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• Insurance - Here we go again
• A Recent Walk
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I’ve written before on the difficulty of getting insurance and how the insurance companies have changed their requirements (circuit breakers vs. fuses, etc.) Now the insurance companies require an inspection and will take about 5 days to set that up. So the buyer gets insurance at today’s market value. But what occurred to me was all of the homes in our area and the owner has owned their home for at least 5 years, if not longer. At what value are they insured?

I contacted Rose Seitz of Allstate Insurance. Rose has helped many of my clients over the years and I posed the question to her; how do you keep up with inflation in determining replacement costs on homes. Rose wrote back saying "you should review your own home policy at least every other year to make sure you have adequate coverage at "replacement cost". Replacement cost means replacing the home at today’s cost with like materials, up to the limit on the policy and is not depreciated. Most companies no longer offer an "unlimited" replacement guarantee and have replaced unlimited with "Extended". The "extended" replacement means the dwelling coverage plus a percentage over that would be covered. Allstate currently offers 50% extended coverage, so a home that was insured for $300,000 would actually be covered up to $450,000 as long as the homeowner had kept them appraised of the changes made to the home of substantial value.

Another very important coverage to make sure a policy carries is Building Code Upgrades. This coverage pays for the excess cost of bringing your house to current code in the event of a loss. A good example would be copper plumbing. If your home has steel galvanized plumbing, the cost difference between the two is a code upgrade.

Lenders seem to be appraising rebuilding costs between $275 and $375 per square foot in the Berkeley/Oakland/Albany area. Most often I see $300 to $325 per square foot, so the lender will require at least that much coverage to close an escrow. For those who have owned their homes a few years, it’s a good idea to make sure you are insured around these numbers. The more unique the home, the higher the number should be.

If you are unsure of your square footage to calculate rebuilding costs, give me a call. I can gather this information from the county recorders office.

And for income property:

1. Keep your property insured to replacement costs value,
2. Comply with insurance companies recommendations quickly,
3. carry high deductibles,
4. Do not turn in small claims (the long-term increase in rates will offset the short-term gain from the claim).

On a recent walk to the Little Farm at Tilden Park, we saw 4 piglets (just a few weeks old) and their Mom; baby calves; goats and lambs jumping in the air. Spring has definitely arrived at the farm. Check in with Farmer Stanley for information on his prized Hen. He might even have some extra fresh eggs to hand out. (Tilden Park Map and Information)

And still one of the most beautiful walks is Inspiration at Tilden at Sunset. An easy 3 miles will keep you in shape and give you inspiration for yet another day.

(To find Inspiration Point: Once you are in the park, take Shasta Road to where it joins with Wildcat Canyon Road near the Brazil Building. Continue on Wildcat Canyon Road until you come to the Inspiration Point parking lot on the left side of the road. You'll pass the Botanical Garden along the way.)

Diane@DianeVerducci.com | 510-654-1280 ext. 449

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This in not intended as a solicitation if your property is currently listed with another agent. Diane Verducci and The GRUBB Co. believe all information to be reliable, but assumes no legal responsibility for its accuracy.