Do you have a home in Dacula Georgia you need to sell quickly?

Have you been searching the Internet looking for a way to someone to buy your Dacula house fast or some way to sell your home in Dacula Georgia fast? Many sellers need to sell their house fast, but don\’t know where to turn. Luckily you\’ve found the right \”We Buy Houses Blog\” to sell your home in 7 days or less! WeBuyHouses.net is your number one source for buying houses in Dacula Georgia for fast cash or by taking over your existing mortgage payments. We can help you sell your house fast by buying your house fast!

How to Sell Your Dacula Georgia House Faster Than Ever! (How it works) Once you\’ve completed our Seller Questionnaire providing your contact information and telling us about your Dacula house for sale, one of our professional home buyers will contact you by phone or email about buying your home. If your home meets our purchase criteria, we\’ll schedule an appointment to come out and see your house and make you one or more offers to buy your house on the spot! It\’s that simple.

Who we are. WeBuyHouses.net a group of professional home buyers in Dacula Georgia and around the country that specializes in purchasing houses quickly for all cash or on other creative terms. We are not real estate agents who want to list and sell your home for a commission, so there is never any broker fees or real estate commissions. All you have to do is tell us about your Dacula home for sale so we can possibly buy it. That\’s how simple it really is!

We can save you time and money. We know that selling your home can be an expensive, time consuming and complicated process. We understand your situation. If you need to sell your Dacula Georgia home fast, we are your number one solution. Our local, professional home buyers can buy your house in 7 days or less once you\’ve notified us of the Dacula home you have for sale. We can pay all cash, take over your payments or lease-purchase your house immediately! We will handle all of the paperwork, make all the arrangements and close within a few days if necessary. You\’ll get a quick sale with no hassles, so you can put your house selling worries behind you once and for all. There will be no more stress and no more home selling headaches.

We buy houses in Dacula Georgia. We also buy homes in Auburn, Braselton, Buford, Centerville, Berkeley Lake, Duluth, Grayson, Harbins,Lawrenceville, Hog Mountain, Lilburn, Loganville , Norcross, Snellville, Sugar Hill, Suwanee, Hamilton Mill and other surrounding areas. We also buy houses in cities and towns across Georgia such as Atlanta, Gainesville, Athens, Augusta, Macon, Savannah, Valdosta and we want to buy your Georgia house too!

We buy houses in Dacula Georgia in all shapes and sizes. We purchase all types of property, whether it\’s a new house, an old house, a big house, a small house, a pretty house, an ugly house or a house needing major repairs… We like to buy them all. We buy as many houses as we can in Georgia and are always looking for more houses to buy.

We buy houses in Dacula Georgia in any situation. If you are selling your Dacula Georgia house due to divorce, illness, unemployment, relocation, behind on payments, bankruptcy or foreclosure, we\’d like to help you find a solution that fits your unique home selling situation. We specialize in finding creative solutions to tough real estate problems that Realtors and other home buyers won\’t touch.

We are your best solution to sell your home fast. If you\’ve tried to sell your Dacula Georgia home for sale by owner and failed or you have listed your house with a real estate agent who was unable to sell your home, we are your best solution to get your home sold quickly. Sell your house to us in 7 days or less and avoid all the hassles and uncertainties of trying to sell your home yourself or through a real estate agent.

We are your ideal home buyer. If you sell your home to us, you won\’t have to continue searching for the perfect buyer while you wait, month after month to sell your house. You won\’t have to continue having open houses and showing your home to unqualified strangers who waste your time and scare the dog. You can sell your home in Dacula Georgia in 7 days or less and move on with your life!

Sell your home in Dacula Georgia in 7 days or less! To sell your Dacula Georgia house quickly, please complete our confidential Home Seller Questionnaire on our website at WeBuyHouses.net or call 888-765-3461 to speak to a live representative. Tell us all about your Dacula home for sale, how we can reach you and one of our knowledgeable house buyers will contact you ASAP about buying your house fast.

