Top Sales: Spec homes and celebrities fuel a red-hot November market
November market saw celebrities including Ellen DeGeneres, media mogul David Geffen and actress JoBeth Williams sell homes across Southern California.
November market saw celebrities including Ellen DeGeneres, media mogul David Geffen and actress JoBeth Williams sell homes across Southern California.
This week, I had to evacuate because of Hurricane Dorian. If you’ve ever experienced a natural disaster or had to evacuate your home, you know that insurance is a top concern. No matter where you live, there are common threats—such as California earthquakes, Oklahoma tornados, and Texas floods—that affect renters and homeowners.
Let's review five essential insurance tips that every renter and homeowner should know. You’ll learn the variety of protections you get from basic renters and home policies, mistakes to avoid when buying a policy, and ways to save money on premiums.
Here’s more information about each insurance tip.
A basic homeowners policy pays for claims when a natural disaster—such as a fire, tornado, hail, or windstorm—damages your property. Personal belongings like your furniture, electronics, and clothing are generally covered up to specific limits for damage and theft.
Home insurance includes liability, which protects you from legal issues that could arise if someone is hurt on your property.
Homeowners coverage also pays "additional living expenses." That might include things like some amount of hotel and meal expenses if you can't stay in your home after a covered disaster.
If you’re a renter, you also need insurance, because your landlord is not required to cover you. Renters insurance gives the same protections as a homeowners policy. You get coverage for your personal belongings, liability, and additional living expenses. But it doesn’t cover damage to rental property because that’s your landlord’s responsibility.
Unfortunately, about half of renters don’t have renters insurance. Many mistakenly believe that their landlord would pay to repair or replace their damaged or stolen personal belongings. Or they mistakenly think a renters policy is too expensive. The good news is that a typical renters policy is quite affordable, costing just $185 per year on average across the U.S.
The good news is that a typical renters policy is quite affordable, costing just $185 per year on average across the US.
But what surprises many people is that a standard home or renters policy doesn't cover some natural disasters. These include earthquakes and flooding from groundwater.
If you live in an earthquake-prone area, you can typically add earthquake coverage to a home or renters policy. But flooding is a different category of insurance that must be purchased separately. Flooding is handled differently than other types of disasters because it’s the nation’s most common and expensive disaster. Floods can happen anywhere, and they don’t even have to be catastrophic to cause significant damage.
If your town or community participates in the National Flood Insurance Program, you can buy a policy for your rental or your home. And if you buy a home in a designated flood zone, mortgage lenders typically require you to have flood insurance.
Most flood policies have a 30-day waiting period, so you can’t wait until a storm is bearing down on you to sign up. You'd be too late.
Even though the federal government backs flood insurance, it’s brokered by regular insurance companies or agents. You can learn more at floodsmart.gov.
Most flood policies have a 30-day waiting period, so you can’t wait until a storm is bearing down on you to sign up.
Remember that water damage from rain, high winds, or a tree that fell on your roof are covered by a standard home or renters insurance policy. But damages to your home or personal belongings that occur due to rising groundwater are never covered, except when you have flood insurance.
Also note that if you have a home-based business with inventory, specialized equipment, or customers who enter your property, you typically need a commercial policy. Likewise, if you turn your home into a rental, Airbnb, or a vacation property, you generally need additional coverage or a landlord insurance policy.
Just like not every disaster is covered, not every type of personal belonging is fully covered under a home or renters policy. Some belongings, such as cash, aren’t coved at all. Many others have coverage caps.
For instance, jewelry, watches, furs, silverware, electronics, and firearms are typically limited to one or two thousand dollars of coverage. If you have jewelry that’s worth $10,000 and it’s lost or stolen, you’d come up very short with just $2,000 of coverage.
If you have items worth more than the coverage caps, you can add an insurance rider for more coverage. This addition is known as “scheduling” your personal property. It costs more, but it gives your most expensive items separate coverage so they could be replaced.
Another often-overlooked protection you get with renters and home insurance is that your belongings are covered outside of your home.
Another often-overlooked protection you get with renters and home insurance is that your belongings are covered outside of your home. If your vacation luggage gets stolen, you lose valuable jewelry, or your laptop gets stolen from your car, your homeowners or renters policy covers it.
So, pay close attention to the insurance limits for possessions inside and outside of your home and consider adding a rider or property schedule to beef up coverage when needed for valuable items.
It can be a little confusing to know exactly how much money you’d receive from a renters or home insurance claim. So be sure you understand the different types of policies you can buy.
