Jym Davis

When you buy a home one of the first things you want to do is to purchase Home Owners Insurance. Home Owners Insurance protects the homeowner from casualty losses or any damage to the home from personal property and from liability damages to other people or property. Homeowners are required by the lender and can be included in the mortgage payments. Though you may go on your own to get insurance from another company by the lenders are required to offer it.

A standard policy will include coverage for the structure of the home, it provides structure for your personal belongings, it has liability protection and it allows for additional living expenses in the event you are temporarily unable to live in your house because of fire or flood.

If you have a co-op or a condo there are two different policies that you are required to have. You have to have your own insurance policy, it will cover your personal property and some structural improvements and it will allow additional living spaces in case of fire, theft or any other disaster listed in your policy. Then you are required to have a master policy. This policy is given to you by the condo or co-op board. This policy covers common areas that you share with other tenants in the building. For example those areas are roof, basement, elevator, boiler and walkways. It covers both physical and liability damages.

You may have optional insurance coverage, ask your provider about getting a unit assessment, water back up, umbrella liability, flood or earthquake and floater or endorsement this would cover, furs, expensive jewelry and collectibles. These can be apart of a standard policy but the limitation is often $ 1,000 to $ 2,000 dollars. Some of the disasters that may be covered are explosions, smoke, volcanic eruptions, theft, water damage, windstorm or hail, fire or lightening. Some of these will depend on where you live.

Some people believe that they are required to have insurance when they own a home, but that is not true. Unlike car insurance you do not need homeowners insurance but it is highly recommended. Whether you get the coverage if something happens to you is one thing but if someone falls on your property or in your home and they choose to sue then without the insurance you will be responsible if they win. It is a protection policy for you and your home.

If there is a disaster like a fire in your home, without insurance you have nothing left to claim. Rebuilding and replacing will come out of your pocket and that is a very costly mistake to make. If you home has a structural damage from vandals you will be covered. It will cost you extra per months but in case of any type of disaster or even a robbery you are well covered and you can replace your material possessions without it coming from your pocket. Do the smart thing and carry insurance whether you live in a house, apartment or condo or co-op.

One of the most overwhelming actions an individual can face if he or she is trying to sell his house in private is to market it. If an individual chooses to sell his house through a real estate agent then these agents will carry on all the formalities required to market the house. But, if an individual sells his house in private then he will be solely responsible for making the clients aware that his property is on sale. Recently “for sale by owner” business is growing significantly and as a result there are many techniques which are available for advertising the property to the public.

The local newspaper contains a section which is dedicated to people who want to sell their properties in private. One of the easiest and cheapest methods to announce to the public and the sundry about the house on sale is by placing a “For Sale” sign board in front of the property. However, by implying this method one will only attract the attention of those people who are in your neighborhood and travelers. Yet, another comparatively cost effective method of marketing your property is to place attractive posters on the community bulletin board where traffic is very high.

In order to reach to the bigger and wider market, one can place advertisements in some of the classified ads or even through internet. Placing ads in the newspaper will not cost much as the price depends upon the word or character limit. One of the best idea is to place your ads in the real estate related magazines and publications. On the other hand by placing your ads on the internet your ads will be visible world wide and is also cost effective. You can visit various websites where you can compare the competitive rates and prices before placing your ad.

In addition to the above mentioned marketing methods you can even prepare brochures indicating an image of your property and some of the key points of interest. These brochures would work wonders when you host an open house event. There are quite a few other methods where you can cost effectively and creatively market your property. You just have to consider and make sure that the marketing strategies which you use will work best for you.