When buying a Port Charlotte area home, there are a lot of boxes which need to be checked. Once you have been prequalified and your offer has been accepted, the loan approval process can begin. If you are planning on paying for your home with a mortgage, insurance coverage is a requirement. Many people don’t consider insurance quotes until they are approaching closing day – but there is a better way.
Considering Insurance Quotes
Real estate experts actually recommend soliciting insurance quotes early in the contract process, possibly even before you have an accepted agreement. Ultimately, your loan will be approved if your debt-to-income ratio falls within acceptable guidelines. In other words, the financial institution will be determining the totality of your monthly bills and payments in order to assess if you can afford the home. They will consider monthly payments such as car payments, credit cards, and your projected mortgage, taxes and insurance payments.
It is important to understand as soon as possible what your insurance premium will be, in order to be able to correctly calculate your total monthly payments. You cannot simply estimate this number based on similar homes or even what the current homeowner is paying. Some people are grandfathered into loan programs that no longer exist, or may have discounts you are not eligible for. The home next door might have a much lower rate because they have a new roof, or the home may have recently been rezoned and placed in a flood zone. These factors can significantly affect the monthly premium. For those prospective homeowners who are cutting it close with their debt-to-income ratio, an insurance premium may actually be able to stop the deal. That is why it is so important to get a rate quote as early in the process as possible.
Seeking insurance quotes early in the contractual process can turn a potential deal-breaker into a solvable issue. For instance, if the insurance quote is higher than expected due to an old roof, you can try to negotiate a solution with the seller, or even work with your insurance broker to find an insurance program which will allow you to have a lower premium as long as the roof is fixed soon after the sale.
Standard real estate contracts have established contingency periods during which the home buyer can perform due diligence and cancel the contract without penalty if necessary. The inspection contingency time frame in Florida is generally 10-15 days. This gives a homeowner the perfect opportunity to solicit insurance quotes. This gives you plenty of time to address any unexpected insurance issues before you invest 45 days in the home buying process.
Preliminary insurance quotes may also work in your family. Consider that the home is older, and a typical insurance policy would reflect that fact – and the mortgage company may use an inflated estimate to calculate your ratio. However, if you can inform the local insurance broker that the windows have been replaced, a security system was installed, and hurricane shutters were added, this could produce a much lower quote which fits easily into your budget. Estimating insurance premiums is acceptable when you are looking at homes, but once you are in the offer process, call Ezzi Insurance Advisors for a quote. We understand that the deal still has hurdles to clear and it may fall through, but we are happy to help you secure it if possible.
The insurance pros at Ezzi Insurance Advisors are proud to provide Port Charlotte, North Port and surrounding area residents with homeowners insurance, flood insurance, car insurance and more.
