When purchasing a home, you receive a title document. The title states that you are the owner of the property, and that you retain the rights to the property. While there aren’t typically issues relating to the true owner of a piece of land, questions do sometimes arise.

In some cases, a lawsuit may arise concerning the property’s true owner. There are many scenarios that can cause this quarrel to occur, including:

• Federal or state liens on the property.
• Unpaid homeowner’s association dues.
• Utility easements.
• Mechanic’s liens.
• Unnamed heirs to the property.
• “Wild deeds” that were never recorded.

In fact, this list is only a small portion of the full list of reasons why a title of ownership may be contested. It’s easy to think that none of these affect your property, but it is impossible to know for sure.

While you can never be certain of the fact that you are the sole title holder for your property, there is a way to protect yourself with an insurance policy. This policy is called “Title Insurance,” and it comes in two distinct forms.

Lender’s Policy

This policy, as the title suggests, is only issued to mortgage lenders. It is intended to protect the lender in the case that the property in question:

• Has a defective or unmarketable title.
• Is subject to title defects or liens.
• Cannot legally be accessed.
• Cannot have a lien.
• Is already subject to a mechanic’s lien.

In most cases, a lender’s policy will be required when you obtain a mortgage (just like they require that you have a home insurance policy). While your lender can require that you purchase a lender’s title insurance policy, they cannot legally require you to purchase from a specific insurance provider, as stated in the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA).

Take this as an opportunity to do your homework. Find an insurance provider that can offer you the protection you require at a price that fits your wallet.

Owner’s Policy

When your property is no longer covered by a lender’s policy (a lender’s policy is only valid while the property is under a mortgage) you should make sure that you are still protected by a title insurance policy. In this case, you will want to have an owner’s policy.

This policy will provide you with the protection you need, including coverage for any and all legal battles regarding your property’s title, and compensation for any financial losses related to those battles. Typically, the financial compensation that the policy will provide is capped at the value of the property, but this can be changed as a part of the insurance policy.

An owner’s policy is typically broken down into two types of costs: premiums and service fees. Just as with any type of insurance policy, a premium will cover the perpetual costs associated with the policy, and generally vary. In addition, you will be responsible for covering the cost of underwriting the policy and performing a title search. These costs are bundled and charged to you as a one-time “service fee.”

If you have questions about title insurance, or want to find a policy that will fit your needs, call 877-550-0025 and speak to a Vargas and Vargas Insurance representative! 

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In the US, homes are typically financed with either a 15 or a 30 year mortgage. A mortgage allows homeowners to pay off their residence over a period of time, instead of having to pay potentially hundreds of thousands of dollars up front. 

When purchasing a home, some people cannot afford to put down 20% of the purchase price. When that is the case, Private Mortgage Insurance (also known as PMI) is often taken out on the loan in order to protect against default. The amount you will pay monthly for PMI depends on three main factors:

• The total value of the home you are purchasing.
• The amount you are borrowing in your mortgage.
• Your credit score.

When everything is computed, PMI can add $100 or more to your monthly mortgage payment. While the protection provided by Private Mortgage Insurance is invaluable at the onset of your mortgage, you can typically eliminate the extra cost a little ways into the life of your loan. This is typically done one of four ways:

Pay off more than 20% of your mortgage

Private Mortgage Insurance is only necessary if you owe more than 80% of your home’s value. As you make payments (and therefore have paid off more and more of your home) you should naturally reach the point where you have paid off more than 20% of your mortgage. At this point, call your lender and verify that your PMI charge has been removed.

Reappraise your home

If you have spent money upgrading your home, or if you pay a high interest rate on your mortgage, you may benefit from having your home reappraised. If your appraiser determines that your home’s value has increased, it may push you over the 20% hurdle that is key when it comes to eliminating your Private Mortgage Insurance payment.

This method does not come without risk, though. You will have to pay for your home’s appraisal, and that will typically cost anywhere from $200 to $500 (or more, depending on the value of your home).

Lender Paid Mortgage Insurance

Some mortgage lenders will allow you to use an alternative to PMI. It is called “Lender Paid Mortgage Insurance,” and, as the name indicates, it is mortgage insurance that is covered by your mortgage provider instead of by you.

You may ask: what’s the catch? In the situation that you opt for Lender Paid Mortgage Insurance, your lender will require you to pay a higher rate of interest on your mortgage for the life of the loan. While this can sometimes result in a higher tax deduction, it is normally impossible to cancel. Typically, this route is only recommended if you have a short term loan, or if you plan to move or refinance within 10 years. 

It is also important to remember that Private Mortgage Insurance only protects you from default on your mortgage. This policy is completely separate from your home insurance policy, which protects your home from many types of perils. 

