Are you in the market for car insurance? Even with websites that help with the car insurance quotes comparison process, it can still be quite confusing especially when you don’t know what to look for. Apart from the usual main components of liability and comprehensive insurance, there are various add-ons that insurance companies offer.

What is an add-on?
An add-on is extra protection offered by the insurance company on the driving without insurance penalty policy. These extra protections are not part of the legal minimum that your state requires. As such, you don’t need to have them. However, you may find some of them useful depending on your personal requirements and circumstances.

Add-ons to ditch
According to Consumer Reports, the cost of car insurance premiums has risen since 2013 by over 10 percent. According to reports, these rates will continue to rise by 5-10 percent in 2016.

Car insurance add-ons come at an extra cost, after all insurers need to make a profit. While some add-ons are beneficial, others simply aren’t worth the extra cost. If you want to reduce the cost of your car insurance premiums, you need to know which add-ons to consider and which to ditch. The following are car insurance add-ons that just aren’t worth it:

Rental car insurance
If you’re renting a car, you may be asked if you want rental car insurance. Check with your auto insurance or credit card. You may already be covered for this. Many consumers aren’t aware that they already have coverage and end up spending a lot of money on insurance that they don’t need.

If you already have comprehensive, collision or liability auto insurance coverage, then don’t pay more money for this add-on. You should also check with your credit card to find out what types of insurance they extend for rental cars.

Fannie Mae said in a monthly survey released this week that consumer’s confidence in the housing market is now at its lowest level since 2011, with both buyers and sellers increasingly pessimistic.

According to the survey, just 17% of respondents believe now is a good time to buy a home, down from 20% one month prior. However, the more telling statistic is that just 67% of sellers believe now is a good time to sell, down from 76% in June.

There are also far fewer consumers who think home prices will rise, with just 27% expressing optimism, down from 30% a month before.

Fannie Mae’s Home Purchase Sentiment Index comprises six factors – buying conditions, selling conditions, home price outlook, mortgage rate outlook, job loss concern and changes in household income. Overall, the index was down two points to 62.8 at the end of July. It’s down 13 points from the same month one year earlier, having hit an all-time high of 93.7 in the summer of 2019, prior to the pandemic.

“Unfavorable mortgage rates have been increasingly cited by consumers as a top reason behind the growing perception that it’s a bad time to buy, as well as sell, a home,” said Fannie Mae Senior Vice President and Chief Economist Doug Duncan.

Becoming a landlord is one of the easiest ways to invest in real estate. If you have a little extra money, property prices in your area are low, and rent rates are profitable, now may be an exciting time to invest in real estate as a hedge against inflation and to generate additional monthly income.

Not all investments are created equal. Investors in stocks on Wall Street have hit tough times in 2022. Retreating stock values are doing the opposite of what you need during inflationary times. In general, the price of real estate and rents rise right along with inflation. In tight housing markets, rent increases often outpace inflation. Although home prices are high, interest rates are still relatively low (compared to historical averages), this should still be a good time to lock in a mortgage to combat inflation.

Here are the key tips to getting started as a landlord.

1. Research the best investment area near you. Experienced investors sometimes venture outside of their own backyard but for beginning landlords, it’s wise staying close to home. You can keep your maintenance costs low by doing some of the maintenance yourself. Being able to periodically inspect your investment also brings peace of mind to the new landlord. Get started by researching neighborhoods near you that are known for the features that quality tenants are willing to pay top dollar for. Quality of life neighborhoods feature a good school district, walking distance to stores and amenities, and a short commute to decent-paying jobs. House-specific niceties include three or more bathrooms, a master suite, and stainless steel appliances in the kitchen. This is also the recipe for an investment that will appreciate in value along with providing a monthly income.