Actual cash value coverage pays to repair or replace your property or possessions up to the policy limits, minus a deduction for depreciation. The calculation can vary from insurer to insurer. But what you need to know is that a cash value policy only pays a percentage of what it would cost you to go out and buy a new item.
Cash value coverage is the least expensive option. However, it means that if you experience a severe disaster, you probably won't receive enough to rebuild your home or fully replace personal belongings.
Replacement cost coverage pays to repair or replace your property and possessions up to the policy limits, without a deduction for depreciation. That means you would receive enough money to rebuild a home with materials of similar quality. Or buy new items to replace your damaged belongings.
Yes, replacement coverage costs more than cash value. But it would allow you to replace what you lost.
There are also guaranteed or extended replacement cost policies which give you even more protection. They pay to replace your home as it was before a disaster, even if costs more than your policy limit.
Remember that a home insurance policy is based on the cost to rebuild your home and any outbuildings, not the amount you paid for the property or its appraised value.
Remember that a home insurance policy is based on the cost to rebuild your home and any outbuildings, not the amount you paid for the property or its appraised value. You never include the value of your land in your home insurance. Depending on the age, location, and style of your home, the insured value could be much higher or lower than its market value.
A deductible is an amount you’re responsible for paying for an insured loss. The higher your deductible, the more you can save on premiums. So be sure to get quotes for different deductible amounts when shopping for renters and home insurance.
As I previously mentioned, disasters such as windstorms, hailstorms, and hurricanes, are typically covered by standard renters and home insurance. However, in some high-risk areas, you may have separate deductibles for damage caused by these disasters.
According to the Insurance Information Institute, nineteen states and the District of Columbia have hurricane deductibles: Alabama, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Mississippi, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Texas, Virginia and Washington D.C.
These special deductibles are additional and separate from the regular deductible for all other types of claims, such as fire or theft. A hurricane deductible applies only to damage from hurricanes, and windstorm or wind/hail deductibles would apply to any wind damage.
Hurricane and wind deductibles are typically given as a percentage that may vary from 1% to 5% of a home's insured value but can be even higher in some coastal areas. The amount you must pay depends on your insured value and the "trigger" event.
For instance, if you have a 3% hurricane deductible and your home is insured for $200,000, you’d be responsible for the first $6,000 ($200,000 x 3%) in repair costs. That’s much more expensive than paying a standard $500 or $1,000 home deductible.
In some states, the triggering event for hurricane deductibles to apply is when a Category 1 storm causes damage whether it made landfall or not. Other states allow Category 2 to be the threshold. In others, a hurricane deductible applies from the moment a hurricane watch or warning gets issued until 72 hours after it ends.
A hurricane deductible can only be applied once each hurricane season, from June to November.
When it comes to the price of renters and home insurance, there are some factors you can control and some you can’t. Here are some ways to save and typical discounts to ask for:
No one enjoys paying for home or renters policy, but when disaster strikes, you’re the victim of theft, or you get involved in a lawsuit, having insurance can be a financial lifesaver.
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In his hometown of Jacksonville, former NFL quarterback Tim Tebow has sold his waterfront home for $1.4 million â the same price he paid in 2014.
The coronavirus pandemic has made the logistics of buying and selling a home and moving more complicated, especially in hard-hit cities and communities. According to the National Association of Realtors, the number of homes for sale across the US continues to decline. Additionally, fewer potential buyers can or want to tour properties and risk contracting COVID-19.
The economic downturn—due to coronavirus stay-at-home mandates and social distancing—has resulted in pros and cons for both home buyers and sellers. I’ll cover advice to help both parties make wise real estate decisions during this uncertain time.
Since the coronavirus crisis began, more than 26 million Americans have filed for federal and state unemployment benefits. If you’ve lost part or all of your job or business income, and you’re unsure when your finances will return to normal, buying a home may not be the best idea.
But if your income is stable, you have cash in the bank, and you’re confident that you can stay in a home for at least five years, buying a home now might be a smart move. Here are four tips if you’re in the market to upsize, downsize, or become a first-time homeowner.
Buying a home is a significant financial commitment, so understanding how much you can afford is essential. If you’re at all worried about getting laid off or the future of your business, buying a home that’s under your budget is wise.
In addition to your mortgage payment, homeowners must cover many other expenses, including property taxes, home insurance, applicable association fees, and ongoing maintenance. Take a hard look at your income, expenses, and savings to make sure you have enough cash for closing and to keep a healthy emergency fund.
