What to Look for in Homeowners Insurance

Few people can buy a house without homeowners insurance. Homeowners policies cover damage to houses and their contents from a variety of causes and protect owners if they're sued over accidents on their property. Even someone willing to go without that protection will still need a policy if they have a mortgage: Lenders insist on at least a minimal level of insurance to protect the house that serves as collateral for their loan. Function The most important thing to check is that the policy you're looking at will do what you need it to. Experts recommend having $300,000 in liability coverage, Investopedia states, and a replacement-value policy--which pays the cost of repairs or replacements up to the value of the policy--rather than cash value, which only covers the original cost, less depreciation. Some policies also cover living expenses if you have to rent a room elsewhere while your home is repaired. Limitations The standard HO-3 insurance policy usually covers your home's contents for up to 50 to 70 percent of the policy value, the Insurance Information Institute states: A $100,000 damage policy will cover $50,000 to $70,000 in contents. Some kinds of items such as jewelry, art, collectibles, fur and home office equipment won't be fully covered, however, unless you specifically ask for and pay for extra insurance. History If you take out a policy, you should have confidence that your insurer will pay when you have a legitimate claim. Different companies have different track records when it comes to settling claims promptly: Check with your state department of insurance to see which ones have a record of complaint against them. "Consumer Reports" magazine also publishes ratings for homeowners insurance companies and their performance. Size The fewer claims you make, the happier your company will be with you, the Nolo legal website states. Taking out the biggest deductible you can afford will reduce the number of small claims you make, and it should also lead to lower premiums. Potential Ask your insurer about discounts for basic home-safety precautions, CNN recommends: Smoke alarms, security alarms and deadbolts are among the steps you can take that many insurers will discount your premium for. If you buy life and auto insurance policies from the same company, you may be able to get a discount for that, too; it also gives the insurer an incentive not to cancel your policy if you make a claim.

What Are the Steps to Get a VA Home Loan?

Since 1944, as part of the GI Bill of Rights, the VA home loan program has provided millions of active and retired military persons low-cost financing. While the VA program formerly developed a reputation for mountains of red tape with long approval and closing time frames, the process has been greatly streamlined. In most cases, borrowers need to complete only five steps to get financing and close the loan. The VA makes no direct loans, but guarantees the balances of loans made by approved lenders. Ad VA Military Mortgage 2017 Qualify for Your 2017 VA Mortgage. VA Loan Verification - Takes 1 Min! www.militaryvaloan.com​/​VA-Home-Loan Eligibility Certificate Complete VA Form 26-1880, Request for a Certificate of Eligibility for VA Home Loan Benefits. Submit this form with your most up-to-date discharge or separation papers to a VA Eligibility Center. This paperwork requests an Eligibility Certificate and shows your dates of active duty and your separation/discharge date. This is evidence for the mortgage lender that you qualify for VA financing. You can also download this form from the Internet. Purchase Agreement Make an acceptable offer on the home you want. Sign a valid purchase agreement specifying the agreed-upon price, the mortgage approval deadline and the desired closing date. Often overlooked, the mortgage approval deadline is important to both buyer and seller. A buyer must notify the seller of his mortgage application status by the deadline. If the buyer is not approved and neglects to notify the seller by this date, the buyer risks losing his deposit. A borrower must submit the purchase agreement as part of his mortgage application. VA Appraisal Since the real estate "crash" of 2007 to 2009, the mortgage appraisal has become a source of concern for homeowners wishing to refinance and for home sellers. Fair market values of many homes have declined as much as 25 to 35 percent. VA appraisals are a bit more extensive than standard conforming mortgage appraisals and typically are more conservative. The appraisal usually occurs within seven or eight days of submitting a loan application. Complete Application Package Submit all documents that the lender requests as quickly as possible. Before making an application, prepare all the "usual" documents--pay stubs, two years of W-2 forms, bank statements, 1099 forms--to speed the process. If you currently rent a residence, submit contact information about your landlord so that the lender can verify your account. Gather all additional documents your lender requests to complete your file quickly. Approval and Closing If you submit all documents on time, your credit is acceptable and there are no appraisal issues, you should have an approval in three to four weeks after application. Closing requirements--title search, title insurance, document preparation--should be completed in 10 to 14 days. Then you can close your loan and move into your new home.

