Tips For Buyers and Sellers

Today I attended a wonderful seminar on flood insurance guidelines and fortified homes.  In our area of Fairhope/Point Clear, our home owner’s insurance rates can be higher than in other parts of our state of Alabama due to our location being hurricane proof.  Tips for you, if you live on the bay or in areas that might have an issue on flooding–please get an elevation certificate.  If you have a elevation certificate, do not loose it.  Your insurance agent will want a copy of it.

In insuring homes, the age of the roof, as well as the electrical and plumbing upgrades are big questions of an insurance agent.  If you replace your roof, make sure you take the steps to get it certified.  Certification normally costs about $400-$500 but needs to be done while the roof is being replaced.  Photos need to be taken to show how the roof is being installed.  In our city, a permit is required and roofers have to comply with the city of Fairhope guidelines.

If your home was gold certified when it was built, you must have a certification from the builder.  This certification is good for 5 years.  All certifications will give an expiration date.  Home owners need to contact a local company that can re-certify your home which costs can vary between $150 to $300.  Beware of the recertification.

FEMA flood insurance will expire on November 21st, 2019 unless Congress extends it.  The House has approved the bill titled HR3167 which is now in the Senate’s hands.  Hopefully this will be approved and no extension will be necessary.  Limitations on FEMA is $250,000 for structure and $100,000 for contents.  If you need more coverage,  insurance agents encourage looking at private companies and compare costs for flood.  This was excellent information.  So many homes are underinsured today.

I hope these tips help you.

Any questions, feel free to e-mail me at Judy@AshurstandNiemeyer.com

 

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