Blog - Month: November 2021
Month: November 2021
6 Home Maintenance Tips to Keep Your Family Safe
While every season comes with different things you should keep up with when it comes to home maintenance, there are still plenty of things you should regularly do and check on to ensure your family’s safety in your home. Here are 6 things you can check out today... The Gutters You should be making sure that your gutters are clear of any blockage that would cause the rain or the water coming from the melted snow to infiltrate your house. It is recommended you clear your gutters at least twice a year, most importantly in the Spring and late Fall. Smoke alarm and carbon dioxide monoxide detectors You should be changing the batteries to these life-saving gadgets at least once a year. This way, you’re sure that if ever a fire happens, your family can safely make it out of your home as quickly as possible. HVAC system If you have a central system in your home for heat and air, make sure to call a technician at least twice a year to check your system. Typically, the technician will take care of cleaning and servicing your furnace, ducts, and vents. They’ll also look for any signs of damage and let you know when it is time to repair or change anything. The Roof If you can safely make it to your roof, inspect it to make sure you don’t have broken shingles, moss, broken gutters, or broken tree parts stuck on the roof. And if you can’t make it up there, you can hire som
Homeowners Insurance VS. Title Insurance: What's the Difference?
Buying a home is one of life’s biggest moments... But it’s also one of the most stressful moments of them all. Especially when you’re faced with lots of jargon that sounds like gibberish. That being said, one of the things that new homeowners tend to not quite understand is the difference between homeowner’s insurance and title insurance. New homeowners often have loads of valid and important questions, which we are going to answer below. What is title insurance? First and foremost, “title” refers to someone’s legal ownership of a property. That being said, title insurance is a policy that covers claims coming from third parties on issues that existed before you close on your home and that didn’t come up in the initial title search. For example, if there is a lien on your home that you weren’t aware of before closing on your home, title insurance would be useful here as it would protect you from having to pay up for something that you, as the new owner, did not accrue. Simply said, title insurance protects you against losses caused by problems related to the title of your property. What is homeowner’s insurance? This is the type of insurance you would normally think of when someone mentions “home insurance”. This insurance covers claims you make following certain events, such as a fire, burglary, vandalism, water damage, strong winds
3 Tips to Stay Safe From Wire Fraud
Unfortunately, we live in an age where wire fraud is constantly on the rise. In fact, cybercriminals have stolen over $423 Million in wire transfers from victims. While these criminals are pretty good and their traps are only getting more sophisticated over time, there are still ways you can stay safe and protect yourself from being a victim of wire fraud. Here are 3 tips you can follow to stay safe from wire fraud: Only send money to people and businesses you know and trust If something seems too good to be true, it probably is. Don’t send money to anyone or any business that is guaranteeing you any type of return on the “investment” they are asking you to wire to them. Another thing to beware of in a business setting is when a business is asking you to wire money to an unknown middle man. Chances are, both the business you are discussing with and the middle man are on the same team and have one goal: to get that money out of you and run with it. Protect all of your personal and banking information Your personal and banking information needs to be protected at all costs. This means you must be careful (and picky) with what type of information you give and to whom. For example, beware of payment methods that don’t seem to be secure when you’re shopping online. Also, make sure that your passwords for your online banking information (or any platform that keeps any sort of bankin