Century21

How Much Homeowners Insurance Coverage Do You Need?

Imagine saving for a home downpayment for years, then working to pay off a mortgage, only to have the home burned down in a fire. How would you be able to get your life back to normal?

The most common type of homeowners insurance (HO-3) protects you in case your home or belongings are damaged, stolen, or destroyed by fire, hurricane, hail, lightning, and all other disasters that are not specifically excluded in the policy.

Most mortgage companies require borrowers to have insurance coverage for the value of their house when they buy a home. While an insurer may recommend a coverage limit for your home, it is a good idea to familiarize yourself with what homeowner insurance covers, and how much coverage you should have.

Dwelling Coverage

In the event that your home is totally destroyed by a fire, you want to make sure your dwelling coverage is enough to pay for all the costs associated with rebuilding your house from the ground up (this is not the same as the price that you paid for the property).

To calculate how much it would take to rebuild your house, multiply the square footage of your home with the local construction costs. You can find this information on the websites of most construction companies or by asking your real estate agent. You would also have to include any attached structures, such as a deck, built-in appliances, like a water heater, and any improvements you make to the house, such as new floors or marble countertops.

Keep in mind, the cost of rebuilding your home will be higher if you are rebuilding at a time when construction costs are high. If your whole neighborhood was hit by a massive fire, and all your neighbors are all rebuilding at the same time, it could drive construction costs up a lot.

Personal Property Coverage

Most homeowner insurance policies also cover personal belongings both inside and outside the home, such as furniture, computers, appliances, clothing, and other belongings that have been stolen or destroyed (except your car). You want enough personal property coverage to replace all of your belongings in case they are stolen or destroyed.

Generally, insurance companies will set the default personal property coverage limit at 50-75% of your dwelling coverage, but the amount of coverage you need depends on how much stuff you have and how valuable it is. The best way to accurately assess the value of your property is to take a home inventory. There are many apps that allow you to take a detailed inventory of your things, along with notes about their value. Having a regularly-updated inventory will make it much easier when you submit a claim to the insurance company.

TIP: It is easy to take an inventory of your things while you are packing them up before you move.

Beautiful woman writing in a notebook while moving in a new home.

Liability Coverage

Personal liability coverage will pay for any legal and medical bills that occur if someone gets hurt on your property. So if your dog bites the neighbor, your insurer will pay any of their medical expenses. Also, most insurance companies will pay your medical expenses if your neighbor’s dog bites you, so make sure to ask your insurer what they cover.

While most insurance companies will provide a minimum of $100,000 worth of liability coverage, experts at the Insurance Information Institute recommends that homeowners purchase at least $300,00 – $500,000 worth of liability coverage.

A male German shepherd bites a man by the hand.

Additional Living Expenses Coverage

If your house burns down, you are going to need a place to live while you are rebuilding it, that’s where additional living expense insurance (ALE) comes in. ALE covers hotel bills, restaurant meals, and other living expenses you may incur while you are not able to move back into your house.

Man pulling a suitcase and entering a hotel room.

Supplemental Insurance

A standard insurance policy will not pay for damages caused by a flood, earthquake, or routine wear and tear. In order to get coverage to protect against these and other damages, you may have to get supplemental insurance.

If you are unsure of how much homeowners insurance to buy, talk with insurance companies, mortgage lenders, and real estate agents. They can help you get the proper coverage to protect you, your belongings, and your house from whatever life throws at you.

4 Kid-Friendly House Hunting Tips

When house hunting, there are a lot of factors to consider: Are you close to work? Do you like the neighbourhood? Are our friends and family nearby? However, the most important factor is probably the reason you are moving in the first place, a growing family.

When it’s just you and your spouse, a two-bedroom apartment suffices. In fact, you can get away with having your first kid there, however, you quickly realize your spatial limitations when you discover how much baggage comes with baby, you’ll soon be scrambling for storage. Once they’re a little older or you’re planning another addition to the family, you’ll likely be looking to relocate somewhere larger, but are you factoring a kid-friendly environment when engaging in your house hunt?

Most of us only factor the extra space without considering other kid-friendly factors. Since you’re likely making this move to improve your growing family’s quality of life, go the full mile and ensure you incorporate as many kid-friendly features as possible.

