By: Travis McGee Being a homeowner is the American dream, but taxes and shady insurance practices are making it the American Nightmare. Most people try to protect their property and investments by some form of insurance, with the belief that if I pay them, they’ll pay me when something happens. However, the fact of the matter is that homeowner’s insurance is al- most impossible to get in the state of Texas, with insurance companies pulling out daily. Wind storms, hail, rain, sleet, snow, or natural disasters are all parts of God’s work in which man has zero control over them, but having insurance is a part of the preparation, you would think. Taxes are high, and insurance is just as high. Different clauses like the Tropical Cy- clone Clause makes it almost impossible to meet your deductible, which sometimes can be up to 10% of your property value once the storm becomes a named storm. For example, if your property value is $300,000.00, your deductible can be 10% of that which is $30,000.00. Insurance companies determine your insurance coverage, which increases your chances of having a huge deductible you can never meet. You calculate ACV (actual cash value) by determining the total depreciation from the time you installed or bought the materials, products, etc. In most cases, depreciation is a significant deduction from your losses as well. Replacement Cost (RC) is what it will cost to replace your property as of today. Insurance companies have become a bigger scam than taxes. They are a massive and risky black hole where people dump money with almost no return at all. Just like we’re responsible for paying our insurance premiums, insurance companies should be held to the same standards when paying claims. If no claims are made or the insured is dropped, insurance companies should refund the money. Most mortgages make insurance mandatory, and high insurance costs can raise your mortgage since it’s escrowed in your payment. You would think homes owned, free and clear, would be less hassle with acquiring insurance, meeting deductibles, or even affording insurance, but that’s not the […]

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