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Archive for the ‘Consumer Tips’ Category

What Landlords Property Insurance Covers

September 9th, 2010 by Veronica Davis | No Comments | Filed in Consumer Tips

By Veronica Davis

Like anyone, you are probably skeptical of something that you have to pay for that you don’t need on a daily basis. Insurance is one of those things people know they should have, but don’t want to pay for it because they assume that they will never need it.

Insurance is just that — protection or insurance against the worst case scenario. While the worst case scenario may never happen with your rental property, it is better to have the insurance that you need and not need it, than to need it and not have it. The cost of the insurance is far more affordable than the cost of repairs or even total loss of the rental property.

Are you not sure what landlords property insurance is and what it costs? This type of insurance is like any other, you pay a premium that will help to protect you. Most landlords insurance covers items such as:

  1. The rental building
  2. Private structures on the property such as a garage or shed
  3. Personal property
  4. Tools
  5. Appliances
  6. Furniture
  7. Any items stored on the property

There are many different types of landlords property insurance to choose from. Each insurance provider will offer you something just a little bit different, so you should be sure to look at the fine print to see what is covered and what is not. Many companies differentiate between landlords dwelling insurance and landlords rental condo insurance.

The rental dwelling insurance will provide you with the coverage that you need if you own a rental building that is meant for one to four families. Landlord rental condominium insurance will cover you if you own a condo and rent it out. Each policy is different and may or may not cover fire or water damage, so you may need to pay for these policies on top of the basic insurance.

The bottom line is that if you own rental properties you should have landlords property insurance. You never know when something is going to come up and you’ll need a little bit of protection, or a lot. You never know when there is going to be a flood, a fire, or when you are just going to have a tenant decide to pick up and move without paying his or her rent. Having the coverage is not expensive and it will give you the peace of mind that will allow you to rent with confidence each and every time.

Author Information

Veronica Davis is a freelance writer covering an array of real estate topics. She’s has covered topics ranging from landlords property insurance to land auctions.


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Craigslist and Selling Your Stuff Online

September 6th, 2010 by Matthew C. Keegan | 1 Comment | Filed in Consumer Tips

We’ve gone into detail about how best to hold a garage, yard or estate sale on these pages, but we realize that these kind of sales aren’t always the best way to move what you own.

Online Marketplaces

Craigslist, eBay, Oodle and a handful of other websites are good places to list your stuff, especially if you don’t have a lot to sell at one time or if you’re looking to attract a wider audience.

eBay gets the most press, but you have to pay fees whenever something you own sells. Most of the others are free, but it seems that Craigslist is the best and easiest place to list something and get the most people to respond to your ad.

To that end, the following are some tips we have to offer to help you market online via Craigslist:

Open an account – Sure, you can post on Craigslist without benefit of having an account, but you won’t be able to change your ad later on. Register with Craigslist before creating your ad.

Consider your ad — One way to find out how to design an ad is to read similar ads for your city. Though Craigslist has an international reach, you’ll be posting locally which means you’ll find your city or metropolitan area and post your information to that subsite. Read ads that others have posted for ideas on what to say.

Write your ad — This is where you need to take care on what you present to people. Be as detailed about the item as possible, discussing size, color, condition and other pertinent details. Photos are very important, so take one or more pictures to let people see what you’re selling. Include contact information, but don’t include too much details if you want to avoid people showing up at your door or receiving endless phone calls. It is best to share a seldom used or throwaway email address.

Be crystal clear — If you want “X” amount of money for item, then share that information within your ad. You can always set your price slightly higher than the amount you’ll accept for it, giving you room to negotiate. Cash only means just that — be careful about agreeing to accept a check, other forms of payment or bartering.

Scams and more galore — One huge drawback for Craigslist posters are the number of scammers who frequent the site. Give out too much information and you’ll be spammed and hounded forevermore. Think twice about dealing with anyone who isn’t local — shipping adds to your cost and increases the risk that you’ll be ripped off.

Other Considerations

Is Craigslist right for everyone? No and not every product should be sold through this site although people certainly do try. Find out what works for you and then produce an ad you can live with or change later. Most ads expire within 45 days, but you can cancel your ad once your item sells.

Adv. — Are you getting ready to renovate your home? LetsRenovate.com offers lots of good tips on how to get the job done and can save you money too!


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Free GMail Phone Calls Are Here!