The Advantages and Disadvantages of Acrylic Bathtubs

When choosing a bathtub, one of the choices a homeowner has to make is what material the tub will be constructed of. There are many options available, and price, durability and style should all be considered when choosing a tub. One of the choices is an acrylic tub. Like any type of tub, an acrylic tub has its advantages and disadvantages. Ad Sundance® Spas Hot Tubs Get The Free Sundance® Spas Brochure with Pics & Specs. Download Instantly Now! www.sundancespas.com Variety of Shapes and Sizes Because acrylic comes in sheets that are soft and malleable, acrylic bathtubs come in a large variety of shapes, sizes, and colors. Whether you are planning a small functional bathroom or a large spa-like setting, this wide assortment of tub styles can increase your options when designing a bathroom. Heat Retaining Properties Acrylic bathtubs have a smooth nonporous surface. The surface is warm to the touch in normal temperatures and has very good heat-retaining properties, keeping water warm for a longer time than some other bathtub materials. For a homeowner who enjoys soaking in a hot tub, this can be an important advantage. Scratches Easily An acrylic surface is quite soft and can scratch easily. For this reason, abrasive cleaners should not be used on acrylic tubs. While the fact that the surface scratches easily is a disadvantage, it can also be an advantage because the scratches can often be polished out or filled with acrylic. Other types of tub surfaces chip instead of scratch, making them more difficult to repair than acrylic. Not Rigid The surface of an acrylic bathtub is relatively soft and not very rigid. Acrylic tubs can be reinforced with fiberglass, which will increase durability and rigidity but will also increase the price of the tub. Budget acrylic tubs have little reinforcement and can feel quite flimsy when installed, so it may be worth paying the extra cost to purchase one of higher quality products with fiberglass reinforcement.

Condo Association Insurance Vs. Condo Unit Owners Insurance

Condominium associations generally carry personal injury and property insurance. However, individual condo owners are usually not fully covered for all conceivable loss and liability under an association's policy. An association's coverage is usually limited to building exteriors and common areas such as courtyards and parking lots. An individual condo owner typically must insure against injuries and damages occurring inside the four walls of his unit. Ad Obama HARP Program 2017 Verify Your HARP Eligibility Status HARP 2017 Verification Takes 1 Min! harp.mortgagerefinancerates.org Association Insurance Condo associations typically have insurance for accidents and bodily injuries occurring within a complex's common grounds. For example, a slip and fall in a pool area or parking lot generally falls under the association's insurance. Damage to a building's exterior is normally covered by an association's property damage coverage. For example, storm damage to vinyl siding or roof shingles is generally covered under the association's policy. Associations also insure commonly owned personal and affixed property like a tool shed and its contents. Individual Insurance Individual condo owners must insurie against accidents and damages occurring inside their units. For example, if your kitchen walls are damaged by a grease fire on your stove, generally your individual policy would cover repairs. Likewise, if someone is burned in the fire, your individual coverage would apply to their injuries. If your personal belongings are damaged or destroyed in a catastrophe, such as a fire or storm, individual, content insurance covers your losses. Government Requirements Certain state and federal regulations mandate insurance coverage for condominium associations. For example, Connecticut requires associations insure common areas for medical, bodily injury and property claims. Federal lending programs, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, require the same. Federal regulations require flood insurance in flood zones and complexes with 20 plus units must insure against fraudulent acts by an association. A condo complex must comply with federal insurance guidelines to qualify for federally backed loans. Bylaws and Articles Each condominium association is governed a set of articles or bylaws. They define an association's specific obligations to carry insurance. They provide policy requirements for deductibles, limits of liability, and the depth of protection for personal injury and property claims. Condo owners are entitled to review their bylaws, articles and associations' insurance policies. Condo owners should understand the specific coverage provided through their associations so they can make informed choices when considering individual policies.

