As your “Trusted Advisors,” The Freeman/Davis Home Team at Allen Tate Realtors is always on the lookout for news you can use, regardless of whether you are in the process of buying or selling a home. You can always get up-to-date information on Raleigh homes for sale and statistics on Raleigh real estate on our website at 
www.HomeSearchRALEIGH.com and today, I have some additional information about homeowner’s insurance. It’s a list of “do’s and don’ts that you’ll want to review, print and keep handy.
DO: Find an independent agent that will allow you to get quotes from several insurance providers.
DON’T: Buy the first policy you are offered with when shopping.
DO: Contact an insurance agent in person to tailor your policy and make sure you’re getting the best and most adequate coverage for the money you pay.
DON’T: Drop home insurance or necessary types of coverage altogether just to lower the costs.
DO: Review your deductibles and adjust them if needed to relate adequately to your financial abilities if an insurance situation takes place. Remember that higher deductibles will lower you rates.
DON’T: Raise your deductibles to the amount you will find hard to pay in case it comes to filing a claim.
DO: Speak to your insurance agent to learn if there are any homeowner’s insurance discounts provided by your insurer you are eligible for.
DON’T: Forget about updating your insurance coverage after adding square footage to your house, performing important modifications (installing ventilation or security systems), or buying expensive things that are to be kept on your property.
DO: Find a provider that will carry more types of insurance rather than only homeowners insurance. You can receive substantial discounts by having your auto, life and home insurance policies with the same carrier.
DON’T: Drop substantial amounts of liability coverage in order to save money because some day it can be really helpful and your savings can lead to serious losses if you do not have enough liability coverage.
DO: Renew your policy and avoid cancellations because it will get more expensive to renew it or get a new one if your policy was simply void without any reason.
DON’T: Drop your homeowners insurance policy in case your mortgage lender doesn’t require it anymore or you have paid off your loan.
Try to employ as many of these tips as possible and you will see that having good homeowners insurance with low rates and adequate coverage is really possible. Keep in mind that having cheap coverage can turn around to be very costly when facing an insurance situation. So try to get adequate coverage while still having your family budget in mind. Shop around and find the best policy out there to keep your house protected no matter what.
Today, we’re updating Triangle real estate sales figures and answering the “how hot will summer sales be in Raleigh-Durham” question. In an earlier blog post, I reported that there were 2,083 home closings in May for Durham, Johnston, Orange and Wake counties, up 26 percent over the same period last year, according to the Triangle Multiple Listing Service. Well the numbers are in for July and sales, unlike the outdoor temperatures, have cooled with only 1,354 closings for the month, which is a 35% dive over a two-month period. That’s also down 35% from the same period last year as closings in July 2009 in the same four counties numbered 2,052.
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