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If your loan servicer doesnt collect money for your property taxes each month along with your mortgage payments, youll need to set aside money yourself. If you dont, you may be in trouble when the bill comes due.

What Can Happen if You Dont Pay Your Property Taxes
If you dont pay your property taxes on time, the amount you owe will become a lien on your house. The authority that issued the tax bill can then hold a tax deed sale, in which it sells the house outright and the purchaser gets the deed to your home. It can also decide to hold a tax lien certificate sale, which allows the purchaser of the tax lien to collect overdue taxes, plus penalties and interest. If you fail to pay, the purchaser can foreclose on your house or convert the tax lien certificate to a deed.

A tax lien takes precedence over a mortgage. If a house is sold through a tax sale, a mortgage lender can lose out on the money its owed. Your loan servicer may pay the property taxes on behalf of the lender to prevent a tax sale and send you a bill for the taxes. If you dont reimburse the loan servicer, that will be considered default, and the lender will be able to foreclose on your home.

Options if You Cant Pay Your Bill
You might be able to lower your bill by appealing the assessed value of your home. Look for information on the appeals process on the property tax bill or on the tax assessors website. In most cases, youll need to appeal the assessed value within a relatively short time after you receive the tax bill and demonstrate why the assessed value of your home is inaccurate. In some states, youll have to pay the bill in full, then file an appeal and wait for a refund if the case is decided in your favor.

All states have property tax abatement programs that allow some people to reduce their bills due to factors such as age, disability, income or personal status. Youll have to file an application and meet eligibility requirements. Note that, in some states, homeowners arent eligible for abatement if theyre already behind on their property taxes.

If you dont qualify for property tax abatement, you may be eligible for a deferral thatll allow you to pay your bill later, or a repayment plan so you can pay your taxes in smaller installments over a longer period of time. Some states also allow the tax assessors office to compromise on tax amounts or to waive interest and penalties on past-due bills.

Look for a Solution
If you cant afford to pay your property taxes, the worst thing you can do is to simply ignore the bill. You might be able to reduce your tax burden or postpone payments. Contact the tax assessors office to discuss your circumstances and to explore your options.

This article is intended for informational purposes only and should not be construed as professional advice.

Published with permission from RISMedia.

If youre interested in buying a home, you want to make sure you only look at ones you can actually afford. Finding a house you love and making an offer, only to find that you cant get approved for a mortgage, will waste everyones time and leave you frustrated and disappointed. This is why its a good idea to get pre-approved for a mortgage before you start viewing homes.

What Is Mortgage Pre-Approval?
Pre-approval means a lender will review your credit, income and debts and decide whether to pre-approve you for a mortgage. If you get pre-approved, the lender will tell you how much you could borrow and approximately how much your monthly payments would be. Pre-approval means a lender thinks, based on a preliminary assessment, that you qualify for a mortgage. Its not a final approval, because your financial picture could change significantly between now and the time you bought a house.

Pre-approval is not the same as pre-qualification. Pre-qualification is based on a general overview of your financial picture. Pre-approval requires several documents (pay stubs; W-2s; tax returns; bank, retirement, and investment account statements; and possibly others) and a hard credit check. Since pre-approval requires a more rigorous financial review, real estate agents and sellers take it more seriously than pre-qualification.

A pre-approval from any reputable lender will help you get your foot in the door, but you dont necessarily have to obtain a loan from the lender that pre-approves you. You should shop around and get a mortgage from the lender that offers you the best interest rate.

Why Should You Get Pre-Approved?
If a lender pre-approves you for a mortgage, it will tell you how much its willing to lend you. That can help you figure out an approximate price range so you can focus on properties that are within your budget.

A pre-approval letter demonstrates that youre a serious buyer. Some real estate agents wont even show a house to someone who hasnt been pre-approved.

Being pre-approved can make your offer more attractive to a seller than an offer from someone who hasnt been pre-approved. The other prospective buyer may have bad credit and be unable to qualify for a mortgage. Pre-approval means youre in good financial standing, so the seller will feel comfortable accepting your offer.

How to Get Pre-Approved
Before you try to get pre-approved for a mortgage, request copies of your credit reports and check them for errors. Have any you find corrected. If your credit scores are lower than you expected, figure out why and work on getting your finances in better shape before you try to get pre-approved for a mortgage.

Once things are in order, apply for pre-approval and submit all required documents. With a pre-approval letter in hand, youll be able to look for houses in the appropriate price range, demonstrate to real estate agents that youre a serious buyer and increase your chances of getting your offer accepted.

Published with permission from RISMedia.

Owning a tiny home can leave you debt-free, but it can still have some big costs.

Buying a tiny home can be a way to get out from under the burden of a home loan”or at least lead to a smaller mortgage”but there are other costs buyers should know about before they find the tiny house of their dreams. Here are some:

Zoning laws: Laws vary by local, county and state zoning regulations, so start by looking up the regulations in your state thats offered by the American Tiny House Association.