How to Remove Grout From Bathroom Tiles

Grout, a substance similar to mortar used for filling joints between bathroom tiles, grows mold and deteriorates more quickly than the glazed, sealed surfaces of the tiles. Typically 1/16- to 1/4-inch thick, grout joints keep tiles from shifting and help create a water-repelling surface in showers and around sinks and other bathroom fixtures. The average homeowner can grind away old, discolored or crumbling grout, while keeping the tiles in place, before applying new grout into the open seams. 1 Cover the floor and bathroom fixtures with a drop cloth to protect them from damage. Removing old grout seams can be a messy and dusty job. Wear a dust mask and eye protection. 2 Run the grout saw’s abrasive blade back and forth along the joints between tiles. For best results, grind out a groove in the joint measuring a minimum of 1/8-inch deep to provide an adequate base for the new grout to adhere. 3 Vacuum up dust and small pieces of grout frequently to ensure you can properly see the grout joints and work more accurately. 4 Consider using a power tool for larger projects. An electric rotary tool with a special grout-removing attachment quickly grinds through grout. Choose an attachment with adjustable guides that align along the old grout joints to keep you on track as you work. 5 Attach the grout-grinding bit to the rotary tool and set the bit depth at 1/8 to 1/4 inch, depending on the size of your joints. Run the tool between the tiles, grinding out a groove from the old grout. Inspect each joint and scrape away any small pieces of grout with the grout saw. 6 Brush and vacuum away grout dust between the tiles and clean the open joints with a damp towel or rag. Allow the joints to dry before applying new grout. Things You Will Need Drop cloths Safety glasses Dust mask Grout saw Rotary tool with carbide grout-removal attachment Shop vacuum Clean towels or rags Tip Work carefully and take care not to chip the tile when using an electric rotary tool. To remove just a few seams of grout, you can use a flat-head screwdriver and a hammer to chisel out the old grout. However, this method is not very accurate and the likelihood of the screwdriver slipping and chipping the tile is high. Warning Inspect bathroom tiles and grout joints carefully before you begin removing grout. If any grout joints appear cracked there is a good chance that water seeped through to the backer board supporting the tiles. You may need to remove the tiles and replace the backer board, ensuring the underlying structure remains undamaged, before re-tiling.

Is It Smart To Buy A Home With Less Than 20% Down Payment?

There’s a reason most people don’t purchase a home on a whim. From appraisals and inspections to closing costs and down payments, the upfront cash required can take years to save. However, thanks to low-down-payment loans now on the market, homeowners can have keys in hand to that home for sale in Charleston, SC, or San Antonio, TX, with significantly less cash out the door. But is purchasing a house with little to no money down a good financial move? is-it-smart-to-buy-a-home-with-less-than-20-down-payment-12-26 If you’re weighing your down payment options before diving into a home purchase, here are a few things to consider. What are the types of no- or low-down-payment loans? There are several no- or low-down-payment loan options available for a wide array of financial situations. We’ll highlight just a handful. VA loans: Reserved for active-duty and honorably discharged service members, reserves, National Guard members with at least six years of service, and spouses of service members killed in the line of duty, VA loans require 0% down and no private mortgage insurance. USDA loans: Also known as the “rural housing loan,” this 0%-down loan is meant to help low- to moderate-income households in eligible areas that are in need of housing but may be unable to qualify for other loans. FHA loans: With more lenient approval requirements than conventional loans, FHA loans also require as little as 3.5% down. However, mortgage insurance premiums will have to be paid for the life of the loan. Conventional loans: It’s