Insurance. Insurance is essential because with so much money invested in your assets, particularly a home it would be very poor planning to not protect them. Life doesn't always go the way we plan it so it makes sense to have adequate protection, look at as a form of risk management, primarily used to hedge against the risk of potential financial loss.

In relation to real estate you want to make sure you are protected with both buildings/structures are adequately insured, as well as the contents.

Building insurance.

Discounts are available for things like.

1. By placing your buildings and contents insurance with the same insurer you can receive a discount on your premium.

2. No claims discount - Just like a motor policy you can receive a discount for a claim free record.

3. Security - If you have a house alarm you may be entitled to a discount.

4. Neighbourhood Watch - Being part of an official Neighbourhood Watch scheme can entitle you to a further discount.

Insurance, points to consider.

Wide range of cover, you can choose from a range of policies that cover a variety of homes from one bedroom houses to large country mansions. or select your own level of cover.

Contents insurance.

Many people choose to combine their home and contents insurance as this is often less expensive than having two separate policies.

There are many types of house insurance policies that you can choose from and only you can say which policy is going to suit you best. It is probably wise to have the most coverage that you can comfortably afford so in the event that something happens to your home and property you won't be left financially wiped out.

Selling real estate, there are some rules to selling real estate that will put you ahead, read more...

Insurance, read the fine print.

Take the time to read the fine print as there can be exclusions on some policies, and you don't want to discover that there were details about your insurance policy that were unclear when you are making a claim.

For example on contents insurance policies you may be offered 2 choices of insurance Indemnity or replacement/reinstatement insurance.

When you think you have found the best offer you can then still phone the other insurance companies and ask them if they can give you a better rate.

This demonstration should show you the power of shopping around which is so much easier thanks to the internet; the plan is that your insurance premiums will be a lot less each year, because you shopped around to start with.

Speaking of which if you are shopping around for a real estate agent, the best place to shop around is right here, read more...

As stated at the beginning, insurance is just another one of the expenses you will have as part of being a real estate owner, but as you have worked so hard to obtain your assets, it is worth while to protect them.

Buying real estate, what are some of the benefits of buying property, read more...

Real estate refinancing.

Today’s competitive home lending market makes refinancing much easier than in the past. There are many reasons
to consider refinancing. Perhaps your financial circumstances have changed, you have started a new job or are
dissatisfied with your existing lender. Maybe your current mortgage no longer suits your needs.

For example, if you took out a mortgage on a new home when interest rates were high, it would be to your
advantage to look into refinancing when interest rates fall - not only will you save money over the life of the
mortgage, but you can reduce the length of the term as well as your monthly repayments.

You can also refinance a loan to have more available cash. This is a situation where you refinance the loan for a
higher amount of money - this means that you will owe more money than you originally borrowed and that you may lose
the low interest rate you had.

Refinancing can also be used to consolidate other debts which may have higher interest rates such as credit cards debts or car loans.

Refinancing takes time and costs money. Be clear about why you want to refinance. Decide the type of loan you want, list the required features and do your sums to make sure you won’t be worse off in the long-term.

If you are considering refinancing approach it in a similar light to applying for a whole new home loan.

If you would like some free advice on applying for a home loan, read more here...

Get a cash refund on your agents selling commission

At ref real estate we offer a real estate service with a genuine difference.

We organize for you a cash refund on your real estate agents selling commission.

We are paid a referral fee by the real estate agents, but the difference is we give you 75% of what we have been paid back as a refund.

We don't charge any fee for our service and we help you to choose the most suitable agent to sell with.

We are gathering data on real estate agents from all over Australia, so we can give you some insider knowledge on your local real estate agents before you list your property for sale plus you have the added bonus of a real cash refund.

We are members of the NSW real estate institute and recommend agents who are members of the following real estate institutes.

Call us now
1300 729 540

Or simply search for the real estate agents you want to interview and fill in quick contact form