Grocery Shopping in 1971

[vacerator]

Homeowners insurance provides protection of catastrophic losses from fires, and acts of nature like storms and theft. Not floods, unless wind causes the flood, or you have a rider or flood insurance. Without coverage, you could be homeless. It will even pay for lodging during repairs if you suffer loss of use. Choose the deductible that best suits your bank accounts. Some entry level policies have extremely high deductibles. Insure for not only actual cash value of contents, but replacement cost of the structure adjusted for inflation.

 

[ea56]

Re:#91
YES Mike! I’s would agree that insurance can be a crap shoot, with the insurance companies usually coming out on top. But God forbid your home burns to the ground or is destroyed by some natural disaster, you’ll wish like hell that you had insurance.

As far as earthquake insurance in California we don’t have it because the premiums don’t warrant the woefully inadequate coverage that it provides.

Eddie

 

[phillymatt53]

It depends on several factors such as age of the structure, build quality, and location. My folks paid home insurance for 45 years and never once used it. House was paid off in 1992. Insurance is a scummy predatory business scheme.

That, and a ton of other "suggestions" and "mandates" that force society to Keep Paying, Milking them and making them believe they're the right thing to do.
So, that shelled out money, if it was put in the bank and saved instead, would cover some future issue needing attention.
The same goes for all those "Life Insurance" and "Car Insurance" commercials.
They instill "fear" in people (fear being a powerful subliminal marketing tool) which, if you think about it, is just some "time payment plan" out of your pocket which you could do on your own by banking it.

Cracks me up, one "auto insurance plan" on tv, the woman says: "the thermostat replacement would have costed me $2700 if I didn't have the plan"
Now tell me, when did a car thermostat cost that much to replace???
I see that you can buy them for $37 to $120 in an auto parts store.

 

[vacerator]

Well, if you want to live with out paying, you have to live in the wilderness and off the grid. Some seniors prefer to rent without the upkeep of a house. We compared the cost of a condo and association fees and staying in our house. We can hire out lawn maintenance and snow removal and repairs and it's still cheaper than renting or a condo.

 

[phillymatt53]

Well, if you want to live with out paying, you have to live in the wilderness and off the grid. Some seniors prefer to rent without the upkeep of a house. We compared the cost of a condo and association fees and staying in our house. We can hire out lawn maintenance and snow removal and repairs and it's still cheaper than renting or a condo.

A friend of mine bought a condo back in 1998 for $55,000.
He paid the mortgage off years ago.
However, the condo associations rules stated that he still must have homeowners insurance coverage on it. - Along with paying a monthly "condo fee" which cares for any "outside repairs".

As for me, I "own" my home, paid off, and don't owe anything to anybody.
And of course, I also take advantage of "senior perks" since I'm over 65.
Like RE tax freezes, utility discounts, etc.

 

[vacerator]

Rents also increase annually too, which can stress a fixed income. I remember that with my grandmother.
My mother in-law has a nice large condo and she had to pay fo a new furnace and ac, new windows, doors, and they don't clean the gutters either. They only cut the lawns and add mulch to existing trees below the sidewalk.

 

[ea56]

Our HOA just had our gutters cleaned yesterday just like they have every Fall since 1994. Every HOA is different, but I can’t imagine why they wouldn’t clean the rain gutters because clogged rain gutters can cause a whole lot of damage that costs a lot more than having the gutters cleaned and the HOA would be responsible for the repair of any water damage.

I was on the Board of Directors of our HOA for 30 years until I finally retired in October after being the President of the board for the last 15 years. So I’m very familiar with what HOA’s are responsible for and what they aren’t responsible for.

It is common practice though that in most HOA’s the windows, doors, furnace and AC are the owners responsibility, just like they would be in any other home.

Eddie

 

[wayupnorth]

I live in an Incorporated Village within the boundaries of a town. Our mill rate for property taxes is $2,10 higher than the town pays. People have tried to get me to run for the village Overseer but I am tired of doing that stuff now. It is a glorified HOA and has stricter rules that cost us more. But you basically cant do anything without a permit. Alot of rich mucky mucks buy up shorefront land, demolish what is there and build a palace to use a few weeks in the summer and think they can get away with anything, while showing off their expensive watercrafts.