Disqus - Latest Comments for tinagleisner

Re: Did You or Your Business Suffer a Denied Claim? The Real Problem May Have Started Before the Loss

tinagleisner — Fri, 27 Mar 2026 04:27:54 -0000

You say policyholders should make sure they understand their policy but honestly, that is next to impossible. Everyone focuses on the quote cost and there aren't any details to explain the coverage ... it's like buying a car by reviewing the glossy brochure without ever seeing the car, sitting in or driving it. The details are in the policy documents which you don't get until you've purchased the policy & then it's almost impossible to read. My last policy they told me to review online - I said no, I wanted a printed copy which took about 2 months to get. Then try reading it - it comes in 10, 20 or more sections cross referenced so it's a chore to collate & a lot of information is replaced by state rules? It's a nightmare in my opinion, to keep homeowners ignorant!

As for insurance agents, some who've been in the business for 20+ years are fairly knowledgeable and otherwise they are clueless. When my entire house flooded and I was 1200 miles away, I asked my agent to send me the policy - she sent me a stupid 8-10 page glossy marketing piece ... showing me she was unqualified for her job.

And even when I read & write my own summary of coverage, you get a continuous stream of changes that it's impossible to keep track. What we really need is a universal template like Medicare supplemental insurance that codifies exactly the basic coverage you get regardless of state or insurance company. Then homeowners would know their basic coverage & be able to spend more time picking extra coverage.

Re: Navigating Property Insurance Claims: Essential Insights for Policyholders

tinagleisner — Fri, 10 May 2024 14:45:36 -0000

This is a great book as it clearly, with lots of examples, shows how insurance companies fail to deliver on their promise. What it lacks though, are guidelines & advice for homeowners with smaller ($50,000 to $200,000) claims.

Re: Insurances Estimates

tinagleisner — Sat, 21 Sep 2019 12:02:21 -0000

Surprised that homeowners are being asked to get estimates. With my Allstate claim last year, the adjuster went out to review the damage. He took estimates & basically the entire estimate was based on linear and/or square ft for drywall, insulation, baseboard, tile floor, etc.

Re: Redefining Banking For Women. Because It's Smart Business.

tinagleisner — Wed, 06 Mar 2019 06:39:54 -0000

PS Do you also go to FinCon?

Re: Redefining Banking For Women. Because It's Smart Business.

tinagleisner — Wed, 06 Mar 2019 06:39:40 -0000

Miriam, Liked your presentation & even more, Strands software but having trouble finding US bank where I can use it ... so any help appreciated (Huntington requires you live in one of their states)

Re: How to Successfully Navigate the Mortgage Process

tinagleisner — Tue, 26 Feb 2019 10:41:35 -0000

You have to scrutinize every lender & find the hidden problems. With Navy Federal CU, they advertised a low 4.125 rate on their website ... and it took 2 calls before I uncovered the fact that this was only true if you put 30 (or 35) percent down which noone does. They also advertise no PMI and that's not true. They simply add the PMI into their rate & make you pay it for the life of the loan where otherwise, you can stop paying PMI after you have built up 20% equity.

Re: A Homeowner’s Journey From Despair to Hope

tinagleisner — Tue, 17 Jul 2018 16:18:28 -0000

What a wonderful story & it's amazing that Unison was willing to take the risk when no other lender would help Mike out. This is a truly inspirational story & one you & the entire Unison team should be very proud of ... especially in today's world when it feels like all anyone wants is a quick buck whether they deliver on their commitments or not.

Re: What You Need To Know About A Positive Mindset When All Things Are New — Path of Presence - Lifestyle Blog to Inspire Personal Growth and Empowerment

tinagleisner — Wed, 27 Jun 2018 03:51:01 -0000

Hoping to travel within the next year so these tips will be helpful. Thanks for sharing them ...

Re: Money Changes After Marriage: 5 Things All Brides Need To Know

tinagleisner — Wed, 27 Jun 2018 03:49:05 -0000

In the throes of a divorce, I can only say YES, YES & Yes you need to learn how to manage your finances on all fronts!