2. Crunch the numbers. Once you find the house that meets your basic requirements, it’s time to crunch the numbers before doing anything else. Although interest rates are low, qualifying for an investment mortgage still comes with stringent requirements. You can expect to need a 20% down payment. You can easily use an online mortgage calculator to crunch the numbers to see what your monthly mortgage payment will be. Other information that you’ll need includes the property taxes, insurance, and maybe HOA fees. Also, factor in about 10% for maintenance and repair costs. Of course, you’ll need to learn how much similar houses in the neighborhood are renting for. Your monthly rent goal is 1% of the value of the house. A $150,000 house should rent for about $1,500 a month.

Ask Brian is a weekly column by Real Estate Expert Brian Kline. If you have questions on real estate investing, DIY, home buying/selling, or other housing inquiries please email your questions to askbrian@realtybiznews.com.

Question from WildCat in CA: Hi Brian, I’ve been with Sierra for three years and we’ve decided to get married. At first, I was incredibly excited about this but after a few days, I started thinking about some of the implications. In particular, I thought about how marriage will affect our finances. I know that it’s not romantic but in many ways it seems like getting married can really mess up a couple’s finances. I have one big example that I’m asking for your help with. Sierra took out a mortgage to buy her parents a house a couple of years ago. She didn’t just co-sign for the mortgage, the mortgage is only in her name. Her parents pay a small portion towards the mortgage each month, but Sierra pays the bulk of the payment. So, here is my question. If we get married, will I become responsible for the mortgage on her parent’s house? I haven’t even talked to Sierra about this because I’m afraid it could destroy what has been a great relationship up until we started talking about getting married.

Answer: Hello WildCat. That’s a tough question that you’re asking. My first thought was that you could try writing your situation into some type of a prenuptial agreement and that is when I realized how important it is for you to get a knowledgeable attorney involved (I’m not an attorney). In my opinion, this goes beyond just general legal advice because there are so many possible variations involved. For instance, it could get in the way of the two of you buying a house if you don’t already have one. Or what could be the consequences if she defaults on the mortgage or even has to declare bankruptcy? Another complicated possibility is what happens if there is a divorce? Would you still be responsible for Sierra’s parent’s mortgage if you were no longer married to Sierra? Importantly, the laws vary drastically from state to state.

I understand why you are reluctant to talk to Sierra about this, there is nothing romantic about marrying someone else’s debt. The best I can offer are some broad and general thoughts about the possibilities of what it does mean when you marry someone else’s debt. California is a community property state, so I’m going to lean towards what this could mean in community property states.

If you live in a community property state, most debts incurred after marriage will be treated as the responsibility of both spouses. Nine states have community property laws:

ERA Central Realty Group announced today that in-house graphic artist Suzi Kelly has been chosen as the official graphic designer for the United States Marine Corps Toys for Tots Program 75th Anniversary. Kelly was awarded the prestigious appointment based on her logo design, which will be used on collection boxes and marketing collateral for the Toys for Tots 75th Anniversary celebration.

“It is an honor to represent the Toys for Tots Program,” Kelly says of her appointment. “My daughter is a Marine and Toys for Tots has been an important effort for our family and ERA Central for many years. Being able to represent this amazing organization in such a unique and meaningful way is very exciting. Incidentally,” she adds, “Walt Disney designed the iconic Toys for Tots train logo, so my work is in excellent company.”

In the letter of appointment, David G Bellon, Lieutenant General Commander Marine Forces Reserve writes, “[Suzi’s] exceptional talent and dedication to this project are instrumental in enabling the Marine Corps Reserve to continue its long legacy of delivering hope to less fortunate children during the holiday season.”

“Toys for Tots has been a charitable initiative at ERA Central Realty Group for several years. I am proud that our community contributes to the 18 million toys that Toys for Tots collects and distributes to over 7 million children annually,” says Stephanie Bellanova, co-owner of ERA Central. “I am particularly delighted that Suzi is being recognized for her creativity at a national level.”

About the artist, Suzi Kelly

Having endured weeks of rising borrowing costs, home buyers in the U.S. have gotten a “second chance” to lock in a lower interest rate.