Typically, mortgage lenders will require that you purchase a home insurance policy as a part of their financing agreement. If you don’t know where to start, talk to a representative from Vargas and Vargas Insurance. You can get on the road to peak home protection, just by calling us at 877-550-0025.

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Tides aren’t the only things that are rising nowadays – if you haven’t already, you may soon see an increase in your flood insurance premium. This is thanks to a new act passed through congress last July – the Biggert-Waters Flood Insurance Reform Act.

This piece of legislation was passed in an effort to recoup the losses of the National Flood Insurance Program due predominantly to Hurricane Katrina, which devastated the Gulf Coast back in 2005.

As you can imagine, the reform act document is rather lengthy, and its verbiage is unarguably hard to follow. In an effort to save you some sanity, here is a summary of the two key points of the act that may affect you and your flood insurance:

Loss of Subsidies

In the Flood Insurance Reform Act, certain types of buildings lost subsidies that have been in place since the 1970s. This change has the possibility to significantly raise rates on certain varieties of property, which include:

• Residences that are not classified as a primary residence. This includes second homes, vacation homes, investment properties, and more.
• Any and all business properties.
• Properties that have suffered severe repetitive losses due to flooding.
• Buildings that require a new flood insurance policy (including both new and pre-existing buildings).

In addition to these properties losing their subsidies, this Act has increased the maximum annual rate increase of flood insurance policies from 10% to 20%.

New Standards for Existing Properties

Another major change that the Flood Insurance Reform Act has initiated has the potential to greatly affect older properties. 

When a building is erected, it is built following the existing flood maps and flood specifications, and its flood insurance was always calculated based on the flood maps drawn the year the building was constructed. As flood standards changed over the years, older buildings weren’t penalized. This is all about to change. 

According to the new legislation, all buildings will be evaluated based on current flood maps, not the flood maps that existed the year the building was constructed. This means that buildings in areas that are now considered to be at risk for floods will probably see a dramatic increase in their flood insurance rates. 

Thankfully, this change should only truly affects older homes, and homes built in the last decade or two shouldn’t notice much of a change when flood maps are reevaluated.

If you have questions about your flood insurance policy, remember that Vargas and Vargas Insurance is always here to answer your questions. We have offered flood insurance to our Massachusetts clients for many years, and we can help you determine how all this new legislation will affect you and your home.

We encourage all home and business owners to call 877-550-0025 today to speak to an insurance specialist from Vargas and Vargas Insurance about your flood protection. We will evaluate the effects of the Biggert-Waters Flood Insurance Reform Act on your property, and may also be able to save you some money on your flood insurance premiums!

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Here at Vargas and Vargas Insurance, we talk to a lot of people about their automobile insurance. We do everything we can to make sure that all of our clients get the coverage that suits their needs. 

One of the auto insurance topics that we discuss most is the policy’s deductible. You can set your auto insurance deductible low or high, and there are some people that are confused as to why anyone would choose to have a higher deductible.

In truth, there are a few major benefits to setting a more elevated deductible. These reasons include:

Higher Deductibles Mean Lower Premiums – If you agree to pay a higher deductible in the event of an accident, your insurance provider will agree to let you pay a lower monthly premium. This monthly savings on your collision and comprehensive auto insurance coverage can really add up over time!

According to USA Today, raising your auto deductible from $200 to $500 could save you 15% to 30% of your monthly insurance cost.

File Fewer Auto Insurance Claims – If your car insurance deductible was a $1000, you wouldn’t bother telling your insurance provider about a measly ding in your car, would you? The goal of an insurance policy is to financially protect what you cannot. If you feel confident that you can cover minor dings and scratches yourself, you probably don’t need a low deductible policy.

In addition, it is a well known fact that when you file an auto insurance claim, your policy’s rates may rise. By filing less claims with your insurance provider, therefore, you will be saving yourself from raising your rates due to little, somewhat meaningless, claims.

Who Would Benefit?

You should really only consider this method if you fulfill a few categories. First and foremost, you should have enough money to cover a higher deductible should you ever need to make a claim. This can be accomplished by putting the money you save on each insurance bill into a separate account just in case of an accident.

Second, this method is really only viable for safe drivers. A high deductible is not a good choice for those people that are “accident prone,” as they could end up spending a great deal of money each time they find themselves at fault for an accident.

Who Wouldn’t Benefit?

While increasing an auto insurance deductible is the right choice for some car owners, there are others who would not benefit from this tactic.

As we said earlier, those who make auto insurance claims often would not benefit from this approach. In addition, you should only attempt to save this money if you are comfortable putting aside your savings until you have your auto deductible within easy reach in its own savings account. This step is vital in ensuring that you are prepared for an accident, should one occur. Remember – you never plan to get in an accident, and they always happen at the most inconvenient times!