Take a hard look at your income, expenses, and savings to make sure you have enough cash for closing and to keep a healthy emergency fund.
Here are some ways to crunch your budget numbers:
Before spending too much time or mental energy searching for a home, make sure you qualify for a desirable mortgage. The amount you can borrow, the interest rate, and your downpayment depend on a variety of factors, including your credit and income stability.
Due to the economic crisis, lenders are expecting delinquencies from existing customers who are facing hardships. To offset those risks, they’re tightening lending standards for new borrowers making it more challenging to qualify. You may need better credit and more down payment money than was typical before the pandemic.
Due to the economic crisis, lenders are tightening lending standards for new borrowers making it more challenging to qualify.
A mortgage preapproval is a document that outlines how much a lender will allow you to borrow, at what rate, and for how long. It’s a critical tool to know the price range of homes you should be shopping for. Additionally, a preapproval can carry a lot of weight with a potential seller who may be evaluating multiple offers and needs to close quickly.
Remember that you still need emergency money in the bank after buying a home. The fact is, you need even higher amounts of cash on hand for a maintenance reserve. Also, consider other expenses such as moving and furnishing a new place, which can really add up.
Many digital tools allow you to research potential homes and stay safe. Here are some ways you can find a new home from the safety and comfort of your existing one:
Using a variety of resources, you should be able to narrow down your potential home choices significantly. If you can drive by properties, that will also help you know which ones you want to tour.
Once you have a mortgage preapproval and feel sure that you’re interested in buying a specific home or homes, inquire about getting physical access. If it’s vacant, an owner or real estate agent may be able to open it up and let you roam around with plenty of social distancing.
Home tour safety guidelines during social distancing may vary from state to state. Check with your real estate agent to get a better understanding of any requirements or limitations.
However, if the seller still lives in the property, they’ll likely want to make arrangements to be away or to stay outside while buyers tour their home. Be respectful of everyone’s desire to avoid the coronavirus by wearing masks, gloves, shoe coverings, and using hand sanitizer before going into a listing. Find out if anyone in the home has been sick or spent time with someone diagnosed with COVID-19. Likewise, disclose if you’ve been ill or exposed to the coronavirus.
The rate for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage is at a historic low and keeps going lower. According to mortgage rates on Bankrate.com, they fell to 3.55% from last week’s rate of 3.58%. If you want a 15-year fixed-rate loan, it could be as low as 3%. In many parts of the country, owning a home costs less per month than renting a similar property.
However, don’t wait too long to get a mortgage commitment if you’re a serious home buyer. Lenders are under enormous pressure due to a wave of potential defaults, forbearance requests, refinancing applications, and federal stimulus programs they may be processing and funding. As I mentioned, it’s only going to get more challenging to get a mortgage application through underwriting and approved.
Lower rates and monthly mortgage payments may allow you to afford a higher-priced home if your finances are in good shape.
But if you can lock in a low mortgage rate and get a property under contract, it can undoubtedly allow you to save money over the long run. Lower rates and monthly mortgage payments may allow you to afford a higher-priced home if your finances are in good shape.
In addition to low-rate mortgages, there may be bargains on the market, depending on where you want to live. If a seller is uncertain about their financial future, they may be willing to unload their property for a low price. Although many banks are offering forbearance programs, some homeowners may be feeling pressure to sell, giving buyers an advantage right now.
Selling a home anytime can be a hassle. But selling a property during a pandemic is probably something you’ve never thought about.
However, real estate closings are happening, so don’t think you can’t find a qualified buyer. Getting a deal may depend on creative marketing and finding a real estate agent who can help you find solutions to new challenges. Here are four tips to make your home attractive and safe for potential buyers.
Creating virtual tours is critical to pique a buyer’s interest and reduce the number of strangers in your home. It’s never been easier to use a camera or smartphone to create videos of your home’s interior, exterior, amenities, and neighborhood. However, make sure the lighting is good and presents your home favorably.
You can upload videos to a variety of sites that buyers can access, such as a YouTube channel, Zillow, or Dropbox. If you have a real estate agent, they can include your video files in the multiple listing service (MLS) database and their company website. They may offer professional photographers and videographers as part of their listing services.
If you can move out of your home while it’s for sale, you may get more interest from buyers. Touring a vacant property may seem less risky to buyers and real estate agents. Plus, you won’t have to worry about people coming into your space that could be carrying the coronavirus.
If your mortgage lender offers forbearance, consider suspending your payments and using the money for a short-term rental.
