In the current market, first-time homebuyers have their work cut out for them. In the past, when the market was going up, first-time homebuyers’ main concern was finding a home—any home. Their secondary concerns were how to get financing for the home and the condition of the property. They knew that if they could purchase [...]
Switching Insurance Plans Can Cost You More In The End By Linda Rey Everyone makes mistakes. This may be a cliché, but it’s true. There is no discrimination as to who screws up every once in a while. The good thing about mistakes, however, is that they can lead to valuable lessons learned. Recently, we [...]
How the Insurance Marketplace Can Affect Your Insurance Premiums By Linda Rey I’ve been in the insurance industry since 1985 in some form or fashion. When I look back on my career, I’m always amazed at how diverse this industry can be. In the insurance industry, as in any other career field, I have to [...]
Housing Market Predictions: Home Values Continue to Sink By Ilyce Glink By any measure, it’s been a tough week for the real estate market: According to the latest S&P Case/Shiller Index, home values have fallen back to where they were in 2002, although in some of the hardest-hit neighborhoods, housing values have fallen back to [...]
Buying an REO or Foreclosure: What You Can Expect and What Can Kill the Deal By Ilyce Glink These days, many homebuyers are turning to foreclosures and taking advantage of the drop in home prices. A foreclosure—or a “real estate owned” (REO) property—is a property that is now owned by a bank. But be careful, [...]
Lack of Business Insurance Can Bring You Financial Ruin Loretta Worters, Insurance Insurance Institute If small business owners learned anything from the recent storms and tornadoes that tore through the southern and midwestern United States last month, it is that the fate of their businesses can change in the blink of an eye. That lesson, [...]
Writing Off the Family Vacation Eva Rosenberg, EA Ever since I heard about the Harry Potter village at Universal Orlando, I’ve wanted to go there. But Orlando is an expensive place, especially if you want to be anywhere near the main attractions. How could I make this a tax-deductible trip? I could go to an [...]
Congress Doubles Funding for Troubled USDA Housing Loans Steve Cook, Real Estate Economy Watch While slashing funds for disability, elderly, and Native American housing programs, Congress has doubled the funding for a USDA housing program that may cost the government $4 billion in defaulting loans. Why? Because over a third of the government-guaranteed rural home [...]
Save Money in 2011 on Your Premiums Linda Rey We’re almost halfway through 2011. How are those resolutions from January doing? Lucky for all of us, we don’t need a new year or a resolution to want to save money, especially on insurance. Save Money with Your Deductibles Before you start eliminating or lowering coverage [...]
Skip the Allowance and Hire Your Child Eva Rosenberg, EA It takes about $200,000 to raise a child (not including paying for college), according to the USDA’s annual report. Play with this nifty tool at Bankrate.com to see just how much your child costs. How can you reduce these staggering costs? Two ways: Teach your [...]