August 26th, 2010 by Matthew C. Keegan | No Comments | Filed in Consumer Tips, Internet

You can now make free phone calls to people in the United States and Canada, but there are a couple of catches: you must have a free GMail account and this offer is good only through the rest of the year.

Still, free anything is a welcome thing especially in the current economic climate.

Google made their announcement on Wednesday, posting the details to their GMail blog. Up until now, the only way you could contact people was if they were logged on and using GMail and you were too. But, with this new feature you can call anyone from GMail and reach them via their cell phone or landline.

Cheap Rates

Google says that they’re offering ultra-cheap calls to other countries with rates as low as 2 cents per minute to the U.K., Germany and Japan. Check out the calling rates to other countries and you’ll find additional bargains available. Yes, Google is working hard to undercut Skype, a leader in internet telephony.

Making a call is easy and is described by Google as follows:

“Dialing a phone number works just like a normal phone. Just click “Call phone” at the top of your chat list and dial a number or enter a contact’s name.”

Caller I.D.

Google explains that if you have a Google Voice phone number, calls made from Gmail will display this number as the outbound caller ID. Should you decide to do so, you can receive calls made to this number right inside Gmail.

Google hasn’t said what its rates will be after the year is up, but look for the company to remain competitive with Skype who currently charges 2.1 cents per minute plus a connection fee.

Adv. — Are you planning to renovate your home this season? Then check out LetsRenovate.com for helpful tips on how to get your job done for less money.


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Back to School: Safety Tips

August 24th, 2010 by Matthew C. Keegan | 1 Comment | Filed in Consumer Tips

Public schools are reopening up across the nation as students, parents, teachers and administrators put the long summer recess behind them. As always, the safety of students is of critical importance with millions of children taking school buses, riding bikes or walking to school.

Eight Tips

But, getting to and from school isn’t the only concern of parents who should be aware of other threats to their children’s safety and privacy. Intersections Inc., which calls itself a leading provider of consumer and corporate identity risk management services, has offered eight tips to help parents keep their children from being victimized by identity theft this school year:

1. Remind your children not to share any personal information like their home address, phone number, or Social Security numbers with strangers. Typically the first day of school is filled with lots of questions from school staff and children need to know to ask their parents first before sharing any of that information.

2. If you are a new parent with a child entering kindergarten, most schools will require a copy of that child’s birth certificate. Do not leave a copy behind. If they are collecting information for later review, ask them where this information will be stored and who will have access to it.

3. Most schools still ask for the child’s Social Security number; however, it is more of a “like to have” rather than a “must have.” This information is not always handled properly and puts your child further at risk for having their identity compromised should the information be accidentally leaked or stolen from insiders. Ask to speak to the principal if you are uncomfortable with providing the information.

4. Children are always excited to show off their brand new backpacks and supplies on the first day of school. And most backpacks nowadays include identification tags that hang on the outside that include the owner’s name and home address. Instead of making your child’s personal information easily accessible, writing their name in permanent ink somewhere on the inside of the bag is a better idea.

5. With more and more schools providing students access to computers for everyday use, it is important to teach your children how to be safe online while at school and to familiarize yourself with the school’s Acceptable Use Policy for Internet Use.

6. Stay involved with your child’s online activities. Based on a study by Grunwald Associates, an estimated 27 percent of 9-17 year olds maintained weekly blogs, web pages or other online spaces in 2008. One in five U.S. children say they do things online their parents would not approve of, according to a recent Norton Online Living Report. Make sure you monitor what your children are doing online. Review and explain the privacy policies with your child so they understand how their information can be exposed if proper security preferences are not put in place.

7. Consider using parental control software or services to help monitor what your children are doing online. Some parental control software can cost around $40 while many websites like AOL, MSN and Yahoo, offer some form of free parental controls included with their services.

8. Keep an eye out for any mail, particularly credit applications addressed to your child, or telemarketing calls asking for your child by name — this could indicate that someone has used your child’s personal information to commit identity theft.

Effective Weapons

Commenting about the school year and identity theft Intersections CEO and founder Michael Stanfield says, “Education is one of the most effective weapons against identity theft. We want to help parents understand the risks and know what to do if theft does occur.” That’s sound and timely advice as our children head off to school, tips that can save families much grief if heeded.

Source: Intersections Inc.

Adv. — Thinking about renovating your home this season? Check out LetsRenovate.com for helpful tips on how to get the job done for less.


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