Archives for February 2016

By Joe Szabo, Scottsdale Real Estate Team Home insurance can be confusing. Policies are customized to fit the needs of each policyholder, so coverage can vary widely. If you’ve never read your policy cover to cover, stop what you’re doing and find the time to do so. Do you know if you’re covered in the event of a meteor hitting your home? What about if heavy rainfall leads to a flood in your basement? If the former occurs, you’re likely protected, as this seemingly random coverage is typically included in standard policies. The latter? You may not be as lucky, as flood insurance often is a completely separate entity. About 32 million households throughout the country do not have appropriate insurance, according to Trusted Choice, an Independent Insurance Agent company. Some have far too much coverage, while others are rolling the dice with holes in their policies that could lead to financial hardships. To know the situations in which you are and aren’t covered, review your policy. The following are some tips for when, with whom and how to comb through your coverage.

How much coverage should you have?

There are three main coverages you need to have in order to protect your home — structure, contents and liability. Structure This coverage is the amount it would cost to rebuild your home if it were completely destroyed by a covered peril. Determining your home’s value can be tricky, because it’s not exactly the same as the amount you purchased your house for. For example, the cost likely includes the plot of land, and if your home was destroyed, you wouldn’t need to rebuy the land. Also, you have to factor in the cost of materials, which can change quite often. It’s important to review your policy regularly to ensure you have the correct amount of coverage to rebuild the home from scratch. Contents Contents coverage is typically set between 50 percent and 70 percent of your home’s value, and can help pay to repair or replace your belongings if they’re damaged or destroyed at the hands of a covered peril. Again, determining the amount of coverage necessary can be tough, as there’s often a cap of $1,000 to $2,500 for high-value items. Meaning that if you have a rare art collection, an extensive number of antiques, or gems aplenty, you may not be adequately covered if your home is the victim of a burglary or fire, for example. The best way to determine the amount of coverage that fits your needs is to create a home inventory — an itemized list of everything you own and the value of each item — and go over it with your insurance agent. You may need to add a floater policy to cover your more expensive possessions. Liability Liability coverage is an absolute must. If someone is injured on your property and racks up costly medical bills, you could be on the hook. To determine the amount of liability coverage that’s right for you, it’s important to be completely transparent with your insurance provider. For example, if you own a dog, your insurance carrier needs to know. Your monthly payments may be a little higher each month, but if your provider doesn’t know that you have a pup and it bites a guest, you likely won’t receive any help with the resulting medical expenses. And dog bites account for about one-third of all home insurance claims, with the average claim costing $32,072, according to theInsurance Information Institute. Speak with a licensed agent to accurately assess the risks in your home so you have exactly the amount of liability coverage you need. There are additional home insurance coverages that you can add to your policy. Said protections include other structures (such as detached garages or sheds on your property) and additional living expenses, such as hotel rooms and meals if you’re displaced due to a covered peril. Discuss additional coverages with a licensed professional to determine if they should be added to your policy.

When to review your policy

When it’s time to renew your coverage with your insurance provider — likely an annual occurrence — walk through your policy with an agent and ask questions. Walking and reading through your policy with a professional will help ensure that you have coverage that’s accurately tailored to your individual needs. Please note that this Scottsdale Real Estate Blog is for informational purposes and not intended to take the place of a licensed Scottsdale Real Estate Agent. The Szabo Group offers first class real estate services to clients in the Scottsdale Greater Phoenix Metropolitan Area in the buying and selling of Luxury homes in Arizona. Award winning Realtors and Re/MAX top producers and best real estate agent for Luxury Homes in Scottsdale, The Szabo group delivers experience, knowledge, dedication and proven results. Contact Joe Szabo at 480.688.2020, info@ScottsdaleRealEstateTeam.com or visit www.scottsdalerealestateteam.com to find out more about Scottsdale Homes for Sale and Estates for Sale in Scottsdale and to search the Scottsdale MLS for Scottsdale Home Listings.

By Joe Szabo, Scottsdale Real Estate Team Whether you’re a newlywed or have recently moved in with your significant other, you two have a lot to decide about the best way to handle household matters. Figuring out how you’ll divide laundry duties, grocery shopping and other mundane responsibilities is a piece of cake compared to the big question: finances. If you’re thinking about combining your finances, here are a few pros and cons to consider.

