Miami Home Insurance Tips
Read these 5 Miami Home Insurance Tips tips to make your life smarter, better, faster and wiser. Each tip is approved by our Editors and created by expert writers so great we call them Gurus. LifeTips is the place to go when you need to know about Miami Real Estate tips and hundreds of other topics.
Miami Home Warranties
Did you know that new homes often come with a home warranty now? In fact, if you are buying a new construction home you should expect at least a one year home warranty from the builder. If that isn't offered, you may want to consider a different location, home or neighborhood. You should seek the following in relation to your Miami home warranty:
- Get all warranty information and documentation issued by contractors or subcontractors who worked on the house “systems” including air conditioning, appliance installation, roofing and plumbing.
- Make sure all of the warranty cards have been filled out and sent in to your manufacturers.
- Find out from your developer if they have insurance policies under any of the Home Warranty Insurance programs available.
- Keep all of your documentation in a fire proof box.
Homeowners Insurance
Homeowner's insurance can be difficult to obtain in some areas, so you should start working on this right away. Homeowners insurance for a Florida home can be complex. A mortgage lender will require that you have a homeowner's policy before they will commit the money to close the sale. Insurance companies scrutinize both the buyer and the property.
The buyer must have good credit. The insurer would also like the buyer to be someone who does not have a history of submitting a lot of insurance claims. Ideally, the property should have had no insurance claims made against it in the last five years.
Enforcing Home Warranties
If you own a new construction Miami home and you have problems getting repairs even when your home is still under warranty, you still have recourse.
- Make sure you notify your builder or developer of any construction flaws within the allotted warranty period, in writing, registered mail. You need proof that you submitted your claim within your warranty period, so make sure you get a return receipt on the mail you send.
- If the developer fails to contact you and rectify the situation, look in your records and contact the insurance company that holds their Home Warranty insurance policy. Follow their instructions to the letter when submitting your claim. They often provide arbitration or negotiation services to help you settle the dispute and get any home repairs to which you are entitled.
- If the developer does not have insurance and continues to avoid you, you can contact your local Office of Building Code Compliance or Contractor Licensing Board to request and submit a formal complaint. If you do this you will need all of your supporting documentation, including the warranty, information about the problem and copies of all letters and correspondence (including return receipts.) Your government office will then enforce the agreement or take further action against the builder/developer.
In cases like this, you see why it pays to be organized and careful when purchasing your Miami home. Make sure you get copies of all home warranty records in relation to your home and that you protect yourself by making sure everyone lives up to their promises.
Property Insurability in Florida
Insurers are particularly sensitive to claims that have been made for water damage, an issue with many Florida homes. Follow one of our useful Miami Real Estate Tips, investigate the insurability of the property during the inspection process.
This way, if you find out that it's going to cost more than you expected to insure the property you can try to negotiate some form of compensation from the seller.
Developer Insurance
Here is a great piece of information to note. If you have a new construction Miami home and your 1 year home warranty has expired, don't panic when something goes wrong. If your developer has a policy under any of the Home Warranty Insurance programs, you may have more coverage than you think!
For instance the builder usually provides a special express warranty for “workmanship” on the home for one year but their policy will cover home systems like air conditioning, roof systems etc. for up to two years, and they should have bought insurance to cover the overall structure for another eight years. These warranty insurance companies will then cover any problems if the developer fails to live up to their agreement.
These programs also offer arbitration for builders and homeowners who get into disputes. It is a good idea to hook up with a builder or developer that has insurance like this. You know you'll be protected for any new construction Miami home pitfalls
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