If your mortgage lender offers forbearance, consider suspending your payments and using the money for a short-term rental. Getting distance between you and home buyers might be critical if you, or someone in your household, are elderly or have health conditions that make you vulnerable to COVID-19.
If you can’t move out of your home, be clear about how you will protect yourself, agents, and potential buyers who want a tour. As the seller, you dictate the protocol, such as everyone must wear masks and sanitize their hands before entering.
Include information about measures you're willing to take, such as disinfecting high-touch surfaces and leaving doors and cabinets opens, so visitors don't need to touch anything. If you have hand sanitizer or personal protective gear to offer, that's a goodwill gesture that should make everyone feel more at ease.
Once you have a purchase agreement signed, you or your real estate agent will need to coordinate with other professionals, such as inspectors, appraisers, contractors, and surveyors. Depending on the buyer's lender, you should be able to complete a remote closing by mailing the original documents.
Since there are fewer buyers and many overwhelmed lenders, the average marketing time for homes across the country may be longer than usual. Being as creative and flexible as possible will increase the likelihood of signing a deal.
No one is sure what market value is right now, so buyers may be aggressive to find out how low you'll go.
If a buyer throws out a lowball offer, don't let it offend you. Carefully consider what your bottom line is and make an appropriate counteroffer. No one is sure what market value is right now, so buyers may be aggressive to find out how low you'll go.
While the fear of the coronavirus and a looming recession may make it more challenging to sell your home, remember that the lending environment is favorable. For buyers who aren't worried about losing a job or business income, getting a historically low home loan is a huge incentive to invest in a home sooner rather than later.
Andrew Lee, an entrepreneur-turned-prince, just dropped $12.6 million on a lavish mansion in Thousand Oaks, the priciest sale the city has seen this year.
Spring is an often-busy time for home buyers and sellers who want to make deals and moves when it’s warm outside and the school year is coming to a close. But selling a primary home or an investment property comes loaded with tax consequences.
I interviewed Collier Swecker about key tax considerations home sellers should know to pay less. He’s a founding partner of the Mega Agent real estate team at RE/MAX Advantage, recognized as RE/MAX's #1 selling team in the Birmingham, Alabama market.
Collier is a distinguished HomeLight agent, awarded for ranking in the top 1% of all agents in his area. He leads one of the most technologically advanced and forward-thinking real estate teams in Alabama.
But on top of all those accolades, Collier graduated from Auburn University with a law degree and Washington University School of Law in St. Louis with a Master of Law in Taxation. He was the principal partner in Swecker and Sparks, a law practice in Auburn, Alabama, for three years. He left the practice in 2006 to pursue a new career in real estate development and sales.
Click on the audio player above to listen to the interview. Here are some of the real estate and tax topics we cover:
[Listen to the interview using the embedded audio player or on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, and Spotify]
Use these tips from HomeLight’s Corinne Rivera to avoid expensive tax mistakes when selling a home:
Give yourself a pat on the back—you sold your home! Your sale profit is sitting pretty in your bank account, but with Tax Day quickly approaching, will the IRS take a chunk of your proceeds?
“The majority of America does not need to worry about that,” says Collier Swecker, a Jefferson County, Alabama real estate agent who ranks in the top 1% of agents in his area.
That’s good news, but to make sure you’re in the clear and that you file a tidy tax return, ask yourself these questions relevant to home sellers during tax season:
If you sold your home in 2018, these are the documents you’ll need when you file your taxes.
If you’re a single tax filer and your adjusted capital gain on your home sale is $250,000 or less, you qualify for the capital gains tax exclusion. Married filers can exclude gains up to $500,000. The IRS considers profits in excess of these amounts to be taxable income.
“The biggest thing is to make sure that the homeowner has lived in the house two out of the last five years to qualify for that exemption,” says Swecker.
For example, if you’re a single taxpayer who’s lived in your home for five years, and your capital gains from the sale were $300,000, you must pay taxes on $50,000 of that profit. But, if your capital gains were $100,000, you’re in the clear!
To calculate the capital gain from your home sale, you’ll need to calculate your adjusted cost basis for the house. Here’s how to break down the numbers:
The number left over is your adjusted cost basis, or how much your home actually cost you. Next, here’s how to figure your capital gain.
The remaining amount is your adjusted capital gain, which is the profit you made on the sale.
You can use capital improvement costs to increase your cost basis, which in turn reduces your capital gain. A lower capital gain means less tax liability.
But the cost of “improvements” doesn’t include routine repairs and maintenance costs. The only improvement costs you can include are those that increased your home’s market value.
