Tag Archives: Education

Why Do We Need Flood Insurance?

Homeowner’s insurance rarely covers flood damage.

While your homeowner’s insurance will usually cover water damage from burst pipes or a broken window during a rainstorm, flood damage is a different story. Especially if your home is in a flood zone, you’ll want to read up on your policy’s fine print. Flood insurance is unique in that it covers damage from heavy rains or from a sudden overflow of a nearby river or lake.

Flooding happens even outside of flood zones.

If it can rain, it can flood. According to the Federal Emergency Management Agency, more than 20% of flood-related claims come from what might be considered a low to moderate-risk flood area.

It doses’t take much.

It only takes 18 inches of water to cause potential damage to high-cost items such as electrical and heating/cooling systems. Even one inch of water can do in your carpet, vinyl flooring, and baseboards. Water damage is no joke. On its heals comes wood rot, mold, and even insect damage.

While the added policy is sometimes optional, it’s still worth considering to ensure that flood damage doesn’t turn into a major setback for you and your family.

Turner Title is sharing lots of title and mortgage tips here at the Turner Title Blog! And don’t forget to visit us on Youtube and subscribe to our channel!

What to Expect When You’re Inspecting

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For many first-time homebuyers, the process of purchasing a home can be extremely stressful. At Turner Title, we’ve had the pleasure of walking many first-time buyers through the process to a successful and smooth closing! Why are so many of our first-time buyers so happy with our services? Well, outside of outstanding customer service and communication, we pride ourselves on the joy with which we educate those of our customers who have questions about just what exactly goes into buying a home. Today, we’ll take an in-depth look at one of the most important parts of the home buying experience: the home inspection.

So what’s so important about a home inspection? A home inspection lets the buyers know exactly what they’re getting into when they’re making the biggest investment of their lives. The purpose of a home inspection is to find any underlying issues with the property, particularly with regard to electrical, plumbing, and the foundation. If you’re planning on obtaining a mortgage with which to purchase you’re new home, it’s likely your lender will require you to obtain a home inspection before they mark your transaction as “clear to close.” Still, even if your lender doesn’t require a home inspection, if you want to protect yourself from buyer’s remorse, it is generally recommended you invest in a home inspection. Many contracts have a clause that allow the buyer to back out of the sale if something unexpected comes up in the home inspection, so that’s important to keep in mind.

Not all inspectors are created equal. Make sure your home inspector will be sure to thoroughly inspected both the house’s interior and exterior. Inside the house, home inspectors will be looking at wiring, plumbing, smoke detectors, AC units, any appliances that will be left behind per the contract, potential hazards, and more. On the outside, they’ll be testing the foundation, looking at siding, roofing, and any cracks that may appear. Keep in mind, that you will likely need to hire a specialist if the home has a septic tank or a potential for termite or other insect related issues. It’s always a good idea for both you and your agent to be present for the duration of the home inspection in order to address any concerns you may have in the moment.

The cost of most home inspections range within a few hundred dollars. Depending on the negotiations that took place at the time of the contract’s draft and who will be paying for the inspection, it may be within the sellers’ rights or your own to choose a home inspector. Even if the seller is choosing and paying for the home inspection, you may still want to hire your own private inspector. It is rare that the lender will cover your home inspection if you want to pay out of pocket for the inspector of your choosing, but it may be more than worth it to you in the long run.

That’s the home inspection process in a nut shell. While it may seem to be a bit of a hassle at first, it is for your protection, so take advantage of it! That’s it for this week’s Title Tidbit. If you have a tidbit you’d like to learn more about, shoot us an email or comment it on our Facebook page! 😊

Escrow Place Like Home for the Holidays

‘Twas a few weeks before Christmas. Santa was a buying a house (at the end of the month and the year too, no doubt). Mrs. Claus was excited to buy their new home, and by Christmas the elves would all be there to roam. The closing came and went without a hitch, until one bright, spring morning, there appeared an old Grinch.

“Hello,” said the Grinch, “my name is the Grinch, and this home is mine, you must vacate it.” Santa and Mrs. Claus did not know what to do. The elves and the reindeer began to cry—boohoo!

“But how can that be? This is certainly libel!” Mrs. Claus lamented, “We were issued clear title!”

“Title is more than a paper you sign. Title needs more than a stamp to be fine.” The Grinch continued to explain with a grin, the kind of grin you could find malice in. “You want a title company that runs searches for liens, orders surveys, checks permits, and all in between. It should run through the history of your new home and all of its aspects with a fine-toothed comb. Estoppels and payoffs of mortgages too are just scratching the surface of what your title company should do. You signed the commitment and Max signed the deed, but he neglected to mention the other signature you’d need.”

“What other signature?” cried Santa, his head in a fog. “There was only one owner, and that was Max the dog!”

The Grinch began to howl with malicious delight and pulled out a paper. “The dog had no right! Observe this document, and you will see, that his interest in the property was just two out of three. I have a share in this house that was unlawfully deeded, and thus, your vacancy is necessary and incredibly needed!”

Mrs. Claus and Santa, the reindeer and elves then packed up their bags and cleared off their shelves. They left the house and wandered off in the snow. It seemed all was lost, but Rudolph knew where to go.

“Chin up, folks,” said Rudolph, “Where’s your Christmas spirit? I know what to do, if you’ll listen and here it.” They all looked to Rudolph. His input was vital. “There’s only one place I trust, and that’s Turner Title!”

So the group made the trek down to the Sunshine State, and they found Turner Title to be truly great. Monika welcomed the crew at the door with a smile, and Bailee walked them through each process of insuring their file. Robyn looked through the file, commitment, and deed to make sure there were neither grinches nor outstanding liens. Closing with Kelly was such a breeze, and her friendly demeanor put the whole group at ease.

The elves were elated when Santa got their keys, and they moved into the beach house with which they were pleased. They were far from the snow and the gusts and the hail, and after their closing, Ocean sent all their mail. A few weeks later, there was a knock at the door, but there were no grinches present, just one thing more. It was Angie from post-closing, and what a sight to see! She was holding their title policy and clear guarantee!

If there’s one thing to glean from this verbose recital, it’s for a closing you trust, make sure to use Turner Title!