6 years ago
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by
Sara Bailey
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It’s not exactly groundbreaking news to say kids are expensive. According to data collected by the U.S. Department of Agriculture in 2015, the average annual cost of having a child nowadays is $14,000. That’s almost another minimum wage salary worth of costs to your household expenses.
6 years ago
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by
Veronica Castillo
Paying for insurance is something that many people don’t like doing. It’s a bill for a “possible”, a “maybe”, a “just in case”. With the cost of everything going up, insurance seems like a bill that can be sacrificed. The Insurance Information Institute reports that the cost of homeowner’s insurance on average rose by 3.6% in 2015. With salaries not rising as fast as insurance rates, saving money is key.
So, how can you obtain the appropriate amount of coverage and save on your premium? It takes a little education (homeowner’s Insurance 101) and research. This article will provide information on:
- Is homeowner’s insurance required?
- Identifying the amount of coverage, you need.
- How your premium is calculated by the insurers.
- Things that affect your premium.
- How to lower your premium.
Let’s get into it!
6 years ago
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by
Frank Medina
Owning your own home can be one of the most enjoyable parts of your life. It is the badge of reaching a certain status. A person who has purchased their own home has reached a level of maturity and success, and they can now claim that they are living the American dream while also having the greatest investment one could possibly make.
The Hidden Costs of a Home
When you first apply for your mortgage, you are figuring that you will have a monthly cost to pay for the mortgage on your home. Depending upon the value in the interest rate you get, it will be determined what you will pay, and it is quite easy for you to figure out how that works within your budget.
However, your mortgage is not the only cost you have to consider. No lender is going to give you a mortgage on your home without having some protection, and that is provided through your homeowner’s insurance.
This insurance ensures that should something happen to the home, it will be replaced, or the mortgage company will receive the amount of the loan that they provided to you. It is also a protection against any kind of damage or loss of property you may have, giving it a great value.
How Much Could This Run Me?
Of course, this may not have been an obligation you had considered at first. Better Homeowner’s insurance Houston TX can be rather pricey depending on where you live, which will likely make you wonder how much is homeowner’s insurance in Houston, Texas?
To be honest, there are a number of factors that go into making a determination on how much you would pay each month. This not only includes the amount of protection you want for your personal property, it also includes such things as the likelihood of a disaster occurring in your area.
Some live in areas within the limits of Houston where it is more prone to have such occurrences as flooding, tornadoes, or other kinds of disasters, which could drive up the cost of your homeowner’s insurance. The insurance company understands based on their data that disasters are more likely to occur there, and so they will charge you accordingly.
There are other factors involved. How old the house is, how long it has been since there was a claim of damage on the property, the rate of crime in the area, as well as the kind of material it is built with. Your personal information can affect your homeowner’s insurance as well, including your credit rating, your criminal background, and any prior claims that you have made to an insurance company.
Can I Get an Idea?
While all of these factors will play a part in how much you will pay for your homeowner’s insurance each year, there are some general guidelines that can at least give you an idea of how much you would pay yearly to protect your home and property.
According to insurance and real estate agents, the average value that a person will pay will be somewhere between half a percent to three-fourths of the value of their home. What this means is that if you have a home valued at $200,000, you would pay at least $1000 per year in homeowner’s insurance. Of course, there are all of those other mitigating circumstances that can drive up the cost.
In a study conducted in the state of Texas, it was actually determined that most people in Houston are paying far more than this each month. The average homeowner is paying nearly $2900 per year for their homeowner’s insurance, which is about $500 more than the state average.
When determining your monthly bills, it would mean you would need to set aside at least $250 per month to pay your insurance cost to protect your home. Understand that this is just an average. You could pay a great deal more depending upon the value of your home, the protection you desire, and the insurance company you are using.