possible to get a conventional loan with as little as 3% down, but just as with FHA loans, there’s an additional requirement of private mortgage insurance (PMI). However, once you reach 20% equity in the home, this additional cost can be dropped. What are some of the reasons to put less than 20% down on a home? You don’t have the cash upfront Many people struggle to come up with a 20% down payment, but that doesn’t mean they can’t handle the monthly mortgage costs. For example, you may have recently paid off your student loans, leaving you free of debt but also leaving you without enough savings to afford a lump-sum payment at the beginning of your home-buying journey. You aren’t planning on staying in the home for the long run It’s a gamble to purchase a home you plan to sell within a shorter time frame (say, three to five years), but if that’s the plan, the cost of a 20% down payment could wash out the savings of a lower monthly payment. Plus, this practice puts your potential profit from the sale of the home at risk, since you’ll need time to build equity (and hope real estate prices rise). You need the liquid funds Whether you prefer a larger emergency fund, plan to invest liquid assets elsewhere, or need cash to put toward a home remodel, you may want to protect your liquidity by minimizing the amount of your down payment. It’s all about your personal comfort level when it comes to your finances. What are the upsides to making a smaller down payment? 1. Your money might be more useful elsewhere There’s a chance the money could offer a bigger savings or return if used elsewhere. For instance, if you have $20,000 in credit card debt at an interest rate of 16% and a minimum monthly payment of 2% of the balance, you would be paying $400 per month (plus interest). Now let’s say you want to buy a $200,000 house at 3.92%. A down payment of $40,000 would put your mortgage payment at $756.50 (plus the additional $400+ per month for the credit card). However, if you cut the down payment in half (to redirect the funds to pay down the credit card) and increase your home-loan interest rate to 4.02%, your total monthly mortgage payment would be $861.42. In this case, the greater monthly savings comes from paying off the card. 2. You can keep your cash liquid Unless you plan to move out, pulling equity out as cash requires refinancing — a potentially costly endeavor. A lower down payment can keep more of your cash liquid in case life circumstances require a cash expenditure in the near future. Without this cushion, you could potentially put your home (and living situation) in jeopardy. What are some downsides to a smaller down payment? 1. You may have to pay PMI or mortgage insurance premiums (MIP) To mitigate the additional risk of lending to a borrower with a small down payment, lenders usually require private mortgage insurance for conventional loans until the homeowner has at least 20% equity in the home. All FHA loans require homeowners to pay mortgage insurance premiums for the life of the loan. 2. You’re likely to have a higher interest rate and closing costs The best interest rates don’t automatically go to the borrowers with the best credit score — the size of the down payment makes a difference as well. This higher rate translates into higher monthly payments and more money spent over the life of the loan. In addition, since closing costs are a percentage of the total loan amount, borrowing more means higher costs. 3. You will have less equity upfront The less money you put down, the less equity you will have once the home officially becomes yours. This could mean you can’t take advantage of home equity loans or lines of credit if your home needs repairs for which you can’t afford to pay cash. It could also increase your chances of being underwater in your home (owing more than what the home is worth) should the market crash. So, what’s the bottom line? Conventional wisdom might say 20% is always the way to go, but more options and different financial circumstances put this to the test. Make sure to fully explore the loan options available to you before deciding on the down payment amount that suits you and your situation best.