Choose the best offer to sell your house fast. If your Dacula Georgia house qualifies for our purchase program, one of our professional house buyers will schedule an appointment to come visit your house, take some photos and make you one or more custom offers to buy your home quickly so you can sell your house fast! We are confident that you will like one of our offers. If not, you are under no obligation to sell your home to us.

We are ready to buy your Dacula Georgia house today! Our home buyers are ready, willing and able to buy your house and help you through the entire home selling process. All you need to do now is call 888-765-3461 or visit our website at www.WeBuyHouses.net to complete our confidential Seller Questionnaire and one of our local home buyers will contact you about buying your house fast. Why wait another minute to sell your Dacula Georgia house when you can sell your house to us today?



Sell and Rent Back

While it is not necessarily the most inexpensive of the flooring options available on the market today, hardwood floors are certainly one of the simplest and most lovely options available. Wood matches just about everything, and you don’ have to worry about vacuuming or those nasty smells that just won’t seem to leave carpet. It is an effective option for floor covering and if you take care of your hardwood floors, they will last you a very long time.

However, having hardwood flooring in your home is about more than wishing it was there and deciding to have it. Here are the three things that you should know about installing hardwood flooring in your home.

DIY Is Not Always Cheaper

Hardwood floors are certainly something that those handy people out there in the world are able to take care of. Buying wood and laying it down as flooring in your home sounds a great deal easier than it is. There are many different kinds of wood that can be used for flooring in your home and depending on your needs; there are great deals of different styles to choose from. You want your flooring to resist nicks and scrapes, but you want it to be able to get some character as well.

There are all of these things and more to think about, and if you install your wood flooring all on your own, chances are that you will not be able to get the solid advice that you might wish you had later. You want your floor to last as long as possible and although you might be very willing and able to put in your new hardwood floor all by yourself, the costs down the line might make this not-so worth it. Do you want to end up having to have your floors redone because of an error on your, the amateur’s, part?

Not All Wood is the Same

The more money that you spend the better quality of wood flooring you will be able to get as far as outward appearance goes; although a floor may not look as uniform and sleek as another type of wood floor it will probably last just as long. The quality and type of wood that you select for your floor has a lot to do with how you want your flooring to look when it’s down. Do you want a smooth look or do you like the way that natural knotholes look in the wood? Do you prefer the way that wide planks look on the floor or do you prefer the look of thinner, smaller pieces of wood for your flooring?

Depending on what you are willing to spend, there are a great deal of different ways that you can go with the wood for your flooring. You can buy First, Second, or Third wood, which is a description of the type or quality of wood on the market ranked in order of quality. Clear is the finest wood that you will be able to get a hold of. It has little to no grain marks or knot holes in it, so if you want the best quality that is the way to go.

You Are In It for the Long Haul

While hardwood floors are a great option for the floor covering in your home, be sure that that is what you want to do, and that it is an acceptable long term solution for you and your home. While the hardwood floor will not have to be vacuumed, it has to be specially cleaned and probably swept constantly (unless you are a fan of dirty feet). Also, keep in mind that depending on the quality of wood that you purchase you may have to deal with some small repairs due to warping or splitting, or simply due to damage that is unsightly for your home. Either way, hardwood floors are much easier to maintain than they are to replace and although you will probably be thrilled to keep your floors for years to come, it will be rather difficult to do otherwise.

This article is sponsored by My Dream Home Registry, the gift registry for everything home. Visit them on the web at www.mydreamhomeregistry.com



Repossession

Think about why this is true. A good appraisal is the best reassurance that the lender won’t lose its pants on the transaction. If the borrower defaults, the lender still has a marketable property that can be sold to recoup its losses. All of which makes it understandable why lenders are so picky about appraisals. And with recent changes in the industry, the focus by lenders to obtain good appraisals is at the forefront.

Appraisals typically cost anywhere from $350 to $400. However, if the house is gigantic, multi-unit or in the boondocks, it could run more. The cost varies on property type, location and square footage.

