The Shopping Nazi

Once again, how much is enough? How much square footage does a person REALLY need?  How many rooms in a house are full of “stuff?”

In the first part of February, I set down with James Stocker to talk about insurance we progressed from auto insurance to homeowners insurance. From that meeting he help me write Auto Insurance – Get the Facts.

It was in that meeting, James was telling me that he has seen about 95% of the family’s who group their homeowner and auto insurance together save up to 20%.

All mortgage companies require homeowners insurance. Many realtor’s, mortgage companies refer or recommend certain insurance companies for homeowner insurance. The truth be known you can shop around for the best company and best rate for your homeowner insurance. Read the rest of this entry »

It is pretty exciting news for first time home buyers when your loan officer calls to say, YOU ARE APPROVED!  That is great news!  Hold on, not so fast!  Maybe not?

If a home buyer is applying for a conventional loan with less than 20% down, private mortgage insurance approval is necessary.     Potential home buyers and Realtors, need to know that just because the lender has issued a loan approval, it doesn’t mean the deal is done.

Read the rest of this entry »

According to Harvard University 40% to 50% of all households in the United States are renters. Renters may not live in the same building as the landlord. Renters may not even live in the same town as the owner. Many property owner’s use a property management agency to take care of all the work in being a landlord for a flat fee or a small percentage of income from the rentals.

No matter if you are renting or because of one situation or the other, there are a few things you must consider. The whole process of moving into a rental is like entering a relationship with the owner of that rental. If you find yourself renting an apartment, townhouse or even a house through a property management agency you are entering into a relationship with the owner through the property management agency.

Read the rest of this entry »