Last week, the popular 30-year fixed-rate mortgage fell below 5% for the first time in months, according to a report by Freddie Mac. Rates had been hovering above 5% for a good couple of months, even going as high as 6% at one point, before slipping lower again by the end of this week.

A second report from the Mortgage Bankers Association suggests home shoppers are already rushing to take advantage of the lower rates. Mortgage applications rose for the first time in five weeks, up by just over 1%, following weeks of declines.

Experts aren’t sure if the lower rates are here to stay, with Freddie Mac Chief Economist Sam Khater saying that things are likely to remain volatile due to the tug of war between inflationary pressure and a clear slowdown in economic growth.

“The high uncertainty surrounding inflation and other factors will likely cause rates to remain variable, especially as the Federal Reserve attempts to navigate the current economic environment,” Khater said.

Advancements in technology have made it possible to create smart homes with devices and systems that you can integrate with the internet. Though high-tech homes are all the rage right now, it is challenging and expensive to make a modern high-tech house. 

The best way to do it is to start small and add smart components to your home unless you can afford it right from the start. You can do it with the right design, creativity, imagination, and determination. 

The following are ways to create an ultra-modern, high-tech home: 

Hire An Expert

Unless you are an engineer or specialize in IT and other advanced technological professions, you probably know little about creating a high-tech home. 

Therefore, you should consider asking an expert to help you. There are many options for building high-tech homes, but you can only choose one. 

Congratulations on moving into your newly built home and I hope you enjoy many happy years living there. Everything is sparkling clean from the floors, to the walls, to the ceilings, and the brand-new appliances. However, enjoying life there brings wear-and-tear and that requires maintenance to keep everything in the most attractive shape and to prevent small problems from becoming big headaches. One of the most basic steps to keeping your home looking and functioning great is keeping it clean. Dust and dirt not only look bad, these damage surfaces and finishes. To keep everything sparkling, frequently clean countertops, floors, sinks, tubs, toilets, tiles, cabinets, and other parts of your home.

New home construction framing

In time, you want to build a robust maintenance routine based on the following.

1. Follow your builder’s recommendations. The first walkthrough of your newly completed home should be with the construction manager. Be sure to pay close attention and take notes. Not only might this be your only face-to-face opportunity to point out anything you aren’t satisfied with, but also he/she will show you where to find hidden but important controls like the electrical box and main water shutoff. The construction manager will also explain how everything works and what recommended maintenance is needed. Some of this maintenance, such as for the exterior siding, is probably not in the appliance and systems owner’s manuals.

2. Read your owner’s manuals. Grab a highlighter and approach this with the same gusto as you would binge-watch Netflix. It won’t be as entertaining, but it will pay big financial rewards for years to come. Fill out and send in any warranty documents. Keep the owner’s manuals and copies of the warranties in a secure place so you can find them later. Equipment such as garage doors might need minor adjustments after your new home settles for several months. Periodic oiling may be needed and equipment like furnaces and water systems need filters changed on a regular schedule. Besides highlighting essential information in the manuals, this is the right time to begin creating a seasonal and annual checklist of tasks to be done. Your checklist can reference back to pages in the manuals for detailed instructions.

3. Train kids and pets (and your spouse if needed). Beyond keeping a clean house, one of the most effective ways of keeping your home looking new is by encouraging habits that avoid scratches, stains, chips, and burns on cosmetic surfaces. How you do this is up to you, but it might mean no food on the living room white carpet and always putting the dog out the first thing in the morning.

Purchasing homes to renovate and flip is a common real estate investment strategy. So, too, is home buyers purchasing an inexpensive property that needs some rehab or customization, or even a mortgage refinance when your existing property needs renovations. However, just because you have the desire to purchase a home and then renovate it does not mean you might have the cash resources to do so. This is, of course, where mortgages come into play, as many investors and buyers will finance a property purchase.