“In my own house recently, I had a problem with a window, but I decided that all of them should get replaced,” Swecker says. “Now, that would be an improvement to the house because I went from single pane wood windows to double pane energy-efficient windows.”
But Swecker reiterates that the specific improvements added to your cost basis really only matter if you have to pay capital gains tax.
To qualify for the capital gains exclusion, you’ll need to meet the criteria of a three-pronged test:
If any don’t apply or if your capital gains exceed the amount you can exclude, you must pay the capital gains tax.
Short-term capital gains apply if you’ve owned your house for less than a year before selling it. If your home sale gives you a short-term capital gain, it’ll be taxed at your federal income tax rate.
If you’ve owned your home for longer than a year when selling, you’d be subject to long-term capital gains, which is generally lower than ordinary income tax rates.
Review HomeLight’s comprehensive capital gains tax bracket breakdown to see where you land and find your rate.
See? Taxes on your home sale aren’t that scary. When in doubt, talk to a tax advisor to save the most money this tax season.
Corinne Rivera is a content writer at HomeLight. She writes about every step of the real estate process, from paint colors that add value, to the terms of closing documents, and everything in between. When she’s not creating real estate content, you can find her exploring open houses, watching HGTV, or redesigning her apartment…again.
To connect on social media, you’ll find Money Girl on Facebook, Twitter, and Google+. Also, if you’re not already subscribed to the Money Girl podcast on Apple Podcasts or the Stitcher app, both are free and make sure that you’ll get each new weekly episode as soon as it’s published on the web. The show is also on the Spotify mobile app! Click here to sign up for the free Money Girl Newsletter!
House on wooden background image courtesy of Shutterstock.
The new stimulus bill passed by Congress includes $25 billion in rental relief for struggling tenants, $2.6 billion of which is coming to California. Can I apply?
Money Girl listener Danielle M. says:
I’ve been listening to your podcast for about five years now since I graduated from college. I greatly appreciate the tips and guidance you give to the community as a whole. Thank you for giving me the confidence and knowledge to build a solid financial foundation.
I recently purchased a home, which includes a PMI payment. I also have student loans and a small car loan. We have extra money every month to put toward our loans. I understand it’s best to pay down debt in order of the highest interest rate first. I’m wondering how to evaluate my mortgage since the interest rate doesn’t include PMI payments. Should I pay down my mortgage until the PMI is gone, or is it better to focus on my higher-rate student loans first?
Thanks for your great question, Danielle! Understanding where to put your extra money each month is incredibly important. In this post, I’ll explain what PMI is, the rules for eliminating it, and how to know when it should be your top financial priority.
If you take out a mortgage to buy a home or refinance an existing home loan, the last thing you want to hear is that you have to pay an additional charge, called private mortgage insurance or PMI. You might feel even worse when you find out that this insurance protects the lender, not you!
Borrowers have to shell out for PMI when they get a conventional mortgage but can’t put at least 20% down. The amount you borrow to buy a home is called the loan-to-value (LTV) ratio. For example, if you borrow $180,000 to buy a home valued at $200,000, you have a 90% LTV ($180,000 / $200,000 = 0.90)
Borrowers have to shell out for PMI when they get a conventional mortgage but can’t put at least 20% down.
When your LTV on a home mortgage is higher than 80%, lenders consider you to be a bigger risk than if you borrowed less. The lender mitigates that risk by requiring you to purchase PMI. The policy would cover a portion of their loss if you didn’t pay your mortgage and foreclosure proceeds don’t cover your outstanding loan balance.
However, there's a bright side to paying PMI. It makes it possible for many borrowers who can’t afford to put 20% down to buy a home. And it can be eliminated at certain LTV thresholds, which we’ll cover.
The cost of PMI varies depending on many factors. These include the type of mortgage you get, how much you put down, where the property is located, your credit, your loan term, and how lenders structure your PMI fee. In general, there are three ways lenders charge PMI:
Monthly payments are the most common way that borrowers pay for PMI. Let’s say you get a 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage for $180,000 to buy a home valued at $200,000. With a 90% LTV and good credit, your PMI could cost about $100 per month.
Paying monthly PMI gives you the most transparency about the charge. It gets itemized on your mortgage statement, so you know exactly how much you're paying. And more importantly, you can see when it finally gets eliminated, which we'll cover next.
If your lender offers more than one way to pay PMI, ask for a detailed pricing comparison so you can weigh the pros and cons.
