates to meet your needs. In order to learn more about the subject, you can start by arranging a complementary consultation with an expert mortgage consultant. You can locate a local mortgage consultant in your area by using any mortgage directory you can find online or offline.
Get Pre-Approved
Get your loan pre-approved before actually beginning your home search. When you have done the above steps and already determined how much your home budget is and have optimized your credit, it is time to get pre-approved for a home loan. Being pre-approved for a mortgage means it will save you time and money by better positioning you to make an earnest offer for that perfect house when you find it. Unlike a pre-qualification which is based on a brief review of your financial situation, pre-approval from a mortgage lender involves an in-depth analysis of your actual income, expenses, debt, and credit history, which of course is a whole lot better than just being pre-qualified.
Following these steps ahead of finding your new home will make things much less stressful versus having to rush to do these things once you’ve already found the home you want.
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Home Affordability Remains High
Home affordability levels remain at near record highs. According to Bob Nielson, chairman of the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), “At a time when homeownership is within reach of more households than it has been for more than two decades and interest rates are at historically low levels, the sluggish economy and the extremely tight credit conditions confronting home buyers and builders remain significant obstacles to many potential home sales.”
Unfortunately, this high level of affordability, alongside historically low interest rates, has not translated into more sales. Existing-home sales declined in July, down 3.5 percent from June.
Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, said “affordability conditions this year have been the most favorable on record dating back to 1970, but many buyers are being held back because banks are offering financing to only the most highly qualified borrowers, ignoring a large share of otherwise creditworthy buyers. Those potential buyers represent the difference between an uneven recovery and a much more robust housing market that could stimulate additional economic activity and create jobs.”
The NAR reports that the national median existing-home price was $174,000 in July, down 4.4 percent from July 2010. Distressed homes still made up nearly 1/3 of the market, at 29 percent.
According to the Mortgage Banker’s Association’s (MBA) Chief Economist, Jay Brinkmann, “While overall mortgage delinquencies increased only slightly between the first and second quarters of this year, it is clear that the downward trend we saw through most of 2010 has stopped. Mortgage delinquencies are no longer improving and are now showing some signs of worsening. The good news is the continued decline in long-term delinquencies, those mortgages that are three payments or more past due. The bad news is that drop is offset by an increase in newly delinquent loans one payment past due.”
The MBA reports that foreclosure start rates fell to their lowest level since the fourth quarter of 2007. Foreclosure inventory rates also fell, to their lowest level since the third quarter of 2010. Foreclosures could be losing steam, meaning prices and the market as a whole could be headed toward stabilization.
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