Banks will only offer a certain amount of lending to borrowers based on a specific formula known as loan to value (LTV). If the LTV of a property isn’t within acceptable parameters, a bank is unlikely to offer mortgages to prospective borrowers, as anything over 80 percent is considered a poor risk. However, there’s another ratio that comes into play when talking about purchasers seeking mortgages for homes they want to renovate. This ratio, which is called “after repair value”, is related but has some important differences. Here’s what you should know.

What is “Loan to Value After Repair Value”?

As mentioned above, the LTV is a ratio that lenders use to determine the balance between the amount of money being lent to the overall value of a property. Meanwhile, an after-repair value, or ARV, is the estimated value the same property after renovations have been completed. This differs from LTV as ARV is not calculated using the current condition of the property. 

ARV is commonly used by real estate investors who plan on flipping a home as a way to gauge the worth of the property they plan on rehabbing. There are a couple of factors that go into calculating that worth, which include the purchase price of the property, the cost of repairs, and then the price it can be resold for after those repairs, whatever they may be, have been finished.

How to Calculate “Loan to Value After Repair Value”

Calculating an ARV is slightly more complicated than calculating an LTV. For example, the loan to value ratio for a property is the value of the mortgage being sought divided by the total cost of the house, as expressed by a percentage. An example would be how buying a home that’s valued at $100,000 with a $20,000 down payment would require an $80,000 mortgage with an LTV of 80 percent.

Having a clean home is one of the best ways to relieve stress. When you have a spotless household, you can keep a clearer mind because you’re no longer stressed about all the mess around you. However, it’s often difficult to keep everything in order, especially when you’re trying to juggle countless things at the same time. In this blog, we’ll be sharing all our best advice on how you can keep your house as pristine as possible in five easy steps… 

Happy smiling couple relaxing on floor with cup of coffee among construction tools and materials. House remodeling and interior renovation concept. Young man and woman together painting wall at home.

Start With a Deep Clean 

First things first, you’ll need to conduct a deep clean from top to bottom. Depending on how many people you live with, we suggest you do this around two to three times a year. Deep cleaning includes things like window treatments, removing dust from hard to reach places, polishing furniture, and intensive floor cleaning. Make a checklist of your essential deep cleaning tasks and refer back to it each time.   

Keep a Weekly Rota 

After you’ve finished your deep clean, you should write up a weekly rota of the most essential cleaning tasks. For example, every Monday and Thursday you can sweep the floors and take out the bins. This is perhaps the most important trick when it comes to keeping a spotless home. Remember, consistency is key, so try to pick up where you left off even if you missed a day. 

A Conversation with Lucinda Brasington Chief Operating Officer, ERA Wilder Realty, Columbia and Charleston, S.C.

Lucinda Brasington has worn many hats during her real estate management career, including that of Marketing Director. In her current role as Chief Operating Officer for ERA Wilder Realty, a 300-agent strong brokerage in Columbia and Charleston, S.C., she oversees, among many things, the company’s marketing efforts. She recently shared her insights about how to get the best out of your marketing director.

Realty Biz News: Is there any one thing that really stands out for you when thinking about how to maximize your marketing director’s efforts?

Lucinda Brasington: Provided that all stakeholders are clearly aligned on goals and plans with measurement, I think the best thing you can do is to give your marketing director the freedom to be creative, explore new ways of thinking and take calculated risks. We know traditional methods and what works, but being ahead of the curve on new innovations is a major point of differentiation for your firm, especially to reinforce your brokerage’s value and how agents can use it to benefit their business.

RBN: You talked about measurement. How important is that?

Q&A with Robyn Erlenbush, Broker/OwnerERA Landmark Realty, Bozeman, M.T.

Realty Biz News: The housing market of the last few years has been characterized by a frenzy of activity and a cauldron of emotions. How have you responded, particularly in your conversations with buyers and sellers?

