These days, record numbers are forsaking the notion of buying homes in favor of renting an apartment. Many are even abandoning homes they were buying as the market continues to look grim, leaving many homeowners upside down in their mortgages. But this exodus provides those who wish to own a home (and who don’t mind paying for property taxes and homeowners insurance) with an unprecedented opportunity.

The price of housing is as low as it is ever likely to get. Even if we were to see another hard recession, it is unlikely that the price of housing will go much lower than it is right now. Additionally, interest rates for mortgages are also at an all time low, giving home buyers a once in a lifetime opportunity to buy a home at a rock bottom price, with the added benefit of paying a very low interest rate.

This is especially attractive for those who are in a position to qualify for a shorter term mortgage. Those who are able to take out 15 year fixed mortgages are in a position to have a significant amount of positive equity in their homes without paying out a ton in mortgage interest. Home buyers who opt for a 15 year mortgage will generally find themselves well ahead of the curve by the fifth or sixth year of their mortgages.

Of course, if you decide to buy a home, you need to consider more than just your mortgage payment. There are several other expenses associated with owning a home, each of which should be added into your calculations when you are figuring out your living expenses. These include:

• Property taxes
• Homeowners insurance
• Utility bills
• Maintenance
• Home repairs

While none of these things should scare the average person away from buying a home, they are all things which need to be budgeted for. Home buyers should also be aware that, while they can currently deduct the interest on their mortgages from their income taxes, there is some speculation that this deduction could be taken away in the near future.

So, if you’re in a position to take advantage of the low prices and interest rates in the housing market today, do so. If you’ve ever wanted to be a homeowner, this is likely the best chance you’re ever going to get.

If you’re one of the fortunate ones who has the luxury of picking and choosing where you want to live, and are of a mind to shave a few thousand bucks off your cost of living each year, you might want to consider moving to an area with low housing costs and low cost of living. Believe it or not, there are still some places in America where it really doesn’t cost much more to buy a house and pay for homeowners insurance than it does to rent an apartment.

While these locales admittedly aren’t for everyone, they will save you a ton of money if you choose to settle down in one of them:

• Detroit, Michigan. Ask anyone from the Wolverine state: if you’re looking for a job, go somewhere else and keep on looking. But, if you’re just looking for an inexpensive place to live, Detroit housing is as low as it gets. Of course, you’ll have to deal with high crime and other big city issues, but at least your house will be cheap.
• Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Despite the fact that the recession really didn’t hit all that hard in Pennsylvania (largely because the steel industry had gone south a long time ago), housing prices are still low in Pittsburgh. As a matter of fact, most people find it is actually cheaper to buy a home than to rent here.
• Tampa, Florida. The recession hit Florida like a ton of bricks. Since tourism is a major part of Florida’s economy, anytime people in other parts of the country have a rough time, Florida feels it, too. This works in your favor if you’re looking for cheap housing, though, because there are lots of foreclosed homes for sale in Tampa and other Florida cities.
• Dayton, Ohio. Right now, most large cities in the Rust Belt are suffering. Dayton, in particular, has seen its housing values plummet. That’s bad news if you already own a home in Dayton, but if you’re looking for a place where houses are cheap and you won’t need to pay as much for homeowners insurance, Dayton would be an excellent place to look.
• Orlando, Florida. Like Tampa and the rest of Florida, Orlando’s housing market has suffered as tourism has declined. So, if you’ve ever had the inkling to live next to Mickey Mouse, now just might be your best time to make your move.

It’s a scene that would make most firefighters sick, and angered most of the locals, including the fire department itself. Firefighters in a small Tennessee town recently responded to a house fire just outside of city limits, but instead of fighting the blaze, they were ordered to let the double-wide trailer burn to the ground. Turns out, the owner had not paid his $75 firefighting subscription fee and was therefore not covered by the municipal fire department.

Homeowner Gene Cranick pleaded with firefighters to put out the flames, saying he had simply forgotten to pay the bill and that he would gladly pay them the money if only they would put out the blaze. His wife, Paulette didn’t put the blame on firefighters for not dousing the flames because she understood they were just following orders. The family’s cat and three dogs died in the fire.

The town’s mayor, David Crocker, stands by the policy that allowed the Cranick’s home to burn to the ground. The city of South Fulton charges $75 a year for fire protection services extended to rural residents beyond the city limits.

“Anybody that’s not in the city of South Fulton, it’s a service we offer, either they accept it or they don’t.”

Cranick’s call to 911 was fruitless, even though he offered to pay the fee several times. Firefighters did not initially respond until Cranick’s neighbor, who had paid his fee, called 911 out of concern the fire might spread to his house. Firefighters then came to the scene, but did nothing to put out the blaze at the Cranick house.

“My neighbor called [the fire department], saying whatever it takes, we want them to put it out, we’ll pay $500,” said Cranick. “They told us, ‘It’s too late.’”

Cranick’s son, Timothy, reportedly got so angry over the incident that he later went to the firehouse and punched fire chief David Wilds. He was charged with aggravated assault and is currently free on bond.