Re: Visiting Ubud’s Tegalalang Rice Terraces | Bali Itinerary & Travel Guide

tinagleisner — Wed, 27 Jun 2018 03:36:03 -0000

What fun combining a great dress with a beautiful landscape. Reminds me of the rice fields I saw when visiting Vietnam ...

Re: One man’s medicine is another boy’s poison

tinagleisner — Tue, 19 Jun 2018 02:41:28 -0000

That's scary & I don't think it's a good idea to teach a young child they need to take medicine of any sort ... as that's potentially the beginning of an addiction.

Re: Half-Day Trip to Incheon from Incheon Airport

tinagleisner — Mon, 18 Jun 2018 09:56:32 -0000

When you've got a long layover, it is fun to visit the local city & these are certainly good ideas. Thanks for sharing ...

Re: What These 7 Cities Are Doing to Promote Homeownership

tinagleisner — Tue, 12 Jun 2018 16:06:38 -0000

Fascinating topic & one which I know little about. What's interesting is these are all cities with good job prospects so it feels like these programs might be meant to attract (or keep) new/younger employees versus the general population. It's also fascinating to see the range of programs offered as I'm trying to understand the benefits, along with the inefficiencies & redundant costs of 50 states developing similar programs in parallel ... given the lack of Fed support for anything besides political (I'll leave the rest unsaid).

Re: 9 Surprising Things That Decrease the Value of Your Home

tinagleisner — Sun, 10 Jun 2018 13:27:24 -0000

Ben, I was intrigued by the title so had to read. Never heard the comment about terracotta so that was fun reading & other items all made sense, although in New England there are still lots of houses built in the early 1900s that don't have a garage so I think it also depends on what's common in the neighborhood where you live

Re: How to Prepare Your Home Before You Sell It

tinagleisner — Tue, 29 May 2018 18:12:01 -0000

Was just talking to a friend over lunch about getting her home ready to list so I'm going to forward a link to this article. Love the word "neutralize" as it's new & different from the normal talk about staging homes for sale ... and I think decluttering deserves to be called out separately as it's soooo important. Sometimes I tell people it's just phase 1 of packing, to decide what can be donated & what to move but you won't need it until you arrive in your new home.

Re: What You Need to Know About Buying a Home In a Rising Rate Environment

tinagleisner — Tue, 22 May 2018 21:49:27 -0000

We got a variable rate mortgage for our first house and I will NEVER, ever do that again. In under 2 years, a new fixed mortgage had a lower interest rate and thankfully we sold the house after 3 years due to a company transfer.

My preference now is 20% down, 30 yr fixed and then I try to pay more each month towards principal, so that I'm able to pay off a loan in roughly 15 years (but I don't use a formal program because they charge for something that isn't necessary & gives you less benefit too).

Re: 5 Interesting Ways to Increase the Value of Your Home

tinagleisner — Tue, 22 May 2018 21:28:50 -0000

Great tips Benjamin. In 2005-6, we did a lot of kitchen updates like granite countertops & new cabinet hardware. I will always remember one women who said after she saw her new kitchen (countertops) "if I knew my kitchen could look this good, I'd have stayed here".

PS Looking at a new house & 2 things I'll tell them to leave on the floor so I can donate to Habitat ReStore are the bathroom mirrors & the closet wire shelves which I hate.

Re: Is 2018 a Good Time to Get a Home Equity Loan or HELOC?

tinagleisner — Wed, 02 May 2018 15:07:50 -0000

Thanks for the reminder about the different treatment for hone equity loans with the recent changes to the tax laws. I have a friend who mentioned recently that they were trying to switch from a HELOC to a refi now that interest rates are going up. It would be interesting to understand the difference in cost to refi with cash out vs HELOC.

Re: How to Shop for Home Appliances for Your New Home

tinagleisner — Tue, 06 Mar 2018 14:23:00 -0000

Let me add a few important points to this important article on buying appliances for a new home, and Benjamin, I'm surprised you didn't cover #1.

