5-tips-winterize-auto

Ask any executive at a property and casualty insurance company and he will tell you that the majority of claims for auto damage occur in winter. Rain, fog, hail, ice and snow set up hazardous road and living conditions that adversely affect many drivers. As a result, it is common for people to have accidents (collision and non-collision) during this time. For this reason, drivers need to change the coverage on their auto insurance during the winter season. They need to "winterize" it in order to adequately cover their increased exposure due to the cold weather.
Worth Every Penny
Winterizing your auto insurance is easy, but expensive. For at least three months, you will have to pay a higher premium for auto insurance. However, it will be worth every penny. Just ask anyone who was ever blinded by heavy rain and totaled his car and another innocent party's vehicle. The only peace of mind that this driver had was the assurance that his auto policy would pay for everything.

Weatherproofing Your Coverage
So how do you get started? You can winterize your auto insurance by altering the coverage on it. Take the time to pull out your auto policy, review it and make sure it is up to par. Here are few tips. Just:

* Lower your collision and comprehensive deductibles. Two-vehicle accidents and hail damage are the norm in the winter. So you don't want to be blindsided by extremely high deductibles that are difficult to pay. So make sure that the ones on your policy are low. Determine them based on your monthly living expenses, holiday expenditures and the amount of money you usually keep in your checking account.

* Increase your limits of liability. The kinds of accidents that occur because of icy roads are often horrific and expensive. If you happen to be the unlucky driver who causes one, you will need enough liability coverage to pay for the damages of any vehicle involved as well as the injuries of all innocent parties.

* Add rental reimbursement onto your auto policy. It is coverage that will help pay for a rental car in the event that your personal vehicle becomes disabled due to a covered loss. Since the possibility of this event happening increases during the winter, it is best to have this coverage already set in place. Rental reimbursement will dramatically offset the cost of getting a rental car or pay for it altogether.

* Make sure towing is a part of your auto policy. Many insurance companies add it in automatically or offer it at an extremely low cost. One-vehicle accidents in which a driver slides on ice and right into a tree are more common during the winter months. Unfortunately, they usually require the service of a tow company. So make sure you have this coverage or a card with Triple A.

* Get medical payments or personal injury protection placed on to your auto policy. You should do this at the highest possible limits available and even if you have health insurance. Why? This coverage pays the medical bills for everyone in your car during an auto accident. Including passengers. Considering that many people do not have health insurance these days, you don't want to take a chance on injuring a friend and not being able to help pay for his medical bills. It will be an event that will surely ruin the holidays.

These tips will help you winterize your auto insurance and make it through the cold weather without suffering a major financial crisis (at least due to your car). So consider doing them. It will be worth your time and money.

5-things-look-when-buying-used-home

Among the five important factors to look for when buying a used home are the three Ls. These include not only location, location, location - although location is still the number one point to consider. The other L's stand for layout and levels, because in addition to location these are things that cannot be changed or only with great difficulty. Two other things to consider when shopping for used homes are age and condition. These two may seem to go hand in hand at first, but age of a home can not be changed while the condition is flexible.

Location

The location is the most important factor to consider when buying a home. Things in a neighborhood that increase the value of property include access to transportation, amenities, and quality of schools. The latter is important, even if you do not have children, because a good school system increases property values.

Layout

The layout of a used home is very important because what you see is what you get. While you can modify the layout somewhat after you move in by taking down walls, this takes time and expense. Also, consider the layout of the bedrooms. If you have small children, you may prefer bedrooms on the same level. If they are older, you may want the privacy of having the master bedroom in another part of your home, or even on another level.

Levels

To suit your lifestyle, it is important to consider how many levels the home has. Yes, you could always add a level provided the space is there, but this is very expensive and time consuming. One-level living can be important if you have health challenges or if you want to stay in your used home for a long time.

Age

While you certainly should not discount buying a home that is really old, you will have to consider that the older the home, the more problems it could have that you, or even a professional home inspector, can't see. This is especially true for plumbing and electrical work. If you plan on making improvements on an older home, you will never know what might lurk inside. Make sure you can commit to making your improvements to an older home - time and budget wise.

Condition

Condition in this context means what you can see as you view the home. Examples include roof, siding, walls, landscaping or lack of, floors, windows, etc. You certainly should not disregard a used home because it is in bad condition, because it will give you more negotiating power. Just make sure you set aside enough money in your budget for the improvements.

If you think the first three factors are equally important when shopping for a new home as well as a used home, you are correct. However, they are at the top of the list because used home buyers are often distracted by minor factors such as walls and fixtures that are not neutral or too taste-specific, as well as outdated appliances. If you can see beyond these cosmetic issues and prioritize the important factors, you will end up with a nice home and investment.

5-things-to-know-buying-house

Buying a house is one of the most important transactions you'll ever make. So what do you need to know before buying to make it one of the best transactions too?

1. Know What You Can Afford. Most lenders will work the numbers and tell you the highest price you can afford for a house. But is this really the price you should go with?

Determine ahead of time what you are comfortable fitting into your monthly budget. Don't let a lender do it for you. Your lender looks at existing debt when determining how much house you can "afford" - that's credit cards, student loans, mortgages, and the like.

What's not taken into account are your monthly bills, your spending money, or your savings. They don't have that information, but you do. So keep those numbers in mind when deciding what you can afford according to your lender versus what you want to afford based on your whole financial picture.