7 Ways To Make Yourself Hack-Proof

The Little Red Riding Hood version of the current trend in hackings goes something like this: Victim, looking at a hacker who they expected to be an unsociable computer nerd: “Hacker, what good people skills you have!” Hacker: “The better to access your accounts with.” Nowadays, computer skills are not the only job requirement for hackers. Many attacks simply involve persuading unwitting targets or company employees or customer service agents to open the doors for them into accounts of all kinds — email, bank accounts, and even phone numbers, from which they reset passwords to the victim’s email and financial institution, etc. Chris Hadnagy, chief human hacker of Social Engineer, which educates companies on not falling victim to social engineering attacks, says, “When we talk to consumers or business people, they say, ‘I would never fall for those things.’ They don’t believe it till it happens to them.” But social engineering is now used in 66% of all attacks, and in the company’s own tests, 90% of people they’ve tested offer up the spellings of their name and email address without confirming the identity of the person making the request, and 67% do the same with Social Security Numbers, birthdates and employee numbers. While in the related article, I cover the current top three social engineering scams, the hackers are opportunistic and constantly changing tactics. For instance, many of them exploit natural disasters. “If there’s a tsunami, hurricane or an accident, within hours, you can pick up on scams that are impersonating charity organizations, trying to take collections from people,” says Michele Fincher, chief operating officer of Social Engineer. Shutterstock Similarly, when Target was breached, compromising up to 110 million customers, Target offered those customers free credit monitoring via email. The hackers caught on and “they started sending emails to all the Target customers saying, ‘Hey, don’t forget to sign up for your credit monitoring here. Download it here,’” says Hadnagy. “And why wouldn’t someone trust it? It was branded from Target and looked the same.” Fincher also says that they take their time and do their homework: “If they’re interested in you as an individual, they find out what motivates you.” Then they try to contact you in a way that will elicit an emotional rather than a rational response — by making you angry or curious or frightened, or putting you in another emotional state that would lead you to let down your guard. So, while it’s very good internet hygiene to use random, unique passwords at every site and to make sure your email addresses and phone numbers are not connected to each other or that your public phone numbers and email addresses are not connected to your most sensitive accounts (follow the instructions in this article to learn how), you should also employ other, less technical behaviors to secure your accounts. 1. Never give out information by clicking a link or when someone calls you. For example, if you’d been a Target customer whose account was compromised and received an email inviting you to sign up for free credit monitoring, you would avoid clicking the link you received in your email and instead go straight to the Target website. Or, with the IRS scam outlined in the related story, ”If the IRS says you’re late and owe this money, get the account number, and call the IRS back and ask, Is this real? Do I really owe money or not? It takes longer, which is why people don’t do it, but it’s worth it to take the time to make the call,” says Hadnagy. The most important step is to verify that the person or organization you are speaking with truly is who they claim to be. 2. Beware of any messages that elicit an emotional response. “If a message makes you extremely emotional in good or bad ways, or very interested, that’s something to give you pause,” Fincher says. “If you’re into animals or children’s causes or sports, or if you want a kind of car, these are things that will make us react and unfortunately, those are the things malicious attackers take advantage of,” says Fincher. For instance, in a scam tied to the holiday season, hackers were luring victims by offering them discounts to items they had placed on their Amazon wish list. 3. Don’t put anything on social media or online that you wouldn’t want hackers to know. “We’re not anti-social media, but usually we’ll tell people, ‘You need better critical thinking,’” says Hadnagy. “If you’re willing to use FourSquare, then you need to be aware your geolocation is not private. Don’t assume that just because you’re you that people aren’t looking at your Facebook.” Whatever you put on Facebook, especially if it’s set to public (although even private posts could easily be screenshot or copied by any of your Facebook friends or anyone who has hacked their account), assume that it is now public knowledge. So if someone sends you an email or calls you and seems to know a lot about you, it may simply be because they’ve read your Facebook posts. The same goes for Twitter, LinkedIn,Instagram, FourSquare, Google Plus, Tumblr, etc. (Read this story for a more detailed description on the ways the information from various social media accounts can be used by a hacker to convince a customer service rep that they are you.) Just as individuals do, companies need to be careful about what information they disclose about themselves. “Companies have a hard balance to strike, because they have to be transparent,” says Fincher. “They have to be able to communicate with their clients, business partners and investors, so they have to strike this balance between ‘these are all the great things we’re doing’, vs. ‘what information are we putting out there that an attacker can use to get in the organization.’” So if a company announces it is going to partner with a great software developer, that is also information an attacker can use to social engineer a hack into the company’s systems. 4. Know what information about you is available in public records. Although what is public record varies state by state, a hacker may be able to glean from public databases your home address via property records, your marital status, traffic tickets, the vehicle identification number (VIN) to your car and more. “If I find a traffic ticket issued to you or maybe you sold a car, and I have a VIN number, and I could reference all that in an email to you that looks really convincing,” says Fincher. 5. Google yourself. “People say, ‘I don’t want to Google myself because it seems self-absorbed,’ but I think doing that is really important because it gives you a sense of what is out there that you may not even know is out there,” says Fincher. After following this tip from Social Engineering, some people realized that others had talked about them on a forum, or found out their personal information had been breached because they saw their information on Pastebin, says Hadnagy. Also be aware that some sites such as Spokeo specialize in data aggregation on individuals, compiled from both free and paid databases. “You can request to have your information removed, but once you plug up one hole, there’s going to be another one,” says Fincher. 6. Keep tabs on what your friends and family might post about you. “You could be the most locked down person in the world, but your mom might not be,” says Fincher. “If your mom posts about you or tags you in photos or if someone has a wedding and announces who attended — there are so many different ways. Trying to plug up some of those holes is reasonable but it’s not your only solution.” 7. Any information you use to identify yourself for any account should not be available anywhere online. “If you’re silly enough to use your pet’s name as a password,” says Hadnagy, “your pet’s name should never be online.” Ditto with answers to security questions. If your password includes your wedding anniversary, never make that date public — or even available as private information to your Facebook friends. Sometimes people fill out lists of questions on Facebook, such as “Tell us about your SENIOR year of high school!” (This is an actual post I saw last week.) This one then asked questions such as what year they graduated, what kind of car they drove (first make and model of car is a common security question) and their high school mascot (another common security question). But you don’t even need to publicly state your high school mascot — if you’ve posted the name of your high school on LinkedIn or Facebook, the answer to that security question is a quick Google search away.