The most common type of appraisal is the Uniform Residential Appraisal Report (URAR). It consists of interior and exterior photos and sometimes (depending on the age of the home), a complete cost breakdown of the property and comps (comparison sales of homes nearby that meet the proper criteria). These comps help determine the “market” approach. Each comp sale is adjusted in value when stacked against the home being evaluated (the one you’re buying or refinancing). Usually you will see a comp below the value of your home, in line with the value of your home, and a third above the value of your home. Kind of like the three bears. But if the valuation gets tricky, you can see fourth, fifth and sixth comps. The net value of the comps is estimated based upon the approaches used to come up with the appraised value of your property (meaning the appraiser performs some type of calculation that’s kind of like an average, but not necessarily a true average. Confused yet?)

URARs also, typically but not always, reflect a cost approach, which determines what the value would be based upon what is estimated it would cost to rebuild the home, less depreciation. The final estimated value of the home is then determined by using a melding of the market approach described above and cost approach (if applicable).

Lori Babb, Staff Appraiser for Mortgage Investors Group of Knoxville, TN, further explains comparables. “The best comparables are those similar in size, style (ranch, basement rancher, 2 story, etc.), age, and are close in proximity to the dwelling being appraised,” she explains. “Unique properties will typically require more adjustments than the average properties.”

So, say you’re Bill Gates and want to secure a mortgage on a $200,000 home (I know, it’s ridiculous, but I’m trying to make a point). He’s got the best credit profile a lender could imagine, yet the house appraises for $175,000. Deal or no deal? You better believe it’s no deal. The sales price will have to be lowered, or Mr. Gates will just have to pay cash for his new home (you think he can afford it?). The point is, your average Joe won’t go ahead with the deal without a price adjustment, and he will be obligated to pay for the appraisal regardless of the outcome of value.

Dan Tyrell, principal of Knoxville area’s Tyrell Appraisal Service, Inc., has this comment about value, “When determining value of a single family house, beauty is more than ‘skin deep’. Fresh paint, new carpet, new appliances, and nice landscaping all enhance the marketability of a house. Not so obvious items also impact the appraised value of a house. For instance older houses that have replaced plumbing/electrical systems, updated HVAC systems, newer roofs, replacement windows, etc. lower the effective age of the property which in turn increases the appraised value.”

There are other types of appraisals that are not as common, like an Automated Valuation Model (or AVM). In this case, different factors combine to ensure the value of the home (it’s worth $200K, but your loan amount is only $100K) and your unbelievable credit worthiness (800 credit score!), allowing you to skip purchasing a typical appraisal. You may also only be required to get a “drive by” appraisal, where the appraiser just inspects the exterior of the subject for size, looks at the lot and makes you wonder who that person standing by your mailbox is.

Most lenders control what appraiser is used to determine the value of your home. After all, it’s their money on the line. The appraisal is such an important factor to the mortgage transaction – make sure you’re satisfied with the results. Your lender will make sure it is satisfied!



Real Estate Professionals

We at G. N. Home Improvements Limited are a small family run business providing a vast range  of home and building services.  We specialise in reconstruction, refurbishments and new build homes.

 We have all fully qualified tradesmen under one roof, (Electricians, Plumbers, Plasterers; Joiners; Bricklayers; Painters and Decorators) so we can offer you a full service across the board  improvements.  We even offer a Landscape Garden Service and fitting kitchens and bathrooms are a speciality.  You name it we’ve got it covered.

 We are UK based and 80% of our clients return for a further service after giving them a 100% job satisfaction.  Our services has taken us to Europe on several occasions to build homes, fit kitchens, bathrooms, supply new windows and doors reconstruct and decorate homes and we are proud of the  Quality of work we give..

 So if you require a UK firm to build you a house, reconstruct or even paint and decorate your home – just give us a call and we will give you our immediate attention and first class service.  Supply us with the jobs you need doing, plans will obviously be of a great help if you have them and we will get back to you as quick as we can with a free no obligation quote.  See our web site which gives a brief explanation of who we are and the services we offer.  Don’t worry if you cannot see the one you want, we will assist you all we can.