Pros

Teamwork If you’re on the same page, with your short- and long-term financial goals synced up, and financial priorities fully aligned, there’s nothing more fulfilling than knowing you’re in this together via a complete financial union. By combining all your assets and liabilities, you’re looking beyond your personal wants and needs, and ultimately making the commitment to succeed or fail — together, as a unit. Simplicity One of the benefits of joining accounts is that it makes bill paying and record keeping a whole lot easier (particularly if you’ve established a budget). Furthermore, combining your loan accounts, such as credit cards, could help you get additional loans in the future. And if you’re making consistent, timely payments, both of your credit scores will improve. If you had kept that credit account separate, only one of you would have the benefit of a higher score, which could hurt you down the road when you apply for additional credit. Taxes Sure, filing separate returns may be beneficial in some instances. (For example, if one spouse has large medical bills and can meet the deduction threshold by considering only his or her income.) But joint filing saves time, and possibly money, too — particularly if you both work and one of you makes considerably more than the other. Combining incomes could bring the higher earnings into a lower tax bracket. Also, some tax credits are only available to a married couple when they file jointly. Talk to your accountant for additional information about minimizing the tax bite.

Cons

Attitudes Some couples may not agree on certain issues, like creating a spending/saving plan, setting retirement goals, or even how much debt they should carry. After all, opposites do attract, and in many relationships, there is, in fact, a spender and a saver. If your financial philosophies don’t align, and you’re combining your financial life with someone who has vastly different expectations, goals, systems, ideals and habits, this could bring challenges and unwelcome relationship conflict. Dependence If you’ve been managing your money on your own for years, and have been relatively successful in doing so (from choosing your 401K funds to setting a budget to planning a vacation), you may not want to relinquish your financial autonomy. Sure, there may be more bookkeeping for you to do if you keep your finances separate, and opt for more of a yours/mine/ours account type arrangement (commonly referred to as the “three pot system”), but it may ultimately provide you with the independence and comfort you desire. Disentangling You may be in la la land now, but what happens if the relationship doesn’t work out in the long run? Joint mortgages, credit cards, and bank accounts can be very difficult to separate, even with a formal court-ordered divorce decree. Please note that this Scottsdale Real Estate Blog is for informational purposes and not intended to take the place of a licensed Scottsdale Real Estate Agent. The Szabo Group offers first class real estate services to clients in the Scottsdale Greater Phoenix Metropolitan Area in the buying and selling of Luxury homes in Arizona. Award winning Realtors and Re/MAX top producers and best real estate agent for Luxury Homes in Scottsdale, The Szabo group delivers experience, knowledge, dedication and proven results. Contact Joe Szabo at 480.688.2020, info@ScottsdaleRealEstateTeam.com or visit www.scottsdalerealestateteam.com to find out more about Scottsdale Homes for Sale and Estates for Sale in Scottsdale and to search the Scottsdale MLS for Scottsdale Home Listings.

By Joe Szabo, Scottsdale Real Estate Team Why do some homes sell for a premium? Timing, for starters. An analysis of 24,000 home sales in “Zillow Talk: Rewriting the Rules of Real Estate” also reveals listings with certain keywords tend to sell for more than expected. “Bottom-tier homes described as luxurious tend to beat their expected sale price by a whopping 8.2 percent,” write co-authors Spencer Rascoff and Stan Humphries. “Top-tier homes described as captivating tend to beat theirs by 6.5 percent. That means, if your home’s estimated home value is $110,000, but your listing includes the key word ‘luxurious,’ you could pocket an extra $8,965.” If one of the following words accurately describes your home, you might want to consider adding it to your listing.

1. Luxurious

As mentioned above, lower-priced listings with the word “luxurious” sold for 8.2 percent more on average than expected. “Luxurious” signals that a home’s finishes and amenities are high-end. This is a huge selling point, particularly in this price range.

2. Captivating

Top-tier listings described as “captivating” sold for 6.5 percent more on average than expected. Unlike the word “nice,” “captivating” provides a richer, more enticing description for buyers. Plus, it’s less open to interpretation. Anything can be seen as “nice,” but “captivating” sets a high bar.

