Kristin Garnett - Home Buyers Guide V1 Book

pay your mortgage, property taxes, and even homeowner’s insurance in smaller, periodic installments. Your lender usually deals with payments from your escrow, which means less stressful financial management for you.

A HOME WARRANTY LETS YOU SLEEP BETTER AT NIGHT

If you’re a first-time home buyer or empty nester downsizing after several previous home buys, it might be a smart idea to have a warranty plan, so that you can sleep well at night. The advice also applies to the experienced real estate owners who just don’t want to have the thought of maintenance and repairs hanging over their heads. A home warranty is a way of protecting yourself from expensive, unexpected repair bills. Depending on the local market as well as on the deal, the home warranty can be paid either by the seller or by the buyer. A home warranty paid for by the seller can be a negotiation point or inducement offering to protect the buyer from having to do any additional, expensive repairs to the house after the deal is closed. The cost of a home warranty is generally not too high, often between $350 and $600, depending on the coverage. The payment must be made one year in advance. In case you need to use such a warranty, the procedure is simple. When there’s a problem, the owner calls the warranty company, which then announces the service provider who will be fixing it. The provider will call the owner to schedule an appointment and fix the problem. The insurance company will pay the service bill. Be careful when choosing a plan, because there are many existing coverage differences. Pay attention when reading the fine print relating to the conditions for coverage and the reasons claims may be denied. The secret to getting a good insurance plan rests in

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