1. Neighbourhood Demographics

When selecting a neighbourhood to target, we often take the demographics into account. When doing this, ensure the demographics are kid-friendly. If 90% of the neighbourhood is retirement age or childless, it will not be the best environment to raise your kids. It’s vital that your kids have plenty of other kids to connect with on the block so that they can be out socializing instead of hibernating with their smartphones or tablets.

Three pre-teen girls playing in street on scooters and bike.

2. Bedroom Placement

If your kids are very young, you’re likely going to want all the bedrooms to be close together and on the same floor. It just doesn’t seem right to be asleep upstairs while your nursery is isolated on the main floor forcing you to constantly go up and down the stairs to tend to your babies’ needs.

On the flip side, if you have noisy teens, you may want the bedroom placement to be more spread out so they don’t disturb you when you’re trying to unwind.

3. Unobstructed View of the Backyard

When you have kids you’re on supervision 24/7; whether you are literally at work or at home cleaning up after them and prepping them meals, you’re constantly working. Despite this reality, you still want your kids to be outdoors getting fresh air, not cooped up in the house, but it’s not always possible to take them out and maintain a good environment in the house. Ensuring you buy a house with an unobstructed view to the backyard (preferably from the kitchen), allows you to complete choirs while your children are playing in the backyard in full view.

Living room overlooking the garden with a small pool.

4. Amenities Within Walking Distance

Restaurants, cafes, and parks are desirable amenities to have in any situation but are especially valuable with kids. When they’re in the baby or toddler phase, packing and unpacking the car is a huge hassle, you want to be able to just walk out of the house with your stroller and access amenities.

When they’re in the pre-teen to teen stage, you likewise want your kids to have access to amenities without them having to nag you for a ride all the time. It allows them to be more independent and you to maintain your sanity.

3 Tips on How to Transition From the City to the Suburbs

When you’re a kid and venturing out of your parent’s home for the first time, the city is generally regarded as the preferred area to live in. When you’re young, you want to be close to other young people and be where the action is. Cafes, bars, clubs, and the trendiest restaurants are all high on the priority list.

Eventually, if you haven’t already, you’ll find the person you envision settling down with and move in together. At this point, city life is still ideal. That is, of course, until marriage and children enter the picture.

Once you have your first child every city noise seems louder, choosing the car over walking in the crowded streets becomes the norm, and getting all the groceries and supplies you need turns into a huge hassle. This is the point where most city dwellers opt to transition to the suburbs where it’s quieter, there’s ample parking and you can get anything you need relatively easily.

If you’re in a scenario that compels you to make this transition, it’s more complicated than just picking out a spacious home in any suburb. Follow these tips to eliminate as much stress as possible during this difficult transition.

1. The Right School District

When surrendering to suburban living, you at least want to ensure you get the most out of it and that starts with sourcing the best school for your children. While this is a reasonable endeavor, it’s important to define “best.” People tend to go for the district that has the highest-ranking schools, but does that mean the school is right for your children? Whether you value big or small class sizes, specialized education, or other important factors, it’s important to research and tour prospective schools before deciding on a district that is right for your family.

A Mother taking her daughter to school, saying her goodbye for the day.

2. The Right Neighbourhood

People transitioning from the city to the suburbs often prioritize the house over the neighborhood. The suburbs are mistakenly viewed as all the same and after being constrained to a one-bedroom apartment or studio all that time in the city, it’s natural to want to stretch out and get comfortable in your ideal abode.

The truth, however, is that suburban neighborhoods vary greatly in terms of their communities. Is it a religious community or secular? Is it dominated by young families or families on the brink of retirement? It’s important to vet each prospective neighborhood and ensure your comfortable with the demographics.

Round Rock, Texas, USA aerial drone view high above Suburb Neighborhood with Vast amount of Homes – Summertime in the best place to live in America.

3. Commute Time

One of the most frustrating things about moving to the suburbs is the likelihood of long commute times to work, often back to the city. The goal is to minimize the time as much as possible if you spend 2 hours a day commuting plus 8 to 9 hours at work, that leaves very little quality time, if any, to spend with your children (the primary reason for this sacrifice). When mapping out commute times, don’t be deceived by google maps and focus on distance alone. While some places maybe a little farther, there may be less traffic. You should test out various areas at rush hour and strongly consider your options when selecting a neighborhood.