Your budget is our budget too !!

 Just ask for Gavin Nunn (Director) or David Sharp. (Company Secretary) Hope to hear from you soon.                                 



Rent Back

It is typical in the home building industry that home builders provide their buyers with warranties for replacing or repairing defects or other components in the new residential units. However, with a rising number of home builders going into bankruptcy, a pressing issue is: what happens to these warranties if the builder subsequently files for bankruptcy?

General Unsecured Claims 

Generally, claims by home buyers under these warranties are treated as pre-petition general unsecured claims in bankruptcy proceedings. Simply put, they are at the bottom of the “cash waterfall”, since post-petition proceeds from assets sales and liquidation would go first to senior secured lenders and then vendors holding mechanics’ liens. Recovery on general unsecured claims is typically low (or near 0%), especially if the builder ended up in Chapter 7 liquidation.

Warranty Insurance Proceeds

There are larger home builders such as Dunmore Homes which provided buyers with warranties insured by its own captive insurance company as well as third party insurers. Recoveries on warranty claims are more viable in these cases, e.g., Dunmore Homes stated in its Disclosure Statement that claimants, albeit considered unsecured creditors in the classification of claims, would receive payment equal to the amount of warranty insurance proceeds received by its liquidation trustee.

Builder in Reorganization, Liquidation or Sale?

Another important question which home buyers should ask when monitoring the developments in a builder’s bankruptcy proceedings: is the builder likely to be reorganized and emerge from bankruptcy? Alternatively, is the builder going to be liquidated, or sold off to another company?

Why is this important?

One thing which bankrupt builders can do in bankruptcy proceedings is to file a court motion requesting permission to honor warranty claims and other pre-petition customer obligations. A typical motion of this kind would request court authorization for the matter, but providing flexibility for the builder by leaving it in “its sole discretion”.

From our review of 2007-8 cases, this motion is rarely filed by builders going into liquidation. These builders are usually focusing their attention on responding to banks and other lenders filing motions for relief from stay to pursue foreclosure.

On the other hand, bankruptcy sales nowadays are typically undertaken free and clear of all liens, encumbrances and interests. Known as the “section 363 sale” of substantially all the assets of the builder, the buyer would not be obligated under warranty contracts, unless the latter fall under agreed “permitted encumbrances”. An example of this is PFP Holdings (Trend Homes) where the new entity, T2 LLC, would not be responsible for any warranty claims.

In the third scenario, a builder which plans to reorganize and continue selling homes is most likely to make special provisions to pay warranty claimants, such as WCI Communities, Woodside Group, Renaissance Custom Homes, Den-Mark Homes, etc. For example, Heritage Highgate stated that it would honor warranties and included warranty expenses in its post-petition cash budget submitted to the court.

Note, however, that this does not necessarily mean that such builder would actually emerge from bankruptcy as a reorganized entity. For example, Kimball Hill obtained authorization to honor pre-petition warranties, with the intent of restructuring. However, as the turmoil in the real estate market worsened, Kimball Hill made the decision to wind down operations.

The builder had recently stated in court filings that it would pursue an orderly liquidation, with a plan to complete the remaining projects for which construction had commenced and sell these homes. In order for the sale of these homes to yield higher recoveries for creditors, it appears that the builder would continue to honor warranties. It stated in the Disclosure Statement that the “unavailability of a home warranty would be anticipated to limit demand for the Debtors’ homes, limit the universe of potential homebuyers, and/or significantly reduce home sale recoveries.”

Limits on Warranty Claims

While some builders were able to obtain court authorization to honor pre-petition warranty claims generally, there are cases where caps were imposed on such claims. A recent example is Mercedes Homes which had gotten limited authorization – the company cannot expend more than 1% of a home’s final sale price on prepetition customer program obligations related to that home.

