Kerry Veach

Thousands of northwest Florida home owner‘s children will be heading for college during the next few weeks, and they’ll typically take a variety of expensive personal possessions with them. If your kids are joining (or returning to) the ranks of college students, you’ll have a little peace of mind knowing that if those possessions are stolen – or lost in a fire – they may be (at least partially) covered by your home owner’s policy.

If your child stays in a dormitory, most personal possessions are covered under your home owner or renter insurance policies. Be aware of the fact that some policies limit the amount of insurance for off-premises belongings to 10% of the total amount of coverage for personal possessions.

Computers, electronic equipment, and jewelry may also be subject to coverage limits under a standard home owners policy. If the limits are too low for your needs, you can buy a special personal property floater or an endorsement for these items. There are also stand-alone insurance policies for computers and cell phones.

Students who live off campus are likely not covered by their parents’ home owners policy and may need to purchase their own renters insurance. If your kids will be living off campus, check with your insurance company to see if your policy extends off-campus.

Remind your kids that they should take steps to protect their possessions.

• Lock doors: Even if it’s just a trip down the hall, students should lock their door and take the key with them.
• Leave expensive jewelry at home: It’s not worth risking losing these items to a thief.
• Engrave electronic items: Engraving laptops, televisions and other electronic equipment with an easy-to-remember identifying number can help police track them if they’re stolen.
• Don’t leave belongings unattended: This is especially true for laptops. NEVER leave laptops unattended in any public place, including the library, study lounges or dining halls.

Whether your kids are attending college locally, or heading away from the northwest part of the “Sunshine State,” help them take the steps necessary to keep themselves – and their belongings – safe. And if you’re thinking of buying or selling a home in Panama City Beach or Destin, the Veach Team is prepared to help you find the Florida home of your dreams. Contact us today, and let us show you why “Life is a Beach” here in beautiful Destin! And don’t forget to “LIKE” us on Facebook – we’d love to talk with you.

If you’re like a lot of northwest Florida home owners, you may have been a little confused (and concerned!) by the brouhaha surrounding both the recent debt ceiling debates and the subsequent reduction of the US credit rating. We were. Taking a cue from Keeping Current Matters, we want to take a moment to talk a little about the possible impact the downgrade of the credit rating will have on mortgage interest rates.

Mortgage rates normally run parallel to the country’s Treasury bonds. When many people are buying Treasury bonds, the return on those bonds decreases. If less people are interested in buying bonds, then the return on those bonds must increase, in order to draw more buyers. If bond returns increase or decrease, mortgage rates normally do the same.

Some experts feel that the downgrade in the country’s credit rating will cause people to see greater risk, and therefore be less likely to invest in US Treasury bonds. That would necessitate returns to push upward; any investor tends to seek higher returns, as compensation for the perceived greater risk. If that happens, mortgage rates will probably increase.

Others believe the exact opposite is likely to happen. If people think the US is struggling financially, they may question the entire world economy. If they do, there’s a possibility that they might still trust the US bonds over other investments. If that occurs, Treasury bond returns would decrease as demand increases. Mortgage interest rates may actually soften in this scenario.

Again, no one knows for sure what will happen. Rates could go up, go down or stay relatively unchanged. If you would like to know what interest rates are doing locally, contact me for a personalized quote.

If you’re thinking of buying or selling a home in Panama City Beach or Destin, the Veach Team is prepared to help you find the Florida home of your dreams. Contact us today, and let us show you why “Life is a Beach” here in beautiful Destin! And don’t forget to “LIKE” us on Facebook – we’d love to talk with you.

Cost-conscious northwest Florida home owners want to do two things. First, we want to reduce costs for repairs and upgrades. And we absolutely want to protect the value of our homes. Thanks to houselogic.com, you can accomplish both goals with five simple home improvement projects. Each costs less than $25, and can save you thousands in future repairs.

Look for damage from termites or carpenter ants. It’s really critical that you check your property and foundation regularly to avoid problems caused by termites or carpenter ants. Here in Florida, if you have your home on an annual termite bond, pest inspectors will look for damage during their annual inspection; they won’t renew the bond until the damage is repaired. Remember, you can easily avoid these problems by moving debris away from the home.

Rain, rain, go away. Did you know that one of the most common places for water damage is your bathroom? When grout breaks down, water can easily get behind the tiles, causing them to come loose. An easy solution is to re-grout, caulk, and use a sealant on bathroom tile, and the surrounding fixtures.

Clean those gutters. If the siding under a gutter is stained, that means it’s overflowing, which can cause structural damage. Overgrown vegetation on gutters can also cause clogging. Trimming trees and vines away from the house and cleaning your gutters regularly offers many a lot of advantages, and it minimizes the risk for potentially costly repairs down the road.

Check for rusting roof flashings. All flashings deteriorate over time, and that can allow water penetration. With our high humidity and proximity to the Gulf of Mexico’s salt water, flashings in this area tend to rust a lot faster than they do in many other parts of the country. The result of rusty flashings? Possibly very expensive damage to the underlying roof structure. For under $25, you can replace roof flashings, or apply sealant to the problem area.

Seal the deck. If they’re not properly maintained, decks are highly susceptible to the effects of exposure to the elements. Once wood rots, it’s much more likely to be infested by termites and other little damaging beasties. You can use an inexpensive deck sealant and easily prevent future damage.

Although the weather here in the northwest part of the “Sunshine State” is always terrific, summer is a great time to take care of those small repairs that can help you to avoid large headaches (and repair bills!) later. And if you’re thinking of buying or selling a home in Panama City Beach or Destin, the Veach Team is prepared to help you find the Florida home of your dreams. Contact us today, and let us show you why “Life is a Beach” here in beautiful Destin! And don’t forget to “LIKE” us on Facebook – we’d love to talk with you.

Photo: Lucas Allen