The Meat and Potatoes of Homeowners Insurance

Getting homeowners insurance can only help you in the long run, but knowing what plan works best for you depends on a few important factors we’ll discuss today.

There are many great Charleston area homes for sale. Click here to perform a full home search, or if you're thinking of selling your home, click here for a FREE Home Price Evaluation so you know what buyers will pay for your home in today's market. You may also call me at (843) 972-3833 for a FREE home buying or selling consultation to answer any of your real estate questions. 

As we all know, weather isn’t exactly predictable. That’s why, as a homeowner, it’s absolutely necessary that you have an insurance plan in place that will protect you and your property in the long run. Insurance agents provide an invisible safety net that saves you money and time down the line.

With that in mind, today we’re joined by Mark Allen from 1st Capital Insurance to explain the basics of what sort of insurance plans you should investigate and the typical costs of obtaining them.

According to Mark, the number one thing that Lowcountry residents need to look out for when looking for insurance in a home are the deductibles. What are they covering? There are differences between an ‘all other peril’ (AOP) deductible and a ‘wind and hail’ and/or ‘named storm’ deductible. The named storm or wind and hail deductible is normally a percentage of your dwelling. For example, let’s say you have a $300,000 house and you have a 2% named storm or wind and hail deductible. That means your cost would be $6,000. The all other peril deductible has to do with fire, vandalism, theft, water damage, and other things of that nature.

As to how much flood insurance costs, it depends on your house’s location and its elevation. Normally people in Mark’s business get what is called an “elevation certificate,” which tells them how high the house is and how well the house is vented so that they know how much to charge appropriately.

To Mark’s estimate, the typical cost of a flood policy for a $300,000 to $500,000 home would be around $500 a year, which covers $250,000 on the building and $100,000 in contest. That’s the maximum that FEMA allows. You can get other policies that cover you over and above that, but that’s the typical FEMA policy.

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Lowcountry residents need to be mindful of deductibles.

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For homeowners living around water areas, Mark’s advice is to watch for how much the house would cost to rebuild, because that’s what insurance companies measure to determine their rate. If you make any major changes or renovations to your home, make sure to call your insurance company and update your policy information.

Stay tuned for part two of our series with Mark where we’ll cover the business of homeowners insurance in greater depth. In the meantime, if you want to get in touch with him, you can call his office at (843) 216-2772 or visit his company’s website at www.1stcapitalins.com, or email him at Mark@1stcapitalins.com.

If you have any other questions, feel free to give me a call or shoot me an email. I look forward to helping you!

Can You Predict How Home Values Will Appreciate?

How can you predict appreciation or depreciation for your home's value?

There are many great Charleston area homes for sale. Click here to perform a full home search, or if you're thinking of selling your home, click here for a FREE Home Price Evaluation so you know what buyers will pay for your home in today's market. You may also call me at (843) 972-3833 for a FREE home buying or selling consultation to answer any of your real estate questions.

I'm often asked about appreciation, so I wanted to talk about how you can predict the annual appreciation or depreciation for your real estate investment.

My team and I study the market daily to predict appreciation rates for our clients. We look at sales over the last year compared to the current inventory, and based on this, we can determine the months of inventory.

Because real estate is very location-driven, the months of inventory will change from neighborhood to neighborhood. Months of inventory will determine the appreciation (or depreciation) rate you can expect for your home or investment. The future prospects for your chosen neighborhood can have a big impact on price.

If a big development is planned, such as a big mall or an extension of a light rail or highway, or there's a new company moving to the area, the prospects of future appreciation look good. Even small developments like plans to add a road or a small school are good signs. On the other hand, if grocery stores and gas stations are slowly closing down, then you can probably determine that home values will depreciate, and you might consider moving out of the area.

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If a big development like a mall or light rail is planned, appreciation could go up.

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New developments in housing can take it either way. If the area is hot, it's likely in high demand and increasing your home's value. However, if there is a surplus in new development (like a lot of new construction that you're competing against), it could hurt the value of your home and your appreciation.

If a builder came in and bought land at a very good value and started developing a lot of homes and devaluing homes in the surrounding area because of what they started selling those homes at, it could have a negative impact on you.

If you'd like a report about appreciation rates in your specific area, I'd be more than happy to put one together for you at no cost. If you have any questions about the Charleston market, give me a call or send me an email. I look forward to hearing from you!