Other examples include Caruso Homes and The Woodside Group. Caruso Homes was authorized to honor warranty claims, subject to a cap of $1,500 per home (inclusive of any sums which the builder had already spent prior to bankruptcy). However, for claims owing to water damage arising from workmanship defects, the claims would be honored irrespective of the amount at issue. On the other hand, Woodside Group would honor claims under the warranty program, excluding construction defect claims.

Underlying Dynamics in Bankruptcy Proceedings

While courts have routinely authorized builder to continue to honor customer programs, including warranties, these requests have to be supported by evidence that the course of action is essential to business operations, or that the estate may suffer post-petition damages that would prejudice stakeholders.

Furthermore, in cases where lenders believe that they may suffer a shortfall on their claims, they may object to such motions. To illustrate, in case of Legend Homes (aka Matrix Development Corp), Columbia River Bank objected to the motion to honor prepetition obligations under customer warranty program. Excerpts from the bank’s court filings stated:





“Matrix’s request for payment of pre-petition warranty claimants post-petition are factually insufficient and should be rejected by this Court. Matrix asserts without support that a failure to satisfy prepetition obligations to customers who have already purchased a home will jeopardize customer loyalty and trust as well as generate negative publicity for Matrix, thus making it less likely Matrix can attract new customers…

The Debtor appears to assert that having and maintaining a warranty is necessary to improve its market share and to retain a competitive advantage over other contractors and developers. However, pursuant to ORS 701.320 all licensed contractors are required to offer a one year warranty to purchasers of residential real property. Given this statutory requirement, it is difficult to conceive of how permitting pre petition warranty claims to be resolved post petition creates a competitive market advantage in the market place.”



A similar tone seemed to surface in M&T Bank’s objection to the company’s motion to sell real estate inventory in the ordinary course free and clear of liens, where the bank stated that “business in the ordinary course, as described by debtor, is a depletion of their assets as well as the assets available to secured creditors for payment”.

 

Afterthoughts

A few more points to note on this issue of warranties made prior to bankruptcy. First, it may be good news if the bankrupt builder obtains permission to pay critical vendors. In many cases, like Wall Homes, the construction vendors have entered construction contracts under which they provided warranties. A builder’s inability to maintain such relationships may void warranties, which the vendors would have been obligated to cover.

Second, it is possible that the affiliate or subsidiary providing the warranties is not in bankruptcy. Fulton Home Sales Corp, which provides warranties for buyers from Fulton Homes, did not file for bankruptcy, along with Fulton Homes. Third, there may be alternative recourse in the form of state warranty programs, e.g., the New Jersey New Home Warranty Security Fund was established to guarantee builder warranties.

Finally, we will continue to monitor recent developments of bankrupt home builders and publish our observations on this issue. Home buyers from distressed builders should prepare themselves for the possible scenario of bankruptcy and be prepared to seek advice from legal counsel.

 

The information contained herein is for informational purposes and is not legal advice or a substitute for legal counsel.

 



Sell House Quick

What is Home Equity?

 

Purchasing a home is a huge life event. It’s an investment that, over time, could yield a significant increase in value. As the years progress, the value of your home could increase. If and when the time comes to sell, hopefully you’ll find that you can get more money for your home than what you originally paid for it; yielding you a profit.

 

But the resale value, or even the appraised value before a sale, of your home is not the only value your home contains. When you purchase a home and make payments on your home mortgage, you start building what is called home equity. Home equity is the difference between the current value of a home and the amount still owed on the mortgage. As the principal of the mortgage amount decreases as a result of monthly mortgage payments, the home equity increases – even if the home doesn’t increase in value. So, you can build home equity from an increase in the potential sale price of a home and from paying down the mortgage debt that you owe on your home.

 

What is the Value of Home Equity?

 

Home equity is money in the bank. Homeowners can borrow against their home’s equity to pay for home repairs and renovations, school tuition, costly medical expenses, and even pay off debt. Your home provides you with financial opportunities not many lenders can provide. Home equity is a significant advantage to purchasing a home and a great financial resource to have. You never know what life will throw at you. It’s always good to have a “nest egg” of readily available built up capital to turn to if you’re faced with a financial crisis.

