Don’t Miss Doggie Photo Day on April 14

You’re invited to Doggie Photo Day on April 14 in Viking Park! Get a free picture of you and your dog and enjoy treats and prizes.  

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Today, I’m joined by miniature Schnauzers Trixie and Savannah, (and a guest appearance by my daughter Hannah) and we want to invite you to Doggie Photo Day here in Viking Park-Porter Ranch. Join us on Saturday, April 14, from 9 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. There will be a professional photographer, prizes, donuts, coffee, and treats for your four-legged friends.

There will be costumes for you and your dog. You can get a complimentary picture of just your dog or take a family portrait.

 Join us on Saturday, April 14 from 9 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. for Doggie Photo Day!

We’ll also be raffling off prizes every 30 minutes, including: a gift basket from Nectar of the Dogs winery, a local winery that donates a portion of their proceeds to local pet charities; a custom graffiti dog collar by Debbie Wubben, a local artist; and a $30 gift card from Petitude, a local pet store. So make sure you come visit us this Saturday, April 14, and bring your four-legged friends! We look forward to seeing you! For more information click here.

What Should You Be Discussing With Your Insurance Agent?

There are a few factors that can affect your homeowners insurance policy in ways you might not expect, which is why you should discuss these things with your insurance agent. 

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Now more than ever in our Southern California region, it’s important that you talk with your insurance agent about how much coverage you have in case disaster strikes. For Zachary Schneiderman of Schneiderman Insurance Agency, most people he works with or who call him for a quote just end up asking him to match their current coverage. The problem with this, though, is your current coverage isn’t always correct, and a lot of people don’t know how much insurance they really need to rebuild their home. According to Zach, the purpose of having a homeowners insurance policy is based on the idea that if something was to happen, how can an agent such as himself replace your home as it was and get you back to normal? As time goes by and you make upgrades and renovations to your home, those changes change the value of what it would cost to rebuild that home. That’s why it’s never a bad time to call your agent and ask them to give you an updated cost estimation of your home and verify that you have the right amount of coverage. Another issue to consider is how long you’ll be out of your home because of how long it takes to rebuild. Depending on the size of your loss, you can be out of your home longer than expected. It doesn’t seem like it would take that long to rebuild a home, but for a large loss, you’re looking at a rebuild of anywhere from 18 to 24 months.

 It’s never a bad time to call your agent and ask them to give you an updated cost estimation of your home.

Another problem is a lot of insurance carriers out there only offer 12-month loss of use coverage. If you have to move your whole family, that might not be enough to rent the kind of home you need while your original home is being rebuilt. Oftentimes in this case, people end up paying out of pocket. Also keep in mind that when you have a loss, you’re still paying the mortgage on your home—the insurance company just pays for the additional expenses you wouldn’t normally incur.

If your home is older, building code changes can also affect your insurance policy. The standard coverage of a homeowners insurance policy is meant to rebuild the home in the manner it was built. If you don’t have a policy with sufficient code upgrade coverage, you’ll have to pay out of pocket to make certain changes. The costs of these changes can be substantial, so make sure you have coverage that allows you to get by without paying more than what your deductible was in the first place.

If you have any other insurance questions or you’d like to have your policy reviewed, you can give the Schneiderman Insurance Agency a call at (818) 322-4744.

If you have any real estate needs, feel free to give us a call or shoot us an email anytime. We’d be glad to help you.

Interest Rate Changes to Be Aware of in 2018

Though interest rates have risen, the introduction of new lending programs and the loosening of lending guidelines mean now is a great time to buy or sell a home. 

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One of the most common questions we’re getting right now is how interest rates are affecting buyers and sellers in our market, so I’ve once again brought in our preferred lender Brandon Moss to shed some light on this topic. 

Interest rates have gone up by roughly 0.5% since the start of 2018, and they’re still sitting in the mid-4% range for 30-year fixed mortgages. Stocks have also continued to hit all-time highs, and the 10-year yield nearly reached 3%, which is the highest point it’s been in four years. 

According to Brandon, this means it’s a great time for buyers and sellers to get off the fence while affordability is at an all-time high. If you’re a seller, you can get top dollar now while buyers can still qualify for higher-priced homes and afford low interest rate payments.  

There have been some notable changes to conforming loans that are advantageous to buyers. Their guidelines have become more flexible, and their limit was raised from $634,000 to $679,000. This helps buyers qualify for higher loan amounts with less of a down payment and, due to rising prices in LA County, increases their purchasing power. 

It’s a great time for buyers and sellers to get off the fence.

If you’re a buyer, Fairway Mortgage is offering some new programs this year that you might be interested in, including programs designed for self-employed buyers who can’t show enough income to qualify, reduced documentation programs, and reduced down payment programs.

Though interest rates have gone up, the introduction of these new programs and the loosening of lending guidelines has opened up more doors for buyers and made now a great time to get a loan and buy a house.

“You’d be surprised what you might qualify for nowadays and how easy it might be to get a loan,” Brandon says.

If you have any lending questions for Brandon, you can call him at (818) 256-4330. If you have real estate questions for me or you’re thinking of buying or selling a home, feel free to give me a call or send me an email. I’d be happy to help you.