The elder Cranick, meanwhile, reports that homeowners insurance will cover some of what was lost, but admits that he didn’t have enough coverage to protect him and his family against a total loss. Although the local community and outraged people nationwide have made offers of assistance, the Cranick family has graciously turned them down, saying they will donate the money to charity since they are receiving help from their insurance company.

Sounds crazy, but it’s true. A.J. Vizzi’s homeowner’s association told him he couldn’t park his big Ford pickup truck in his garage. It may have been one thing if they had told him that before he bought the house. Vizzi even went to the extreme of asking if the homeowner’s association would allow him to park the pickup truck, which doesn’t fit in the house’s garage, in the driveway. It wasn’t until more than a year after he was living in the house that he was told he couldn’t park the pickup in his own driveway.

Now, I know some of you, especially if you live in gated communities, or other subdivisions with covenant agreements are starting to wonder if maybe this truck resembles the one driven by Red Foxx’s character on Sanford & Son. Even if it did, it’s a little extreme to tell a man he can’t park in his own driveway, but it doesn’t. The truck is later model, and appears to be kept clean. It certainly isn’t an eyesore, unless you have something against trucks in general.

The end result, after a lengthy court process, is that Vizzi gets to park his truck in his driveway. But, should it really have needed to cost the man $200,000 in legal fees just to defend his right to park on his own property? In the end, of course, the legal fees were passed on to the loser, the subdivisions homeowners’ association. So, Vizzi gets a check at the end to recoup his losses spent on this whole frivolous affair. Maybe after he cashes it, he’ll be able to afford to pay those sky high homeowners insurance premiums down there.

Photo via Narith5

Now, the Fourth of July is a big deal in our community. People flock from all over the state, and even from neighboring states, to enjoy our fireworks displays. And our city isn’t content just to celebrate America’s independence for one day. Nope, we celebrate it for three whole days.

In our state, about the only personal fireworks that are legal are sparklers and snakes. In other words, if it goes boom, or leaves the ground, or produces flame, or presents any fun in any way, shape or form, it is illegal. Verbotten. Theoretically it’ll get you fined or locked up. In practice, the police have more important things to worry about.

To make a long story short, the laws forbidding personal fireworks are so weakly enforced that they really don’t stop anybody. Fireworks go off in the street for all three days of the annual Fireworks Festival, and in reality, the occasional crackle, sizzle, and boom can be heard for a week or two before and after the Fourth.

Back to our young couple. They enjoyed the fireworks like anybody else. Who knows, they might have even lit off some of those illegal fireworks, though we don’t have any personal knowledge of that. What we do know is that their neighbors across the street and down a couple of houses shot off some illegal fireworks.

The police confiscated the rest of the fireworks from the neighbors across the street, but not until after the damage was done. A stray firework of one sort or another made its way across the street into the dry bushes in front of the young couples’ house. Within minutes, the house was in flames, and the sirens were blazing. Someone, probably one of their relatives, was carried out on a stretcher. Fortunately, no one died.

The house? We’re sure it can be restored, but it endured its share of fire and smoke damage, to say nothing of the water damage from putting it out and the brand new hole in the roof the firefighters cut for ventilation. Chances are, though, that their homeowners insurance will cover that. After all, that’s the reason we all pay our premiums every month. We never know when something can happen and, even if it isn’t our fault, we want to make sure that it isn’t or loss.

Photo via Vanessa Pike-Russell

Recent developments with the tragic BP oil spill have led to a host of interesting new questions amongst Gulf Coast homeowners. Many want to know what our insurance policies will cover. We also want to know who is responsible for the rest. Is BP liable? Do we simply lose out if our homes and property are damaged by oil? A hurricane or tropical storm blowing oil inland is a very real possibility, threatening residents not only on the beach, but throughout the coastal area.

Let’s take a look at what would happen and who would be liable if a Gulf storm caused damage to our homes or property by blowing oil ashore:

• In most cases, our insurance companies would pay for any structural damage caused by the storm, except for damage caused by flooding. This does not necessarily include damage caused by pollutants such as oil.
• Flood insurance would cover any damage caused to the home because of flooding. It appears that this would likely include damage caused by any oil that was in the water while the area was flooded, but this has not been clearly defined, and FEMA has not yet made a definitive statement on the issue. Additionally, only structural damage would be covered in most cases. The yard, gardens, etc. are uncovered.
• In the case of the current BP oil disaster, BP may be responsible for covering damages to your home or lawn, should they be damaged by oil from the spill. However, the process of establishing claims can be time consuming. Make sure that all damage is well documented before you begin any cleanup proceedings, so you will have proof of damages should you need it later.

For those living on the Gulf Coast, especially the areas that are being hardest hit with this disaster, it might be a good idea to contact your agent now, before a hurricane rolls in, to see what we are (and aren’t) covered for. The last thing we want is to face the aftermath of a disaster and find out that our homeowner’s insurance didn’t cover everything we thought it did.

Photo via faceless b

Then again, your home might just be haunted.

Take, for example, the infamous Amityville Horror house. This is the home of Ronald DeFeo Jr. Its story was made famous in the movie of the same name. It’s now up for sale.

