Archives

March 2007

Protect your home with annual pest control

Posted at 5:56 AM, Mar. 23, 2007

Cherry blossoms are blooming, tulips  are peeking out, and termites and other pests are making their presence known.  According to the National Pest management Association, termite season usually starts in late February to early March and lasts through June.

The association points out that swarming occurs with warmer temperatures because this is the time that termites leave their colonies to find new nesting sites. Furthermore, in most cases swarming may be the only indication that there is an infestation. However, lacking a swarm doesn’t mean your home is free of termites.  

Regular inspections and carefully considered treatment is necessary to stay on top of infestations and to protect most people’s largest investments—their homes.  You should check with your insurance company concerning coverage for damage from wood-boring insect damage.  In almost all cases of which I'm aware, it is not covered by homeowners’ insurance policies.

Infestations can go undetected by homeowners who don’t inspect their property annually. Termites eat wood, flooring, sheetrock, wallpaper, plastics, paper products and fabric made of plant fibers, which can compromise the structural soundness of a home.  Homeowners are encouraged to protect their properties with annual inspections from a qualified pest professional.  In the Richmond Metropolitan Area, there are a number of very good pest control companies who can offer year round service.   If you would like a referral to one or more of these companies, feel free to email me

Buyer's Market????

Posted at 12:03 AM, Mar. 18, 2007

 Almost daily, there is a newspaper article or television broadcast discussing the change in the real estate market.  The message is clear – the market HAS changed. 

Although the Richmond Metropolitan area has been mostly unaffected by a downward pressure on prices, it has nonetheless seen a change in how long a home will stay on the market.  Gone are the days when a home would sell in days or weeks.  Instead we have returned to a more normalized market where homes can take months to sell.

Sellers who want to move their homes quickly can’t afford to be so stubborn about their asking prices. Remember, buyers are taking note of the change in the market and more than ever they are looking to find deals.

According to David Lereah, the chief economist for the National Association of Realtors, nationally, we are now in a solid buyer’s market.  He says “It has been a seller’s market for many years, but now we are seeing people across the country making deals and bringing prices down.”

While I don’t necessarily agree that we are in a true buyer’s market where sellers have to yell “uncle”, I do know that buyers are taking more time because they have so much inventory from which to choose.  Last year and in the “boom” years, competition for homes was so fierce that buyers were afraid they’d lose a home so they offered full price or more and were willing to give up important rights such as getting a home inspection.  Those days are long gone. 

Sellers who are still thinking they can get the inflated prices of years past will find themselves in quite a jam if they don’t make the shift before even more of the spring surge of homes come on the market.  Demand is picking up somewhat but there is still a large inventory of homes that have lingered for months.  The key to a successful home sale is smart pricing.  The more realistic sellers are about pricing their homes right the first time, the faster those homes will sell and for the highest possible price.

Do You Have The Right Kind and The Right Amount of Homeowner's Insurance?

Posted at 6:35 AM, Mar. 11, 2007

As recent weather events across the country have demonstrated, weather catastrophes can happen any where at any time, regardless of the season or location.  The onset of spring is not only a good time for “spring cleaning” but also a great time to conduct a homeowner’s insurance maintenance and review.  Do you know how much your insurance is and what is covered?  Do you have the right type and the right amount of coverage?

Review your policy annually. Making sure your home has sufficient insurance coverage should be a periodic exercise.  Topics to discuss would be the addition of any high end luxury items such as a big screen plasma or LCD television, new jewelry or art work.

Find out what is and is not included in your policy.  Do you have detached structures such as garages, gazebos, greenhouses, or even a pool?  Are they covered by your policy?  Does your policy cover replacement costs?  Most do, but does yours?  Does your policy offer a revision/increase in coverage amounts based on inflation? 

What are the benefits of flood insurance? According to the FEMA website, some of the benefits are:  Flood insurance compensates you for all covered losses; coverage is relatively inexpensive; you can depend on being reimbursed for flood damages even if the President does not declare a Federal disaster; you do not have to repay a loan as you might have to with many Federal disaster relief packages – your covered losses are paid in full; you can count on your claim being paid in the event of a flood loss because NFIP flood insurance is backed by the Federal government; your agent can help you handle your claim quickly so that you will not have to put your life on hold if a flood damages your property.

Just what constitutes a flood?  In plain English, a flood is an excess of water.  Floods often happen when bodies of water overflow due to heavy rainfall or thawing snow.  But you don’t have to live near water to experience a flood.  A flash flood can strike anywhere without warning.  And, just an inch of water can cause costly damage to your home.

Home Improvement – Are You Covered?  When it comes to home improvement, most people do their homework.  They research contractors, materials, and architects – whatever it takes to get the job done right. But the truth is, most people overlook one important detail – insurance. Over half of all homeowners are underinsured.

Additional living expenses after a disaster - This is a very important feature of a standard homeowners insurance policy. It pays the additional costs of temporarily living away from your home if you can’t live in it due to a fire, severe storm or other insured disaster. It covers hotel bills, restaurant meals and other living expenses incurred while your home is being rebuilt.

Coverage for additional living expenses differs from company to company. Many policies provide coverage for about 20% of the insurance on your house. Some companies will even sell you a policy that provides you with an unlimited amount of loss of use coverage, for a limited amount of time.

If you rent out part of your house, this coverage also reimburses you for the rent that you would have collected from your tenant if your home had not been destroyed.

You should talk to your agent or company to make sure you know exactly how much coverage you have and how long the coverage will be in effect. In most cases, you can increase this coverage for an additional premium.

Strategies for Pre-Paying Your Mortgage

Posted at 4:16 AM, Mar. 8, 2007

In a recent article, noted real estate columnist, Bob Bruss, talks about strategies for prepaying your mortgage.  One of the strategies that he advises AGAINST, and I agree with him, is the bi-weekly mortgage prepayment plan.

Unless this is a specific program offered by your lender, you should probably skip it.  The reason is that too many of these bi-weekly plans offered by  so -called specialists, can often result in a homeowner being scammed because the company takes your payments, deposits in their own accounts and they don't send to your lender in the manner in which you would see the benefit.

Even subscribing to a bi-weekly program offered by your lender might not be the best option for you.  Not because there is anything to be suspicious of, but, because generally the lenders charge you a set up fee and a monthly surcharge or fee to administer it.  With discipline, you can do this yourself.

Bob offers these examples:

To get your 30-year mortgage paid off faster, these are the approximate extra percentages of your current monthly principal and interest payment to add for "extra principal payment" to accomplish your goal:

• 20-year mortgage payoff = 10 percent monthly payment increase
• 15-year mortgage payoff = 20 percent monthly payment increase
• 10-year mortgage payoff = 50 percent monthly payment increase

To calculate the exact extra principal payment to add to each monthly payment to reach your prepayment goal, use a financial calculator to enter the variables for interest rate, remaining mortgage balance and number of payments remaining to arrive at the exact increased monthly payment needed.

One of the calculators I use is an online calculator that you can use to enter the data.  The reason I like it is because it is not associated with any bank or loan site, so there is little likelihood that you'll be bothered by pop up windows.  Here it is:
http://ray.met.fsu.edu/~bret/amortize.html