Robyn Erlenbush:  We are exposed to so many different messages in the media that tell a story – a story that attempts to paint a national trend with characteristics that reach far and wide. To some extent, these narratives are helpful but really only at a 30,000-foot view. But for individual consumers in a specific place at a specific time, these high-level narratives are not particularly relevant That’s why hyper-local insight from a real estate professional in your market is critical to making sense of buying or selling for your unique situation. The national narrative – and the emotions that are being stirred up around that story – may not apply to you. 

RBN: Can you talk about these emotions? I imagine people might be afraid of rising mortgage rates, frustrated by lack of inventory, confused about contingencies, and discouraged by days on market.

RE: All of the above, but frankly, I’d much rather speak about the data than the emotions. It’s so much more illustrative of what’s happening. People should make decisions based on localized facts, not national trends, averages or emotions.    

Multifamily investment giant TruAmerica has said it has acquired five suburban apartment communities that together comprise almost 1,500 units in Florida, Phoenix and Ohio.

The acquisition spans three transactions and includes a 981-unit portfolio that’s spread across three properties, which was acquired in partnership with funds managed by Oaktree Capital Management. The portfolio includes 314 units in Linden Crossroads and 449 units in Linden Audobon Park (pictured) in Orlando, plus 218 units in Luxe Scottsdale, Phoenix. The properties, which range from studio apartments to three-bedroom apartment homes, were built between 2015 and 2017, TruAmerica said.

“We are thrilled to further expand our relationship with TruAmerica, especially in markets like Phoenix and Orlando that are benefitting from incredibly strong market fundamentals,” said Jared Lazarus, Managing Director at Oaktree’s Real Estate group.

In a second transaction, TruAmerica said it purchased a 238-unit apartment property in Winter Park, Florida, from the investment manager Park at Napoli. Those units range from one- to three-bedroom apartments.

TruAmerica said the plan is to renovate all of the newly acquired homes, which bring its total holdings in Florida to 25 and its total in Arizona to 12.

The housing market has its ups and downs in any economic era, but today we face lower demand for mortgages than has been seen for over two decades.

This is a tricky state of affairs for various reasons, so let’s discuss how we’ve reached this point and where we go from here.

Inflation & interest spikes are hurting consumers

With rising interest rates implemented as an inflation-fighting measure, it’s no surprise that people are less willing to take on debt at this point in time.

There has long been concern over the cost of living in cities, and people who were already feeling the pinch before the current crisis are doubly in danger of being unable to afford to pay the bills, let alone consider the cost of keeping up with the interest alone on a mortgage.

Of course on the flip side, consumers are arguably in a better position today than at any point in the past. Thanks to the competitive nature of the market, there’s more choice and better value to be gleaned. Products from loanDepot mortgage lending, for example, are customer-focused and built to save you money, rather than leaving you in financial dire straits.

The customer relationship management focused proptech startup Chime has announced a new social media tool called Social Studio.

According to Chime, Social Studio is designed to enable real estate agents to capitalize on social media as a low-cost opportunity to build awareness and fill their sales pipelines.

Chime said Social Studio is able to do this by automatically creating and publishing organic social media posts from its existing platform. This means agents get to spend more time developing engaging content and devote extra effort on managing operations, the company added.

Social Studio is said to come with features such as showcasing of listings, websites and blog posts automatically within the MLS and current websites. It provides advanced post scheduling tools, detailed lead engagement metrics, customized lead nurturing tools, plus auto-posting when a listing status changes on the MLS.

“Every real estate professional knows time is money and as the market tightens it matters more than ever where you spend your time and focus. Our platform has always been designed to help automate key business functions and let agents and teams do what they do best – service the client and close deals,” stated Chime Head of Industry Development Stuart Sim.

CENTURY 21 AllPoints is pleased to welcome Tom Shrum as Regional Vice President of Sales

covering Fairfield County and the Connecticut Shoreline.

A member of the Mid-Fairfield County Association of REALTORS®, Shrum, a third generation

Realtor® brings over 43 years of experience in real estate sales and business management.