2. Find Out How Long the House You Want Has Been on the Market. Ask your real estate agent to look at how long your potential house has been on the market compared to others that have sold in the neighborhood. This knowledge can be incredibly useful when determining what price to offer for a house.

If the house has been on the market longer than the average time for the neighborhood, the seller will be more likely to agree to a lower offer. On the other hand, if the house has been for sale less than most, you'll need to think twice before pushing for that "bargain" deal. You probably won't get it.

3. Know What You're Getting Into. Once you've found your dream house, be sure to get a home inspection. A good home inspection will let you know what to expect when you move in and in the future.

What kind of repairs should you expect to make down the road? Can the seller remedy anything right now? Will the house be more trouble than it's worth? These are all great questions that a home inspection can help you answer.

Between your home inspector and your real estate agent try to establish what's normal for a house like the one you're looking at. For example, if you're buying an older house, you shouldn't be shocked if at some future date repairs or upgrades are required.

Use the home inspection to educate yourself about a new home, an older home, or a fixer-upper. This information may effect negotiations on the house and will definitely prepare you for the future in your new home.

4. Find Out About the Neighborhood. Of course, you'll want to learn about the neighborhood homeowners association, the pool, the community center, and the schools. But before you buy, you should also learn about the neighborhood's recent real estate market.

Ask your real estate agent to compare the list prices in the neighborhood to the final sales prices. If most homes ended up selling for $10,000 less than their original list price, you need to know!

And don't forget that neighbors do tend to talk. They have a sense of what's going on when it comes to home sales, especially when they are looking to sell themselves. If Joe and Linda down the street had to drop their price after two months, then your seller won't be too surprised when they have to too.

Ask your real estate professional about other concessions as well. What kind of closing costs did other buyers in the neighborhood pay? Did they get new carpet, new paint, new appliances? Again, if your seller has heard that Joe and Linda had to offer closing costs or new appliances to sell their home, then they just might be willing to offer you the same.

5. Always Ask. You've found your dream home. You're very excited. You don't want to do anything to jeopardize the deal. And you don't have to. However, in all but a few circumstances (usually involving a highly competitive market or an unusually grumpy seller), it never hurts to ask. The worst a seller can do is say NO. If this is the case, you can simply agree to go back to the previous offer - no harm, no foul.

The bottom line - know what you want in a house and don't be afraid to ask for it. If you need appliances, ask for them. If you don't like the paint color, ask for a painting allowance so you'll have money to change that once you move in.

Don't let a seller or even a real estate agent make you afraid to ask. This is your money and your house at stake. Make it work for you! Make them work for you! You just might save yourself some money and end up with an incredible deal!

3-reasons-why-realtor-better-than-yours

Buyers on a budget are finding it harder to secure affordable housing due to investors gobbling up lower priced homes;

 sometimes before they are advertised publicly. Hiring a competent realtor is essential, or you may find yourself lost in house hunting purgatory. During the last 38 months, I have looked at homes in almost every state on the eastern seaboard and met at least a dozen realtors with varying degrees of expertise. The qualities I look for when choosing a realtor are dedication, a sense of humor and the willingness to be pestered at all hours of the day and night. The two best realtors I've encountered possessed all three of these attributes and have made the grueling process of home shopping fun instead of frustrating.
Dick Echorst of Century 21 Sbarra & Wells is located in upstate New York, an area I know very little about. He has kept in touch with me faithfully for the last three years through two hurricanes and all major holidays. Since I am far away, the task of touring potential homes falls on him alone. I send him multiple inquiries a week and he always responds the same day, even if it's near midnight. Dick has an uncanny knack for narrowing down my housing choices with words of wisdom like: "You don't want to live there." or "It's a nice area if you don't mind flooding." His dedication to caution never wanes and his level of honesty is steadfast. When I do find something he approves of, Dick is always willing to go see it for me & send a video.

My local realtor, Kevin Colman of Prudential Gross & Jansen Highlands in NJ, is like an overprotective mother, always looking out for his client's best interests. I suspect he attended real estate boot camp instead of regular real estate school. According to Mr. Colman, most of what I see on the internet is already sold or too expensive for my budget. Everything I ask him about is either in attorney review or "not really for sale." It almost seems like he's trying to prevent me from buying anything instead of helping but his methods are designed to save time. Kevin specializes in commercial real estate as well as residential and is one of the busiest realtors I've met. I don't think he ever takes a day off and he manages to answer all my questions, even if I've asked them more than once. Kevin also has a good sense of humor, which is important because finding a house on a shoestring budget can be stressful. He's been showing me houses since 2007 and has never complained, even though I have yet to buy one. Most of the properties we look at are moldy or lacking essentials like sheetrock & flooring but he remains optimistic; always encouraging me that we'll find the right one eventually. No matter what I ask of him, Kevin comes through. Whether it's a seller willing to finance or a house big enough for 6 kids that fits my ridiculous budget; his dedication to working miracles is unwavering.

According to US Housing Conditions, the homeownership rate is the lowest it's been since 1996, sales are at their lowest since 1997, and the production of new homes is the lowest it has ever been. Still, home prices are similar to those in 2003. What should you do if you're a buyer trying to find an affordable home on a tight budget? Find a realtor like Dick Echorst who's willing to answer emails at midnight & send video from two hours away. If you prefer comic relief with your house hunting; hire Kevin Colman, who's brave enough to go inside a house even when the listing notes say "do not enter structure!" He tells a good fish joke too.