 

How do I use My Home Equity?

 

If you want to use your home’s equity for home repairs, college tuition, etc. , you first need to get a home equity loan. A home equity loan is a loan based on your home equity. There are two types of home equity loans:

 

1) A second mortgage (a.k.a. traditional home equity loan); and

 

2) A home equity line of credit loan.

 

A second mortgage is a loan where the lender lends you a lump sum, based on your home’s equity, and interest starts accumulating once the loan is issued. A home equity line of credit loan, however, is a loan where the lender presents you with a credit card or checkbook that you can use to make purchases. Just like a second mortgage, the amount you can spend is based on your home’s equity. But unlike a second mortgage, interest on a home equity line of credit loan doesn’t start accumulating until you make your first purchase with the card/checkbook.

 

Both home equity loan types are feasible means to utilizing your home’s equity.

 

Which type of loan you choose is up to you and your specific financial needs. Both loan types are primarily low interest loans and, for most home equity loans, the interest you pay is tax deductible.

 

However, it is important to know that when you take out a home equity loan, it means the lender can reposes your home if you default on your payments. In other words, if you don’t pay your home equity loan in full or default on too many payments, the bank or lender can take away your home and use its current value to pay for what’s owed. So it’s crucial that you maintain your loan payments. A home equity loan is a great financial resource, but if you don’t pay it back, it could end up costing you your home.

 

Purchasing a home is a venture worth taking. The appreciation of your home’s value and the equity you can build make your home a profitable investment that can’t easily be matched.

For more articles and suggestions, visit http://www.bills.com/home-equity-basics-article/

 



Sell House Quick

These days its fact that its not hard to get home loans. Either its home equity loan or its mortgage loan and availability of easy home equity loans is in full bloom. These loans are uncomplicated, tenable, easily available, very flexible and tailor-made for homeowners. The best part about all this is that almost every loan lending or financial institution offers them.

Most home buyers have to borrow money in order to purchase their home. Few have enough money sitting in the bank, or in other easily saleable assets, to pay the entire cost of the home at once. (Even those few who do have enough money usually find it financially advantageous – perhaps for extra tax relief — to borrow some of the money.) The home loans they receive is called a mortgage. Generally, a mortgage is a loan of money to the home owner secured by a “lien” on the real estate.

Own house is the dream of every person. For a middle class person, it is considered as a life time achievement as it requires quite a huge amount of money. Banks play a pivotal role in fulfilling this basic need. The products they offer and the services they provide are of immense use to people who intend to have their own house. For a safe and beneficial home loan, proper awareness over the products, policies, terms and conditions of the bank is most important as ignorance may result in more payments to the bank in terms of principal and interest components.

A mortgage is a security document that allows the borrower to keep title of the property while using the property as security or collateral for a loan. The lender then places a lien on the property in the event the owner does not pay the agreed payment. When the borrower pays off the loan, the lender gives the borrower a satisfaction of mortgage that removes the lien from the property. About half the states in the U.S. use mortgage foreclosure as the means of satisfying the loan balance.

Mortgage allows investors to pool money in a trust to lend to individuals and companies. They secure their borrowing by a mortgage over residential or commercial properties. The trust collects the interest paid on these loans and then distributes the interest, less charges, as income to investors.

Borrowers should bear in mind that there are two different kinds of mortgage points-discount points and origination points-and that lenders do not all charge the same amount for these different types of points. Discount points refer to an amount of money paid to a lender to obtain a loan at a specific interest rate. These points are like pre-paid interest on a loan that a borrower takes out for a new home, with each point equalling to 1% of the total principal amount of the loan. Origination points are used to pay for the costs of obtaining the loan in the first place. They are much less popular than discount points, as they do not provide borrowers with any valuable benefits and are not tax deductible. Borrowers are therefore better off trying to get a loan that does not require them to acquire these kinds of points.