Shrum’s most recent role was as a Licensed Real Estate Broker with William Pitt Sotheby’s

While in college, many students quickly get tired of living in a crowded and noisy dorm and decide to move into a rented apartment to have more privacy and freedom. At first glance, renting in college can seem like a good idea, and it really can be. But, at the same time, there are many related pitfalls that you must be aware of.

What are these pitfalls? Read on, and we will tell you about the top nine of them!

Renting Alone Isn’t Cheap

An average college student has to cover a huge number of expenses every year. This includes tuition and fees, academic services like WritePaper, tutors, books, food, and much more. Needless to say, their budgets are rather limited. So, often, young people can’t afford to cover additional expenses, which brings us to the first pitfall students must be aware of when renting – doing this on your own is expensive.

The cost of a dorm room can be anywhere between $8,000 and $13,000 per year. The average one-bedroom apartment rent is $1,129 per month or $13,548 per year, plus an additional $2,000 or so for utilities per year. As a result, the cost of a dorm is somewhat lower.

Finding Someone to Live With Isn’t Easy

While living on your own can be pretty expensive, living with a roommate(s) isn’t all that easy too. First of all, you need to know that finding someone to share your apartment with won’t be a simple task.

Mortgage rates took a sharp turn lower last week, just one day after the Federal Reserve raised its benchmark rate.

The average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage fell to 5.22% on Thursday, down from 5.54% earlier in the week, shortly after the Fed announced another rate hike. Mortgage News Daily reported that the average rate fell even further on Friday, to 5.13%.

A conceptual look at variable mortgage rates.

Rates had stayed more or less flat in the days running up to the Fed’s latest meeting, having come down from their most recent record high of just over 6% earlier in July.

The decline in the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage came on the heels of the Bureau of Economic Analysis’s latest gross domestic product report, which revealed that the U.S. economy had contracted for the second successive quarter. That is, notably, a widely accepted signal that the economy is in recession. The report found that the U.S. GDP fell 0.9% at an annualized pace for the period, according to the advance estimate. Economists had been expecting ever so slight growth of 0.3%.

The news of the economic contraction saw investors rush to the safety of the bond market, resulting in yields falling. Mortgage rates generally tend to follow the yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury bond.

The rental market heavily favors landlords these days which means that it is a great time to see some big profits. Many landlords are making great money and are looking to keep the tap flowing. Others are wondering why they are not seeing those same profits and can’t take advantage of the situation. 

There is a lot of money being left on the table by some landlords who aren’t aware of how they need to change their habits to make more money during this opportunity. Some of the changes will be easy and some will be more difficult. In this article, we will go over some of the ways to take advantage right now to be able to increase profits. 

1 – Fix the property

Unfortunately, there are many unscrupulous landlords who figure that it is better to not keep their property maintained to make more money in the short term. The reality is that it is better to spend money now to avoid paying more later. The key is that you have to spend money now to make money. 

Those little problems that seem like inconveniences will end up much larger problems with the price tag to match. This will eat into your profits when you should be making more money.

Portable power stations have come on by leaps and bounds in recent years. With faster charging times, smaller and more convenient designs, not to mention the great strides seen with solar panels, we are well and truly on the cusp of something big when it comes to portable power. 

Whether you’re looking for something to take camping or use as a backup power source in the home, the days of the diesel or gas chugging generator are coming to an end—and in its place comes the portable power of the future. 

1. Several Charging Options  

Look no further if you’re looking for the best portable power station. Today’s portable power options are almost unrecognizable to what we had just a few years ago. They provide clean power on the go for every need, whether keeping everything charged while on that family camping trip, having it around the house in case of a power cut, or using it for off-grid living.  

Modern portable power stations can be charged through AC mains, solar panels, and even while in the car, making them hugely versatile for all situations.  

2. Speedy Charging 

Portable power stations, particularly those that come with solar panel options, have long been much maligned for their slow charging—but how times have changed.