Before You Leave Home...

The last thing you want to do while you're on a trip is to worry about someone burglarizing your home. Use this checklist to add some peace of mind to your travel plans.

  • Ask a trusted friend - to pick up your mail and newspaper and keep the yard free of trash and advertisements.
  • Stop your mail but maybe not your newspaper - you can easily handle this online by going to the US Postal Service's Hold Mail Service. A recent story implicated an employee from a major newspaper who was passing customer hold requests to burglars.
  • Don't post about your trip on Facebook and Twitter until you return - some burglars actually look for this type of announcement to schedule their activities.
  • Do notify police and/or neighborhood watch - especially if you're going to be gone for more than just a few days. Let your monitoring service know when you'll be gone and if someone will be checking on your home for you.
  • Light timers make it look like someone is home - use several set for different times to better simulate someone at home.
  • Do unplug certain appliances - TVs, computers, toaster ovens that use electricity even when they're off and to protect them from power surges.
  • Don't hide a key - burglars know exactly where to look for your key and it only takes them a moment to check under the mat, above the door, in the flower pot or in a fake rock.

These easy-to-handle suggestions may protect your belongings while you’re gone while adding a level of serenity to your trip.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Cost of Waiting to Buy in Both Price and Interest Rates

Image
Have you ever been shopping on a website where you were looking at something that was on sale?   You were interested in it but there wasn't a sense of urgency and maybe, you had a lot going on and didn't get back to it for a few days.   When you did go back to the website, the price on the item had returned to its regular price. How did you feel?   Did you go ahead and purchase it for the current price?   How did that make you feel knowing that if you had acted more decisively, you would have saved money and had the product by now? In 2021, homes across the United State went up 19.1% on average.   There were some markets where the prices soared 30 to 40%.   Fortunately, last year the mortgage rates did remain relatively stable but that isn't the situation this year, in 2022. At the end of 2021, economists from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, felt like prices would go up around 7% for 2022.   The Mortgage Bankers Association and the Home Price Expectation Survey
Keep reading

Your Refund Could be the Difference

Image
One of the silver linings to filing your income tax return is finding out that you are going to receive a refund. If you happen to be one of these fortunate taxpayers, your next decision is what to do with it. With the average tax refund around $3,000, it could be the difference that makes a home a reality sooner rather than later. Many would-be buyers think it takes 10% or more down payment to purchase a home, but actually, it can be much less. There are VA and USDA mortgages that have no down payment for qualified buyers. FHA has a 3.5% down payment program and FNMA has 3% down payment mortgages for qualified creditors. Closing costs for originating new mortgages can easily range from two to three percent of the purchase price but most lenders will allow the seller to pay part or all of them based on the agreement in the sales contract. While the average tax refund might not cover the down payment on the median price home, it certainly helps. Your refund could make it as s
Keep reading

In Search of a Big Mortgage

Image
The Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac loan limits are adjusted annually to keep up with cost of living but with the appreciation experienced in many markets, it may not be enough. When the conforming loan limit is not enough, qualified buyers can turn to a jumbo loan. The maximum loan limit on conforming, conventional loans for 2022 is $625,000 for a single-family home but is increased up to $937,500 for designated high price areas.   The underwriting guidelines for conforming loans are consistent with regards to things like minimum down payment, private mortgage insurance, debt-to-income ratio, minimum credit score and cash reserves required. Jumbo loans are loans more than the FNMA maximum limits and are considered non-conforming loans.   This allows lenders to set their own requirements on maximum loan amount, minimum required credit score, maximum debt-to-income ratio, and minimum down payment. The rates paid on the jumbo loans may be the same as conforming loan rates.   It might so
Keep reading