Sell House Quick

In Singapore, many parents and students want only committed tutors from tuition agencies. However, as much as they would like to recommend committed tutors , they cannot guarantee that all their tutors will be 100% committed due to various difficulties and reasons. From our past experience, below are some of the factors that may affect the suitability and commitment of the tutors :

 



Location

If a tutor’s student lives near his house, the tutor may settle for a lower tuition fee and may be more committed since he is able to cut down on travelling time and thus save on transportation fees.

It is therefore beneficial for a parent to provide a tuition agency with his or her postal code and/or detailed address, so that the tuition agency can find tutors as near to the parent’s residence as possible.

Salary

A tutor’s salary may not be the most important of all, but it is significant.

Tutors who take up a low-paying assignment may not commit for a long period. A tuition rate that is $10-15 less than the market rate may be acceptable to a tutor. However, if a parent pays about $50 less than the market rate, the tutor will most likely not commit for long. He or she may even feel unmotivated towards teaching as well.

It is well known that teaching is a respected profession; and MOE teachers nowadays are well paid by the ministry. So our advice to parents is that: give the tutors out there the rewards they deserve. The popular saying “Good stuff comes at a price” applies in this case as well.



Difficult Students

Usually, tutors want to commit their time to teach students who are keen to learn and improve. Moreover, tutors may not be able to help students who don’t wish to help themselves. It takes two hands to clap. So before a parent requests for a change of tutor, he or she should find out whether his child is keen to learn from the child’s tutor in the first place. In certain cases, it may not be the tutor’s fault at all when there is no academic improvement.

So, when a parent request for a tutor from a tuition agency, letting the agency know the character of the child may help the agency in finding the right tutor.



Rent Back Fast

If you own an older Florida home, if can be challenging for you to find affordable Florida home insurance coverage. Your older home might be more likely to have hurricane damage depending on the building code that was in effect when your home was built. If the electrical, plumbing, and heating systems are outdated, your older home might be more likely to sustain damage from fire, water, or other perils. Finally, the type of roof you have and the condition it is in could result in a larger claim after a Florida hurricane hits your older home.

With all of that said, it is still possible for many owners of older Florida homes to find private homeowners insurance in Florida – and at an affordable price.

As Florida home insurance companies consider the age of a home, they generally group homes into the following categories:

Built 2004 and prior

Built 1994 and prior

20, 30, or 40 years old or newer

Up to 75 years old

The first two categories take into consideration the Florida Building Code modifications of the early 2000’s and the mid 1990’s. Homes built after each of the building code updates are considered to be more resistant to damage, especially from hurricanes.

The third group above varies by insurance company, but the main theme is this: As homes reach 20, 30, or 40 years old, a 4 point inspection is generally required by home insurance companies prior to issuing coverage. These inspections look at the age and condition of the roof, plumbing, electrical, and HVAC systems. Depending on the results of these inspections, you may be required to update one or more of these areas.

Finally, 75 years of age is the cutoff beyond which Florida home insurance companies rarely agree to offer coverage – regardless of the outcome of the inspections and home upgrades that are present.

Before taking into consideration how close your Florida home is to the coast, the following statements are generally accurate regarding how insurance companies look at the age of your home:

Homes built 1995 and later are among the easiest to insure and you will have more companies to choose from.

As your home hits the age of 20, 30, and 40 years old, you will have fewer company options to choose from as each of these milestones is reached.

If your home is 75 years old or older, the chances that it will be covered by a private Florida home insurance company are slim.

Here are some actions you can take to have the best chance at obtaining low cost Florida insurance on your older Florida home:

Get a wind mitigation inspection done at your own expense.

Take immediate corrective action on the deficiencies identified in the wind inspection report. There might be improvements that can be made wall roof connectors that don’t require a new roof or other lower cost steps that you can take.

Find out the age of your roof, plumbing, electrical, and HVAC systems. Find out how much it will cost to address each of these items and make the improvements that you can afford to make now.