If you make a lump-sum PMI payment, it could turn out to cost more or less than the other options, depending on whether you choose to pay off your mortgage ahead of schedule. If you sell your home after just a few years or pay off your mortgage early, you don't get a return of any PMI premium.
Since mortgage interest is tax-deductible, the option to pay a higher interest rate instead of separate PMI payments could cost less on an after-tax basis. Also, PMI is currently a tax-deductible expense, although there have been periods when it wasn’t. At the end of the year, lenders send out Form 1098, which lists how much PMI and mortgage interest you paid during the year so that you can claim it on your tax return.
However, you can only claim these deductions if you itemize them using Schedule A. When your total itemized deductions are less than the standard deduction for your tax filing status, you'll save money claiming the standard deduction instead.
As you can see, knowing which option is best for paying PMI can be a bit complicated. If your lender offers more than one way to pay it, ask for a detailed pricing comparison so you can weigh the pros and cons and consider which option may cost less.
Now that you understand why and how lenders charge PMI, let’s review the rules for getting rid of it. That will help you know how high a priority it should be.
You should receive an annual notice from your mortgage lender that reminds you about your options to have PMI eliminated under certain conditions. Here are the ways you can get rid of monthly PMI payments.
When your mortgage balance reaches 78% of the original value of the property, PMI must automatically be canceled.
Request cancelation. After you pay down your mortgage balance to 80% of the original value of your home, you can ask for PMI to be canceled. Your original value can be either the price you paid for your home or its appraised value when you bought it (or refinanced it), whichever is less.
Your lender will require you to pay for a property appraisal to verify that your home’s value is the same or higher than when you purchased it. The appraisal fee could range from $300 to $1,000, depending on the size and location of your home.
Automatic termination. When your mortgage balance reaches 78% of the original value of the property, PMI must automatically be canceled. In this case, you don’t have to request it or pay for an appraisal.
Midpoint termination. When your mortgage balance reaches its midpoint, PMI must be automatically canceled. For example, if you have a 30-year mortgage, your lender must cancel your PMI after 15 years.
But keep an eye out for situations that might allow you to cancel PMI early, like when your home value appreciates due to market conditions. When your home value goes up, it lowers your LTV. Likewise, if you make additional mortgage payments that reduce your principal loan balance, it lowers your LTV. The faster you get to the 78% threshold, the sooner you can request a PMI cancellation.
Keep an eye out for situations that might allow you to cancel PMI early, like when your home value appreciates due to market conditions.
However, be aware that your lender can deny your request for PMI cancelation in certain situations, such as if you’ve made late payments. You must get current on any outstanding payments to have PMI canceled either as a request or automatically. Also, don’t forget that taking out a home equity loan or line of credit increases your LTV.
Now that you understand when you must pay PMI and when you can eliminate it, let’s turn to Danielle’s question. She's considering whether to send extra money to her mortgage and get closer to canceling PMI or if it's better to pay off her student loan or car loan faster.
First, I’d recommend that Danielle zoom out and look at any other top financial priorities. She didn’t mention if she’s regularly contributing to a retirement account or has emergency savings. If she doesn’t have a healthy emergency fund, or she isn’t investing a minimum of 10% to 15% of her gross income for retirement, that’s where her extra money should go first.
We know that Danielle doesn’t have any dangerous debts, such as accounts in collections, credit cards with sky-high interest rates, or expensive payday loans. If she did, those would need attention before addressing any other type of debt. As she mentioned in her question, it’s generally best to pay off debt in order of highest to lowest interest rate.
So, assuming that Danielle’s finances are in good shape, how does paying PMI compare with a student loan and a small auto loan balance? While ongoing PMI payments aren’t an interest expense, you can pretend that they are as a technique for understanding their place in your financial life.
Let’s say you borrowed $180,000 for a $200,000 home, giving you a 90% LTV. As I previously mentioned, you need a 78% LTV to request PMI cancellation. So, you’d have to pay down your mortgage to $156,000 to get there. If you’re at the beginning of a loan term, you’d need to shell out $24,000 ($180,000 – $156,000 = $24,000).
If you were paying $100 a month or $1,200 a year for PMI, you could calculate it as a proxy for annual interest on a $24,000 loan. That comes out to an effective interest rate of 5% ($1,200 / $24,000 = 0.05). That’s an amount you’re paying on top of your mortgage interest rate. So, if your mortgage costs 4% in this example, you’d really be paying more like 9% during the years that you pay PMI.
The benefits of accelerating mortgage payments to get rid of PMI decrease if you’re able to deduct mortgage interest and PMI on your taxes.