3. Impeccable

On average, listings in the bottom tier with the word “impeccable” sold for 5.9 percent more than expected. Like “captivating,” “impeccable” is a rich adjective. It also implies something about the quality of a home: The features are desirable and the home is move-in ready.

4. Stainless

“Stainless” is typically used to describe kitchens with “stainless steel appliances.” It’s in your favor to talk up these features in your listing — especially if your home is in the bottom price tier. In our analysis, lower-priced homes with the word “stainless” sold for 5 percent more on average than expected.

5. Basketball

On average, lower-priced homes with the word “basketball” sold for 4.5 percent more than expected. This may seem like an odd word to include in this list, but when you consider the context it makes sense. Among lower-priced homes, a basketball court — or even better, an indoor basketball court — is a huge selling point. While it may not stand out as much among higher-priced homes, it’s definitely worth mentioning in this price range.

6. Landscaped

It’s just as valuable to describe your yard as your house. In all price tiers, listings with the word “landscaped” sold for more than expected on average. The biggest premium was seen among lower-priced listings, which on average sold for 4.2 percent more than expected.

7. Granite

In the same vein as “stainless,” “granite” is typically used to describe countertops or another high-end home feature. Listings with the word “granite” sold, on average, for 1 to 4 percent more than expected across all price tiers.

8. Pergola

Not only should you include high-end home features in your listing description, you should also mention features not found in every home. They’ll help your listing stand out, especially if buyers are searching for homes online by keyword. The data shows mid-priced listings with the word “pergola” sold for 4 percent more on average than expected.

9. Remodel

Was your home recently remodeled? It may be worth mentioning. On average, bottom-tier listings with the word “remodel” sold for 2.9 percent more, middle-tier homes for 1.8 percent more and top-tier homes for 1.7 percent more than expected.

10. Beautiful

While beauty is in the eye of the beholder, a beautiful feature like a view may be worth noting. Lower-priced listings with the word “beautiful” sold for 2.3 percent more on average than expected.

11. Gentle

“Gentle” may seem like a weird adjective to have in a listing description. It’s typically used to describe “gentle rolling hills” or something about a home’s location. Top-tier listings with the word “gentle” sold for 2.3 percent more, on average, than expected.

12. Spotless

You may think all homes are spotless when a buyer moves in, so it’s not worth mentioning in a listing. But when it comes to lower-priced homes, cleanliness isn’t always a given. In this price range, listings described as “spotless” sold for 2 percent more on average than expected.

13. Tile

Much like “stainless” and “granite,” “tile” is a great word when it comes to describing the features of your home. A newly tiled backsplash or updated bathroom tile not only indicates a home’s aesthetic value but also sends a message to buyers that the home’s been well cared for by the current owners. Bottom-tier homes with the word “tile” in the listing sold for 2 percent more on average than expected.

14. Upgraded

On average, lower-priced listings with the word “upgraded” sold for 1.8 percent more than expected. Most buyers will agree that upgrades are a selling point. They indicate a home not only looks nice but also functions well. Spelling out which features have been updated is a good approach, so buyers have the right expectations when they see your home.

15. Updated

“Updated” sends a similar message to “upgraded.” But in addition to speaking to the quality of a home, it signals that something old has been replaced with something new. This is a great fact to communicate to potential buyers, as evidenced by the data. Mid-priced homes with “updated” in the listing sold for 0.8 percent more on average than expected. Please note that this Scottsdale Real Estate Blog is for informational purposes and not intended to take the place of a licensed Scottsdale Real Estate Agent. The Szabo Group offers first class real estate services to clients in the Scottsdale Greater Phoenix Metropolitan Area in the buying and selling of Luxury homes in Arizona. Award winning Realtors and Re/MAX top producers and best real estate agent for Luxury Homes in Scottsdale, The Szabo group delivers experience, knowledge, dedication and proven results. Contact Joe Szabo at 480.688.2020, info@ScottsdaleRealEstateTeam.com or visit www.scottsdalerealestateteam.com to find out more about Scottsdale Homes for Sale and Estates for Sale in Scottsdale and to search the Scottsdale MLS for Scottsdale Home Listings.