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Posted over 8 years ago

What Real Estate Agents Should Know About Homeowners Insurance

Realtors and homeowners insurance agents can have a mutually beneficial relationship. Every person is required to have homeowners insurance if they have not completely paid off their mortgage. Whether there is a mortgage or not it is important to have homeowners insurance so one of the biggest investments is protected. Having insurance makes sure that your home can be repaired or rebuilt if the worst happens. There are certain things that a realtor should know about homeowners insurance as a majority of sales with include this payment in the mortgage.

Have An Independent Agent At Your Disposal

Having a qualified and proficient independent homeowners insurance agent can help a homeowner save money with each mortgage payment. Working with an agent that you have in the past will help streamline the sale of the house. Breaks in communication can move the closing dates back weeks or even months. Some agents will even pay for the leads that a real estate agent has as far as those who need homeowners insurance. An agent who takes care of your client can make your client’s experience better and it reflects well on you as their realtor. This also ups the chances of the same people purchasing or selling their next home with you.

Location Specifics

Homes that are in flood zones and a mortgage is taken out are required to purchase flood insurance. Flood insurance can be extremely expensive so checking on the area of the homes you are showing is important. This monthly payment can mean the difference between defaulting on a home versus paying off a home quietly. If an area is prone to sinkholes it might be best to avoid it as the discovery of a sinkhole can decrease the value of the home immediately after it is discovered. This is a common problem in Florida as sinkholes are quite prevalent.

Prior Claim History

If a person has made numerous claims with old insurance providers or the property has had claims in the past then options for homeowners insurance might be more difficult. The person will have to go to a less traditional company that might have higher rates as the main companies will not insure these people. Even the old property owner’s insurance claim history can have a big impact on the insurance of the new owners. This is because some places have more susceptibility to others even if it is in the same general area.

Know Who They Have For Car Insurance

Many insurance companies give discounts if you add a homeowners policy to an auto or other types of insurance. These discounts can be steep so this information is important to find out before you recommend a homeowners insurance agent. There will be those who have smaller insurance company policies that do not carry homeowners insurance so you might have to still recommend an independent agent.

Knowing things about each part of a home sale is the best way to walk a buyer through it and help them feel like they are taken care of in the process. Happy home buyers are more likely to give a real estate agent a call when they list their home or want to buy another home. A knowledgeable agent is an efficient agent. 


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