However, this is an imperfect calculation because it’s doesn’t account for many factors. These include how much extra you pay toward your principal mortgage balance, how quickly equity builds as you prepay it, and any home appreciation.
Also, the benefits of accelerating mortgage payments to get rid of PMI decrease if you’re able to deduct mortgage interest and PMI on your taxes. A fixed-rate mortgage that costs 4% may only cost you 3% on an after-tax basis, depending on your effective income tax rate.
In general, prepaying a mortgage to eliminate PMI ahead of schedule may not help you as much as paying down other types of debt. Depending on where you live, factors such as real estate appreciation and general inflation are likely to work in your favor, making you eligible for PMI cancellation sooner than you may think.
A super simple way to evaluate the interest rate you’re paying for a mortgage with PMI is to tack on a percentage point or two. For instance, if your pre-tax mortgage rate is 4%, consider it actually costing you 5% to 6% tops. Or if you deduct interest and PMI, don’t factor in the tax implications and just consider the mortgage costing you the same as its stated interest rate, or 4% in my example.
If your other debts cost more than these very rough mortgage interest calculations, I’d be aggressive about getting rid of them first. Again, go in order of highest interest rate to lowest.
However, if you have a small outstanding balance that you just want to wipe out, there’s nothing wrong with that. Even if it costs you slightly less in interest, sometimes it just feels good to get rid of a small debt that’s been weighing you down.
What’s most important is that you understand how much you owe, the interest rates you’re paying, and that you have a plan for eliminating debt. Even if you don’t have extra money to pay off debt ahead of schedule, tacking them in the right order helps you save the most interest so you can eliminate debt as quickly as possible.
In Hollywood Hills, DJ Paul Oakenfold is asking $3.7 million for his leafy Midcentury home built for Alfred Hitchcock’s production designer.
Whether you’re giving your sweetheart a gorgeous diamond ring for Valentine’s Day or you’re the one who gets to wear the bling, don’t forget about protecting it with insurance. I know looping in your insurance agent may not seem romantic, but it can prevent a lot of heartaches if that expensive piece of jewelry gets damaged, lost, or stolen.
Today, you’ll learn how to keep your Valentine’s Day gift or any valuables safe.
Anytime you’re thinking about making a big purchase, such as expensive jewelry, watches, or electronics, make sure you have a plan to insure it. Think about how devastated you’d be if you bought diamond earrings for your sweetie, and they got stolen or lost. I’m sweating just thinking about it!
Anytime you’re thinking about making a big purchase, make sure you have a plan to insure it.
Before you buy something valuable, communicate with your existing home or renters insurance representative or company. Find out if you need additional coverage—it’s likely that you do! In just a moment, I’ll give you some recommendations if you don’t already have a home or renters policy.
Let your insurer know what you’re planning to buy and how much it costs. If you’re still negotiating on price or you’re buying a second-hand item with an unknown value, start with your best estimate.
If the value of your Valentine’s Day jewelry is over a certain amount, your insurer will ask you to submit an appraisal. It must come from a gemologist who uses a variety of tools and their expertise to identify and value gems. It includes photos of your item and an estimated value.
Your insurer needs an appraisal to know precisely what they’re insuring. The document also protects you in case you need to make a claim.
The retailer who sells you a new piece of jewelry should provide you with an appraisal. However, an insurer may want an independent appraisal to verify the value. If you purchase heirloom or estate jewelry, it may not come with an appraisal.
You can find an appraiser by getting recommendations or doing some research online. The cost varies depending on how intricate the item is and how long the work may take.
For instance, an antique ring with many stones and old-fashioned gem cuts will take longer to analyze than a brand-new diamond solitaire. For a relatively simple piece, the appraisal may cost in the range of $150 to $250. But I’ve had heirloom pieces that cost nearly $500 to appraise.
While your great-grandmother’s wedding ring or a necklace from your valentine might be priceless to you, insurers will only pay you its appraised or actual value.
It could take a gemologist several weeks to complete your appraisal, and they need to have the item in their possession the entire time. So, don’t wait until the last minute to find out what’s required to get a Valentine’s Day gift insured.
Also, note that you can’t insure the sentimental value of any item. While your great-grandmother’s wedding ring or a necklace from your valentine might be priceless to you, insurers will only pay you its appraised or actual value.
If you assume you have coverage for a lavish Valentine’s Day gift simply because you have homeowners insurance, that could be a big mistake. The amount of insurance on your home is different than the amount of coverage for your personal belongings.