Some improvements might be eligible for Federal energy tax credits or credits from the utility companies for improved efficiency. See if either of these sources might offer you some financial assistance.

Let your local Florida legislators know about your situation and encourage them to extend the My Safe Florida Home program – and to increase the number of homes that are eligible for matching grants to harden Florida homes.

Finally, when it comes to shopping for Florida home insurance, it is essential that you work with more than one independent insurance agent – not just one. Why? Because at this point in time, there are about 40 Florida home insurance companies still writing new business. However, as the age of your home increases, many of these companies won’t cover your home. Working with more than one agent will give you the best chance to get quotes from all of the Florida insurance companies that are still covering older homes. If you miss even one of these companies you could end up paying thousands more for Florida home insurance.

Don’t rely on misinformation or word of mouth when it comes to finding affordable Florida home insurance on an older home. Follow these steps to give you the most options for insuring your older Florida home.



Sell and Rent Back

We encourage our kids to plan for their future, but we seldom include buying a first home sooner than average as a path to building that future. Let them know buying a home is easier than they think.

Most of the people who read this column are not first time homebuyers. The fact of the matter is many of you that are first time homebuyers and reading this article are relatively mature individuals who are fighting off your commitment fears of being tied to a mortgage. But there is a huge segment of the population that could buy their first home, yet it doesn’t occur to them to do so. Who are these people? Well, it’s your 24 year old son or daughter, new to the work force, and is throwing away money on rent somewhere. Encouraging your children to buy a home when they are young is some of the soundest financial advice you can give them. Equity in a home is an easy way to grow one’s portfolio with very little investment. But the fact of the matter is it doesn’t occur to most of us to encourage the younger generation to buy early in their lives. And trust me, it rarely occurs to our kids themselves to consider buying a home in the early twenties. They are more concerned with buying a new Halo 3 for their Xbox.

Why do so many people miss the boat on this opportunity? It could be they plan to be in the area for only a short time because they will job hop to advance their career, thus viewing a mortgage as “too permanent.” I counter to simply sell the house when you move. Or maybe they expect their income to double or triple over the next three years. I say buy a home now, then upgrade to a new home; sell or rent the old house. Investing in real estate is a proven, safe and solid return on investment. And with the right combination of credit history (or a history of paying utilities, cable and your cell phone on time) and no money down, you or someone you care about can start investing in the future.

When Junior starts his new job at the company and 401(K) is available, he’s been informed by his folks, boss or peers to enroll and contribute at least a little something to it with every paycheck. Yet, he is rarely counseled quit renting that apartment for $750 a month and buy a $75,000 house. Where will he come up with the money to do it? There are multiple options for first time buyers that allow for 100% financing. Get the seller to kick in closing costs (up to 6% of sales price with some products), and one can close on a loan and bring no funds to the table. If your home value appreciates 4% in the next year, that’s a nice return on a no cash investment.

For some time, I’ve considered writing this series for first time buyers to let them know buying a home is easier than they think. But, the more I thought about it, the more I realized the advice I would offer would most likely not reach my target audience. So parents, it is up to you to supply your kids with this last little bit of advice and help to set them free to further establish their independence in this world. Clip this article out and tape it to their iPOD or the steering wheel of their car – someplace it will get noticed.

I think for most of us who have been through the experience, our first home buy was a very daunting experience. There are so many choices and unknowns – it can be overwhelming. In this series, I will try to break it down the process into small logical steps and make it easier understand the steps involved in financing your first home. Where do you start? That is perhaps the easiest part. Our newly established worker should first make a list of all his or her debt obligations such as student loans (unless deferred), car payments, credit card debt, etc. Hopefully at this age, this will be a small list. Then add what you think amount you could afford for a mortgage. Take that amount and divide it by your gross monthly income. If you come in at 43% or less, you’re in business. If you have something in your savings or checking – great. If not, don’t let it deter you. You have options.

Contact a mortgage specialist to drill out the details and find a good realtor who knows your market for housing you can afford. What next? Get ready to tell your landlord “Adios!.”



Repossession