What You Should Know About Flood Insurance

I sat down with insurance expert Mark Allen to find out the keys things you need to know when considering flood insurance.

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. 

We all know that weather can be unpredictable, and although hurricane Matthew was luckily not as bad as we expected it to be, it showed how important it is to have flood insurance in the Charleston area.

Insurance expert Mark Allen dropped by to explain why it’s so important to have an insurance plan in place and what to look out for when selecting a polifcy. Here are some things to consider when selecting flood insurance:

1. Think of your insurance policy as an invisible safety net. Living on the coast has its perks, but if Mother Nature takes a turn for the worse, having a plan to fall back on for repair or damage costs will make sure you can sleep easy. 
2. Most homeowners insurance policies will cover not only flood but also wind and hail damage. Making sure you cover all your bases when it comes to unpredictable weather is key. Luckily, you can select a policy that will have you covered in any circumstance.
3. Make sure you check to see if you have one or several policies covering you for flood and weather related damage. Homeowners insurance should cover everything, and it’s much easier to have one policy than have several with different deductibles and coverages.
4. Remember that not all policies are created equal. Different policies will include different deductibles or coverage amounts and different types of coverage as well. Make sure your policy is right for you and your home. 
5. Don’t fall for the “sticker price.” Many insurance agencies will try to sell you a policy without combing over the fine details. Different coverage amounts and types of coverage can sneak in, so make sure you know exactly what is and is not in your policy. 
6. Don’t forget about your personal items inside the home. Make sure you have proper coverage for both the inside and outside of your home. 
7. Talk to someone who will insure your home in the way they would want their home insured. Finding an insurance agent who walks you through your policy and makes sure you understand all the details, like what you are taking out or including, will help make sure you are getting the right coverage for the right house. 
8. Get a flood quote. At the very least, you will understand what it is going to cost to include your personal items in your flood coverage. 

If you have any further questions regarding flood or homeowners insurance feel free to give Mark a call, visit 1stCapitalIns.com, or shoot him an email. If you have any questions about the Charleston or Mt. Pleasant real estate markets or you're considering buying or selling a home, give me a call or send me an email. I'd be happy to help.

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!

Pie-ing and Selling in the Charleston Marketplace

Our annual free pie giveaway is right around the corner, and if you have a house that you need to sell, now is the time to list it.

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. 

Today, I wanted to discuss our annual pie giveaway and give you a quick market update.
 
For years, our team has been giving away pies to all of our fans. It’s that time of year again, and we already have people calling us to RSVP for their pie. Because we’re so grateful to our wonderful community for supporting our business, giving you a pie is the least we can do.
 
To RSVP, please call us at (843) 972-3833 by the November 17th deadline. You can then pick up your pie at my office at 496 Bramson Court, Suite 200 in Mount Pleasant. The dates available for pickup are Nov. 21st from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. and Nov. 22nd from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.
 

There aren’t many buyers out there, but there are even fewer sellers.

 
Now, what’s happening in the Charleston real estate market? A lot of sellers are taking their houses off the market because they presume that there aren’t as many buyers out there. That is true; however, in midsummer, housing inventory hovered around 4.2 months, and now it’s at 3.9 months. That means you currently have better odds of selling your home now than you did a few months ago.
 
How? There are fewer buyers, but there are also even fewer sellers. That means less competition for you to deal with.
 
If you have any questions about buying or selling a home, please feel free to give me a call or shoot me an email for a free consultation or a free home evaluation report. I look forward to helping you!