1. Wait to pay for appliances until after the closing because I've heard horror stories of home buyers who spent $5,000 right before a closing & then couldn't close because the new debt pushed them outside the 28/38% financing model.
2. When writing up your purchase contract, always include a list of the appliances you expect to get with the house. I didn't do this on a recent purchase & then had to buy a new washer/dryer right away ... not a huge deal, rather one more to do I didn't need.
3. If you're getting a home warranty, make sure all the appliances are included. We (realtor & myself) learned the hard way because the refrigerator was now a $50 add-on so we were stuck with ... out of warranty (SEARs only 8 years) and had to pay for freon.
4. You don't need to buy appliance warranties for every item. A good sales person at Spencer's appliances in Mesa, AZ told my friend that they weren't a good investment for lower cost items like the microwave and dishwasher, and the money would be better spent on a slightly higher model of each appliance.
5. Lastly, don't be oversold on items you simply don't need ... and even I've now learned that I don't need an ice dispenser in the door, and by the way it's the #1 repair on those refrigerators. You can learn a lot more about buying refrigerators from the article I wrote, https://hometipsforwomen.co...

Re: Are Zillow Home Values Accurate: Can You Trust the “Zestimate”?

tinagleisner — Tue, 13 Feb 2018 14:33:47 -0000

Zillow might be the best tool available to track the value of your home, as it dips & rises over many years. But it's algorithm reflects your home compared to recent sales & that can be VERY misleading. My condo sat around $450,000 for several years when nothing was selling.

When the market started to recover, my condo climbed to a Zillow peak of $940,000ish, and then fall back to a more realistic $550,000ish. I knew this was crazy but now think it impacted my sale, or lack thereof ... and I clearly get why realtors hate Zillow.

The peak of $940,000 was generated by roughly 15 condos (really 2 bedroom hotel suites of roughly 1200 sq ft) selling around $400/sq ft, all in a space of 3-4 months. 5 months later, I priced my 2700 sq ft home within one mile at $200/sq ft ... and that was too high. Now I'm going back to renting, until the market settles down a bit more.

This analysis took a tremendous amount of research which most realtors won't do, so I strongly recommend that people find a way to sift through the market to discover what MLS prices mean & what they're not able to reflect easily.

Re: 5 Things to Consider Before Buying a Home

tinagleisner — Tue, 06 Feb 2018 19:29:19 -0000

This is a good list to start planning to buy a house. One thing I'd add (one of my hot buttons) is you need to budget for preventive maintenance & home repairs. Just like cars needing an oil change, new tires, etc ... houses need these things too & most buyers forget to include them in their homeowner budget. Here's an article the provides more details on the total cost of home ownership, https://hometipsforwomen.co...

Re: How Much Does PMI Cost?

tinagleisner — Tue, 09 Jan 2018 20:21:23 -0000

PS Here's the FreddieMac article that told me FHA has you pay PMI for the life of the loan, http://www.freddiemac.com/b...

Re: How Much Does PMI Cost?

tinagleisner — Tue, 09 Jan 2018 20:20:18 -0000

Kali, You're absolutely right that PMI is a long-term financial burden that people should avoid if at all possible. When I bought my first home many years ago, PMI was one-quarter of a percent and that seemed manageable. Now PMI is often over 1% which would be about double the example you gave. I've been told that the less you put down, the higher your PMI so if you only put 3% down your PMI might be 1.5%

That's really scary because it's like having a 5 to 5.25% mortgage when you think it's just 4%. The other thing I read recently is that with FHA loans which are the easiest to qualify for, you have to pay PMI for the life of the loan which for me would be a no, no and no!

Re: Average Electric and Gas cost by state

tinagleisner — Mon, 11 Dec 2017 08:38:20 -0000

Bummer as I was going to link to this site but not if information wanted isn't available

Re: 10 Things I learnt when I became a mum at thirty-four

tinagleisner — Wed, 06 Dec 2017 07:17:19 -0000

You're right that taking care of a baby is a lot of work. I did a lot of babysitting growing up, so there weren't too many surprises.