You’ve found your new home. It has great bones, hasn’t been updated, and you can make it into something special! All it needs is a little, or maybe a lot, of remodeling love to go with your vision of how to bring it up to date and make it uniquely yours. If you’re planning something like this, don’t let home insurance derail your vision.
A homeowner called me last week to discuss home insurance on her Dallas area duplex. It was coming up for renewal and she wanted to confirm she was not over paying for her home insurance. I was delighted to review her current rate and advise her on her coverage. Based on that conversation, let’s review insurance considerations for a duplex.
I reviewed Sheri’s and my home insurance in March. It had gone up again and we’d been with the same company for several years, so it was time. I was very pleased with the rates I found with a couple of my other carriers and decided to call the underwriter to discuss our home since it was built in the mid 1950’s. She told me it would require an interior inspection, in addition to the exterior inspection. I was curious what they’d review and the criteria they’d use to determine whether to write my home insurance or cancel it. What I found out caused me to go to the next option on my list!
A friend of mine called me last week with one of the most unusual questions I’ve ever been asked as an insurance advisor. It turns out her father passed away before Christmas and she wanted to know how she and her siblings should handle the home and car insurance on their dad’s home and vehicles. The answer depends on many factors.
I received an email from one of my insurance company’s underwriters. They wanted to clarify one thing that turned up in the inspection of a home I’d recently written a policy with them for one of my clients. The item the underwriter wanted to confirm was the type of cooling system the home used to see if it met their guidelines. If it did, the policy would remain in force, however, if it didn’t, the policy would have to be cancelled.
The 2015 hurricane season has started. It runs from June 1 through the end of November. Accuweather is forecasting another below normal year for hurricanes. They predict 8 tropical storms, 4 hurricanes, 1 major hurricane, and 2 to 3 that will make landfall. This year’s number is slightly lower than last year’s predictions. Like last year, the reason for the below normal storms predicted is attributed to El Nino wind patterns that tilt the spinning air which inhibits the formation of storms, as well as drier than normal air and cooler water temperatures in the Atlantic.
$207,000. As of April, that is now the median price for a home in north Texas. It represents an average 14% increase in home prices across the metroplex over 2013. The new median home price represents an increase of almost 60% over 2010’s valuation, at the depth of the recession. When compared to the previous high water mark set in 2007, the gain is over a third.
I’ve received several calls from clients over the past couple of months. In each case, they’d received a notice from their mortgage company notifying them their mortgage payment was changing due to a deficit in their escrow account. They had the option of paying the escrow shortage or it could be factored into their already increased monthly home mortgage payment. The same thing happened to Sheri and me.
Larry Taylor, a Texas State Senator from Friendswood, introduced a bill to restrict homeowners’ ability to sue insurance companies over unpaid claims. The Senate passed his bill last Wednesday in a 21 to 10 vote, and it’s headed to the House to be voted on. If approved it, the bill will go to Governor Abbott to sign or veto it.
There are 20 homes in Carrollton, Texas on Barclay Drive which back up to Dudley Branch Creek. The retaining wall behind the homes is failing causing the lots to sink as the soil begins to move downhill toward the creek. Some of the residents have filed a lawsuit against the city of Carrollton saying it’s responsible for repairing the retaining wall while the city contends it’s the homeowners’ responsibility to repair the wall. The estimated cost to repair the wall is $3 million. Home insurance won’t help the homeowners either.
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