Blog - Jim Smoak

Insurance

Home Title and Concealed Carry Insurance… Huh?…

When you finance the purchase of a home, the lender will require you to purchase a title insurance policy. So, what is it, and who’s it for? Title insurance covers the insured against any home title claims that come up on your home after the loan is issued. Claims could be from a contractor’s or […]
General Real Estate, Prep To Sell

Costs to expect when selling your home

Often, when you think about what you’ll make from selling your home, you think mortgage payoff subtracted from the sale price. However, there are other expenses you will need to consider when selling your home. Here is a brief list of the primary expenses that you need to be aware of. Home Prep: Prior to […]
General Real Estate, Maintenance

Smart kitchen remodeling

A complete kitchen renovation can recover approximately 62% of the remodeling costs when your home is sold. To help ensure a good return on your kitchen remodel, planning is key. According to the National Kitchen and Bath Association, allotting six months for planning and not allowing yourself to reduce it is important. Cutting corners on […]
Prep To Sell

Fall decor tips when selling your home

Step back and ask yourself if fall decor (pumpkins, scarecrows, and other seasonal ornamentation) will make it harder to sell your home? Most staging experts agree that staging your listing with fall decor is valuable as long as you do so judiciously. However, not all holidays are exciting to everyone. The point of staging is […]

Insurance Home Title and Concealed Carry Insurance… Huh?… When you finance the purchase of a home, the lender will require you to purchase a title insurance policy. So, what is it, and who’s it for? Title insurance covers the insured against any home title claims that come up on your home after the loan is issued. Claims could be from a contractor’s or […]

General Real Estate Costs to expect when selling your home Often, when you think about what you’ll make from selling your home, you think mortgage payoff subtracted from the sale price. However, there are other expenses you will need to consider when selling your home. Here is a brief list of the primary expenses that you need to be aware of. Home Prep: Prior to […]

General Real Estate Smart kitchen remodeling A complete kitchen renovation can recover approximately 62% of the remodeling costs when your home is sold. To help ensure a good return on your kitchen remodel, planning is key. According to the National Kitchen and Bath Association, allotting six months for planning and not allowing yourself to reduce it is important. Cutting corners on […]

Prep To Sell Fall decor tips when selling your home Step back and ask yourself if fall decor (pumpkins, scarecrows, and other seasonal ornamentation) will make it harder to sell your home? Most staging experts agree that staging your listing with fall decor is valuable as long as you do so judiciously. However, not all holidays are exciting to everyone. The point of staging is […]

Prep To Sell Should you remodel before selling your home? Some homeowners are hesitant to update/remodel before selling, which is understandable, but there are a few things you should consider before making a decision. Here are some myths about remodeling to sell that homeowners should debunk before deciding. MYTH #1: Homeowners want to remodel AFTER they purchase the home – Typically, buyers can’t visualize the […]

General Real Estate The hurricane is gone; now what? With Hurricane Dorian effects on the east coast of the United States, there are a number of things homeowners need to consider when it’s time to assess material damage in the wake of a major hurricane. Here are some great tips from an article I just read. Your home has sustained damage, now what? Document […]

Insurance Is Title Insurance Worth It? Previous homeowner’s unpaid taxes can come back to haunt current homeowner. If that happens, what do you do? Without an owner’s title insurance policy, unpaid real estate taxes could come back to bite you. The key words here are OWNER’S POLICY. When you buy a home, your mortgage company will probably require you to purchase […]

Maintenance Home Warranty Facts What is a home warranty and how does it work? A home warranty extends coverage for a specified contract term; after that, the homeowner can renew or cancel the contract. How do you know if you need a home warranty? Can you afford to buy one? Your home is one of the largest purchases you’ll […]

Maintenance Maintenance and Repair Costs Homeowners Should Prepare For Having an emergency fund is a fairly well known and followed practice. The interruption of income or a family emergency that requires travel and time off from work are common issues where this practice comes in handy. However, it seems to be far less common to have a fund for household maintenance and repairs. I […]

Insurance Residential pools increase insurance risk CDC data states that summer months account for 65% of all drowning incidents. Residential pools present a significant risk to children and the liability ultimately falls on the homeowner. You and your guests should take an active role in preventing drowning related injuries. Here is a list, although not exhaustive, of things you […]

General Real Estate Selling A House With Solar Panels Solar panels are something many buyers are looking for and appraisers make note of when assessing your property, but can add a bit of complexity in the sale of the house depending on local ordinances and whether they panels are owned or leased. Make sure to have your agent mention solar panels in your listing […]

General Real Estate Some Home Renovations Can Actually Harm Resale Value Sometimes home improvements are necessary due to major issues; however, the worst thing a seller can do is make renovations that aren’t supported by the local market. Here are a few good examples that this article points out. Over-the-top kitchen remodels costing more than 25% of the home’s value do not generate much of a […]

Maintenance What is a home warranty and do you need one? I’m usually skeptical when it comes to 3rd party warranties, such as extended warranties sold by retailers of consumer electronics. Sometimes they make sense to purchase, but in my estimation, most do not.

Prep To Sell How to stage your home to sell, even with kids and clutter underfoot There are many articles providing tips on staging and decluttering. Most do a good job on outlining the statistical benefits of good staging and giving good practical how-to’s, as does this one. But this one is especially good because of it’s focus on families with kids. The author roles up her sleeves and talks […]

General Real Estate Construct your dream property or renovate an existing one? With the aging inventory of homes in the US, this decision is becoming more and more common. Should you build a new home or renovate an existing one? There are many considerations and this article lists 11 questions to get answers to which will help you qualify the best decision for your situation. All 11 […]

Prep To Sell Doing this one thing can help sell it faster Let me cut to the point of the article; this is about doing a pre-inspection. I fall in the 80/20 camp on this. I think it’s a good idea 80% of the time, but there is always 20% of the situations where it may not be a great idea (ok, maybe 90/10, but you get […]

Market Info 20 key signs that Your house value is changing The intent of this article is to show how these 20 indicators are key signs that your home may be losing value. They are and that’s true. However, the items in this article also does a GREAT job pointing out all the things that a Realtor takes into consideration when pricing a home.

Investing in Real Estate 8 Costly Missteps With Real Estate Investing Investing in real estate can be one of the best long-term investments you can make. Residential real estate investments averaged a 10-11% return over the past 20-years. However, this isn’t penny stocks and mistakes can be costly. This article covers 8 good things to keep in mind when investing in this space. A notable few […]

Insurance Know about what hurricane-related damage is covered It’s hurricane season, and we often think of needed physical prep. Ensuring that you have things like water, flashlights, extra batteries, on hand is good storm prep, but we often forget to think about th “what-if’s” if a storm hits us hard. For us who live on the coast, one of those what if’s is […]

Mortgage How to Get the Best Mortgage Rate in 2019 There’s a lot of good advise in this article, both general and specific, and I agree with almost all of it. Read the whole thing, but the two things I want to point out are listed as points #’s 3 and 6 in the article.