When this five-bedroom house located on Long Island first went up for sale after DeFeo shot six of his family members in their sleep in 1974, the price tag was a mere $55,000. That’s a heck of a deal on such a large house, especially on Long Island.

Even by 1997, as things sort of settled down after more than 20 years, the house sold for $310,000, below the market value of similar homes in the area.

Today, however, the stigma seems to be gone. The newly renovated Amityville Horror house is back on the market, and it has a hefty price tag. The owners are asking for $1.15 million.

The house has inspired a series of films, as well as a book. Probably the most famous of these is the 1979 classic The Amityville Horror, starring Margo Kider and James Brolin. The movie tells the story of a family that stayed in the Amityville Horror house during the years after the murders. The Lutz family actually lived in the house, and they eventually lost that house to foreclosure.

Some former owners even changed the address of the home to protect their privacy. The house was renumbered 108 Ocean Avenue from 112 by James and Barbara Cromarty, who lived in the house between 1977 and 1987. The home was sold again in 1997 to the current owner.

Photo via Anemone Nemorosa

Now, the Consumer Product Safety Commission has identified the specific batches and shipments of drywall involved. They used a national facility in California to test drywall products, and they found that certain batches of this drywall were emitting high rates of hydrogen sulfide. It’s this chemical that’s responsible for that rotten-egg smell of sulfur that many homeowners reported.

Two of the ten batches identified were manufactured by Knauf Plasterboard (Tianjin) Co. Ltd in 2005 and 2006. This company has faced lawsuits from literally hundreds of homeowners over this issue, as well as a number of different homebuilders.

The homes affected were primarily located in the Carolinas, Florida, Louisiana and Virginia. In some cases, this drywall was used to help repair homes that had been damaged in hurricanes, including hurricane Katrina. This is especially unfortunate for those hurricane victims who found themselves with an unusable home just months after facing the devastation caused by the natural disaster.

The drywall doesn’t just stink. It’s downright dangerous. There are some folks that speculate that the drywall can cause respiratory problems for people living in the house. In addition, it’s been shown that the drywall has caused problems with corrosion for both wiring and appliances that are installed in affected homes.

The battle is ongoing. Just two weeks ago, Knauf Plasterboard (Tianjin) Co. made a settlement agreement of $800,000 with one builder. The builder, Beazer Homes USA, Inc., installed the drywall in homes in Southwest Florida during the years 2006 and 2007. Some other builders, such as Lennar Corp., have gone to the trouble of setting aside millions of dollars in order to repair homes that have the defective Chinese drywall.

Overall, there have been more than 3,000 reports of defective drywall to the CPSC in 37 of the states.

Photo via cdsessums

Why is this, exactly? After all, elected officials have talked for decades about investing more in solar, and those in the market have worked hard to get their products out there. Some insurance companies even offer a “green discount” on your homeowners insurance policy if you go solar. There are federal tax incentives, as well as many state incentives for adopting solar technologies.

Still, while things have been slow to change, some experts suggest that the future still looks bright. Governmental incentives and regulations have never been as good as they are today, making it more attractive than ever. One of the chances that was made to tax policy during the response to the recent recession was to end the tax deduction cap of $2,000 for installing residential solar power.

In itself, that move may have doubled the residential solar industry in a single year. That’s right, doubled. On top of that new business, it also helped to create new jobs, to the tune of around 17,000.

It’s not just in the residential area that solar adoption is increasing. In the commercial solar industry, there was a 37 percent increase in the energy produced for power installations from solar sources.

It takes about $4 billion in investment and 46,000 employees at the current stage to keep the solar power industry going. Investors have their doubts, however. The largest publically traded residential solar power investment company’s stock dropped around 8 percent last year, although it is expected to rise this year. Perhaps more important and relevant will be what happens when some of the largest private solar companies go public, as they are expected to do some time this year.

Photo via mjmonty

What happened was that in 2005, many homes had sinkhole claims. The insurance companies paid out but the homeowner’s never repaired the sinkholes. Instead, the homes were sold for 50 or 60 cents on the dollar.

Sinkhole Coverage

Citizen’s Insurance, seen as Florida’s last resort insurer, was created in 2002 to provide property coverage to homeowner’s who have no other place to go for insurance.

They offer the homeowner’s the option of selecting full sinkhole coverage or just catastrophic ground cover collapse coverage. Catastrophic ground cover collapse coverage is used when he home is judged to be unsafe to live in. The advantage of this coverage is that premium can be reduced by as much as 50%. However, some private insurance companies do not offer this option.

Sinkhole Insurance

The question some insured’s have is whether or not an insurance company can mandate sinkhole coverage.  They can, but because of the risk involved, many carriers do not. Florida also requires that the insurance money paid out has to be used to fix the home.

Sinkhole insurance will probably get more expensive. However there are a few ways homeowners can mitigate their premiums:

• Increase deductibles on personal items
• Increase deductibles on windstorm damage

An inspector can also be hired for $100 to $150, to check for any likelihood of windstorm damage increase. If there are no problems, the premium can be automatically reduced by law by an average of 12%.

Photo via Seattle Municipal Archives