The Must-Know Trick To Actually Sticking To Your New Year's Resolutions

By Molly Triffin This story originally appeared on LearnVest as “The One Secret That Can Help Make Your Resolutions Stick.” January means that annual excitement is in the air, when you start thinking about fresh starts, turning over a new leaf and kicking off a New Year’s money resolution. To help you score a resolution win in 2017, you should consider fine-tuning your goal so you’re primed for success. For starters, your goal should be specific. “I want to save more money” is fuzzy; “I want to put an extra $200 toward student loan debt each month” gives you a starting point and a tangible outcome. The other components of a rock-solid, reachable resolution? A realistic time frame, strategies for dodging roadblocks and a plan to maintain your motivation. But even the most well-thought-out resolution game plan may not be enough if you don’t have the support to help make it happen. That’s where a surprising success strategy comes into play—talking about your goal with the people around you. It’s something most of us know intuitively: According to the 2016 Money Habits & Confessions Survey by LearnVest, 74% of Americans agree that discussing a financial New Year’s resolution with others will make them more likely to stay the course. RELATED: Want Better Money Habits? Take Our Four-Week Challenge Of course, bringing up your money goals with friends and family can be crazy awkward. “Since money is such an intimate subject for a lot of people, it has traditionally been very shrouded—we’ve been raised to believe that talking about it is an intrusion,” says Maggie Baker, Ph.D, author of “Crazy About Money: How Emotions Confuse Our Money Choices and What to Do About It.” What’s more, she says, “It’s human nature to compare yourself with others in your social group, which can make financial conversations uncomfortable.” Whatever your money resolution focuses on, here are three ways it pays to push past the awkwardness and go public. You’ll Have Someone to Answer to Staying mum on your resolution can tempt you to slack off, since nobody is keeping tabs on your progress. But spreading the word holds you accountable—and makes you more likely to follow through. In a Dominican University study released in 2015, 62% of people who shared their goals with a friend had either accomplished them or were at least halfway there four weeks later, compared to 43% of those who’d kept their ambitions to themselves. And the success rate was even higher among those who sent weekly progress reports to their buddies, climbing to 76%. The takeaway? This extra motivation to deliver good news and not let your friends down plays an important role in staying the course. “Ask a friend to check in with you once a month,” Baker suggests. That text or tap on the shoulder asking you how things are going reinforces your commitment, she adds. You’ll Nail Down the Details We already mentioned that mapping out specifics can help you become a money resolution success story. But talking through your goal with trusted friends can help with this by encouraging you to go into even more detail about your resolution—and all the ways you’ll get around potential problems. You could get an even stronger handle on how to navigate temptations (like avoiding the mall during end-of-season sales) and what action items you need to complete to help reach your goal (such as automating bills). After you share your goal, encourage friends to fire off questions about your plan of attack: Will you still splurge on restaurant meals? Will you increase your 401(k) contributions? Rather than a vague pledge, you’ll be compelled to firm up your plan—which, as we’ve stated, is a key element of success. Research bears this out: According to one University of Missouri study, focusing on how you’ll achieve a goal ups your odds of hitting your target. RELATED: 3 Top Money Stressors—and How to Tackle Them You’ll Boost Your Motivation You know how fun it is to talk about a trip in advance: deciding where you’ll stay, the kinds of food you’ll eat and the new things you’ll try while you’re there. Obviously, mapping out a budget or boosting your retirement contributions are far cries from organizing a vacation in the Turks & Caicos. Still, discussing your intentions ahead of time with a friend who’s enthusiastic about your mission gives you one more way to supercharge your motivation. “Excitement has a mirroring effect that can help you stay focused on the positive,” Baker says. “Instead of thinking about what an uphill slog it’s going to be to tighten your purse strings, you’ll imagine the reduction of worry and sense of pride you’ll feel next year, once you’ve made financial progress.” In other words, sharing your goal gives you a cheerleader along the way, someone to help celebrate your wins and boost your morale. A friend’s support lessens the likelihood that you’ll throw in the towel after an unplanned budget binge, for example. And continuing to share details of your progress will give you those periodic mojo boosts that are crucial to helping make a resolution stick.