If you are interested in talking to an automobile insurance expert about how raising your automobile insurance may save you money on your premiums, call 877-550-0025 now to speak to a Vargas and Vargas Insurance representative.

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Once you know that you need a life insurance policy, finding one that fits your needs can seem like a daunting task. The options appear endless – you need to choose whether you want a whole or term life insurance policy, then you need to settle on how much coverage your life insurance policy needs to offer. 

Here at Vargas and Vargas Insurance, we are dedicated to helping our customers work through these types of decisions. For example, when you are looking to estimate the amount of coverage your life insurance policy will need to have, you should consider the following factors:

End of Life Expenses

If you pass on, you need to ensure that the burden of your final medical expenses and funeral expenses does not fall on your family. This is done by ensuring that these expenses are covered as a part of your life insurance policy.

Double check your health insurance policy, and make sure that all of your final medical expenses will be covered. If there are any holes or gaps in your coverage, you can use your life insurance policy to fill them in.

Also, it is easy to overlook how costly a funeral can be. Remember that your family will most likely need to cover a bunch of different expenses, including purchasing a gravesite, a casket and burial expenses or cremation expenses. They will also need to cover the cost of a funeral home, and an accompanying service.

Remaining Obligations

A life insurance policy needs to be able to cover your remaining financial obligations. These obligations can range greatly, but typically include mortgages, car loans, student loans, and the like. 

This is, of course, assuming that these obligations are not covered by another type of insurance. For example, a car loan is sometimes covered as a part of your car insurance. If you are unsure of your loan coverage, just ask your insurance agent to review your policies. 

Anticipated Expenses

If you have children under the age of 18 at home, you may wish to include some money for them in your life insurance policy. As an added benefit, this money can sometimes be earmarked. This will ensure that the inheritance is only spent in the way you intend, typically for college tuition or other educational expenses.

Future Needs

In addition to covering these three specific things, you need to make sure that your life insurance policy covers the rest of your loved one’s needs. This is best quantified by looking at your household’s current expenses. Add up all of the little things that your family spends money on – like groceries and entertainment.

When you are calculating these additional expenses, remember to do your best to account for a changing cost of living due to inflation!

If you need help estimating these figures, remember that a life insurance expert is only a phone call away! With a quick and easy call to Vargas and Vargas Insurance at 877-550-0025, you can speak to an insurance representative that will walk you through the steps of determining what level of life insurance you need to make sure that you and your family are protected in case of the unthinkable. So don’t wait – call now!

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With both Arbor Day and Earth Day upon us, it’s time to think about what you are doing to help out this gorgeous planet that we all call home. Going green may be easier than you think, and you can do something to help out the environment in almost every facet of your life.

Here are 10 quick and easy ways that you can save some energy (and some of your hard-earned money) by helping the environment:

At Home

• Use Cold Water: Did you know that 85% of the energy used when washing clothes is spent on heating up the water? If you wash in cold more often, you won’t waste all that extra energy!
• Unplug Appliances: Even if an appliance is off, it is using a tiny amount of energy if it is plugged in. Take one extra step and unplug your appliances when they’re not in use to avoid this unnecessary energy loss.
• Manage Your Thermostat: Air conditioning and heating use a lot of energy. If you can keep your thermostat lower in the winter and higher in the summer, you can save energy and save money on your heating and cooling bills!
• Use Green Fixtures: You can save a lot of water by switching to low-flow showerheads and toilets. If you don’t want to switch over your whole house at once, consider trying these in the bathrooms that are used most often.

In the Car

• Use Alternative Transportation: If you can, take a walk or bike to the place that you are going. Also remember, you can sometimes save money on your car insurance by driving less!
• Make Less Trips: Instead of doing errands one at a time, make an effort to do one errand trip a week. It may seem like a hassle, but you will save a lot of gas.
• Drive Smart: When you do need to get in the car, make sure that you do your best to drive in an energy efficient manner. 

At Work

• Turn Off Your Electronics: At the end of the day, make sure that all of your hardware is fully powered down. Sleep mode will save a little power, but fully shut down electronics are much greener.
• Save Paper: If you need to print something, make sure that you use both sides of the paper. Also, make sure that paper is recycled instead of just thrown out.
• Get a Plant: A little greenery will brighten up your office, and it is appropriate with Arbor day right around the corner. Having some greenery at the office also serves many other purposes. A plant will help filter the air you breathe, and can even absorb indoor air pollution!

Do you see how easy it is to help the earth? Even if you only pick out a few of these methods to try out, you will be saving precious resources and helping fuel the green movement. Also, remember that we at Vargas and Vargas Insurance want to help you save on your insurance policies! For a free quote or evaluation, call one of our great team members at 877-550-0025 today!

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