Most standard home and renters policies include coverage for personal items like jewelry. However, specific categories of belongings come with coverage limits or caps. Jewelry, watches, and furs typically have a low insurance cap, such as $1,000 or $2,000. If you’re a big spender, that could be a fraction of the cost of your gift.
For example, if you buy an engagement ring worth $4,000, and your homeowners or renters policy only covers $1,000, you’d come up $3,000 short of replacing it. Plus, the cap applies to an entire claim, not individual items. If you had multiple pieces of jewelry stolen, you’d only receive up to the policy limit.
Jewelry, watches, and furs typically have a low insurance cap, such as $1,000 or $2,000. If you’re a big spender, that could be a fraction of the cost of your gift.
Other types of personal belongings that have insurance caps include silverware, computers, firearms, musical instruments, collectibles, and antiques. Keep reading to learn how to make sure your expensive items are adequately insured.
If your existing homeowners or renters insurance doesn’t have a jewelry limit high enough to cover your posh purchase, one solution is to “schedule it.” You’ll also hear this called a rider, floater, or an endorsement to your policy. Scheduling an item means that you add more detail about it to your existing insurance policy.
One benefit of scheduling an item, such as jewelry, is that you’re covered for all types of losses. For instance, if you accidentally lose a wedding ring swimming in the Caribbean ocean on your honeymoon, you’re covered up to your limit. When your valuables are covered by a standard home or renters policy, without being scheduled, you typically only have coverage for specific events, such as loss from a fire or theft.
One benefit of scheduling an item, such as jewelry, is that you’re covered for all types of losses.
Also, don’t forget that you must pay a deductible when you make a claim. So, if you have a $500 deductible and a jewelry limit of $1,000, the most you’d receive from a claim is $500.
But a scheduled item doesn’t require a deductible. That means you wouldn’t have to pay any amount out-of-pocket to replace a Valentine’s Day gift that gets lost or disappears mysteriously.
Having a rider increases your premium, but it’s usually worth it. The cost might be $5 to $15 per $1,000 of insured value. So, an engagement ring that’s worth $6,000 could mean paying an additional $30 to $90 per year on your homeowners or renters insurance premium.
Another option for insuring a precious gift is to get a stand-alone policy. This policy is separate insurance just for the item, not an add-on to an existing home or renters policy. Most insurers offer a valuable articles policy for specific items like jewelry, watches, furs, collectibles, and antiques.
Whether you own or rent your home, you’ll pay less for an insurance rider than for valuable articles insurance. The only exception would be if you have many expensive items to insure—so, shop and compare both options if you have a collection of valuables.
Most homeowners have insurance, but many renters avoid getting a renters policy because they mistakenly overestimate the cost. It’s surprisingly inexpensive; the average price is $185 per year. So, if you rent, get renters insurance first and then schedule an expensive item.
All the coverages I’ve mentioned protect your valuables at home or when they’re away from your home. Off-premise coverage kicks in when an item is stolen from your car or damaged while you’re traveling.
Additionally, home and renters insurance gives you liability coverage worldwide. It also pays living expenses, such as a hotel and meals, if you can't live in your home while repairs are made after a covered event, such as a natural disaster.
The bottom line is that if you rent and don’t have insurance, you’re putting your finances at risk. Take a few minutes to shop and compare quotes at sites such as Bankrate.com or Policygenius.com. But no matter your situation, you can always opt to insure a Valentine’s Day gift with a stand-alone policy.
Many people are confused about who needs to buy insurance for a gift, the giver or the recipient? Well, it depends on who has the item. If you buy a gift to give, you need to have it insured while it’s in your possession.
If you have a receipt and appraisal, pass them along so the new owner has what they need to get proper insurance.
Once you give a gift away, the lucky recipient owns it and must insure it. If you have a receipt and appraisal, pass them along so the new owner has what they need to get proper insurance.
If you’re married or live together and have the same home or renters insurance policy, you don’t have to take any extra steps. But if you and your valentine have different households, the person who wears and enjoys the gift must make sure that it’s insured.
If you have home or renters insurance, but don't have a list of your personal belongings, it could be challenging to claim a loss. Imagine that your home or apartment got destroyed in a fire. Would you remember every item?
If you don’t have a home inventory, create one and add your Valentine’s Day gift to the list. At the least, have pictures or video of your belongings that you store in the cloud. While losing precious items can be devastating, the more documentation you have, the easier it will be to provide proof that you owned them and make an insurance claim.
If you got a cherished gift for Valentine’s Day or got engaged, congrats! Now make it a priority to protect it.