Some laws have a minimum square foot requirement for new houses on foundations, may not allow a tiny house in the back yard of an existing home, and have a time limit for camping on private land.

If the land you want to settle on doesnt meet all of the zoning requirements, you may not be approved for a loan.

Building costs: A tiny house may not cost as little as you imagine it will. A tiny house can cost $15,000 to $80,000 or more, depending on if youre buying it yourself or paying a builder for a custom-built tiny home. And if you want extras added or high-end materials, expect to pay more.

Financing options: Tiny homes may not qualify for traditional mortgages if they dont meet minimum loan amounts. Instead, borrowers can use recreational vehicle, or RV, loans that are unsecured, fixed-rate mortgages with payoffs in two to seven years.

While these loans dont have application fees or closing costs, then can have higher interest rates that traditional home loans and can be capped at $100,000. Theyre also not tax deductible.

Another option is to find a lender that specializes in tiny home loans and is willing to fund a loan for less than $100,000 for a home that isnt built on a permanent foundation.

Extra costs: Building a tiny home can include such costs as buying a parcel of land, construction costs, solar panels, furniture, landscaping and ongoing maintenance.

The good news is that if youre using an RV loan, the money can be spent however you choose and not just on purchasing a tiny home. The money can be used to buy smaller furniture to fit in the tiny home, special building materials you may want to make the home more energy efficient, and to start a maintenance fund.

Published with permission from RISMedia.

Homeowners insurance companies adjust rates from time to time based on a variety of factors. Some of those factors are directly related to individual policyholders, and others have nothing to do with specific homeowners. If youve received a letter from your insurance company informing you that your rates will go up soon, you might be able to get them back down.

Why Do Insurance Companies Raise Rates?
If your insurance company sent an inspector to your home and shortly afterward informed you that your premiums would go up, its probably because your home needs repairs. For example, damage to the roof and foundation can make your house more likely to suffer serious damage in a storm. If you make repairs now and provide proof to your insurance company, it may consider your home less risky and reward you by lowering your premiums.

Filing several claims, especially in a short period of time, can cause an insurer to raise your premiums. In addition, a large number of claims submitted by people in the same town or neighborhood can raise your rates, even if you didnt file a claim yourself. An area that is prone to severe storms or has a lot of burglaries often means higher insurance rates for everyone.

Your insurance score, which companies use to set rates, depends partly on your credit score. If your credit score has dipped, paying down credit card balances and making payments on time can boost your score and may eventually lead to lower homeowners insurance premiums.

Sometimes insurance companies raise rates across the board if they paid out unusually large sums of money for claims related to natural disasters. Insurers may also increase premiums if construction costs have risen substantially because settling claims will be more expensive. Companies want to spread the cost around to everyone so they can still earn a profit.

What to Do About a Planned Premium Increase
If your homeowners insurance company has notified you that it plans to raise your rates, call to ask why. If the insurer mentions any reason specifically related to your home or your area, look for changes you can make. For example, if there have been a lot of break-ins in your neighborhood recently, offer to install deadbolts and a security system in exchange for a reduction in premiums. Repairing your home to make it less susceptible to storm damage can also lower your rates.

You might qualify for discounts if you have multiple policies through the same company, havent filed a claim in several years, or are a first-time homebuyer or a senior citizen. Ask your insurance company if you qualify for any discounts. If you currently have a low deductible, raising it could automatically lower your premiums. Explore all options with your insurer.

Published with permission from RISMedia.

Homeowners flush a lot of things down their toilets without considering the potential plumbing issues it may cause. If theyre lucky, theyll only have to use a plunger to tackle a minor clog. But if a major issue arises, they may need to call a plumber and pay for costly repairs.

Whether your home has a septic tank or sewage line, there are certain items you should never flush. To prevent unnecessary clogs and damage to your homes plumbing, take some advice from the pros. Harts Services, a Tacoma, Wash.-based plumbing company, shares its list of the top items that shouldnt go down your toilet:

Dental Floss. Not only is floss non-biodegradable, but it can also tangle up with other debris and turn small clogs into big ones. If flushed into a septic tank, floss can wind itself around a motor and cause it to burn out.

Paper Towels. It may seem okay to flush paper towels because they look a lot like toilet paper, but flushed paper towels are one of the leading causes of clogged pipes. They’re made to be very absorbent and are considerably thicker than toilet paper.

Sanitary and Baby Wipes. Although many of these wipes say they’re flushable on the package, its advisable to throw them out instead. The fibers in the wipes are much thicker than those of toilet paper, so they don’t break down the same way and can contribute to a clog.

Q-Tips or Cotton Balls. Cotton may seem like it’s harmless, but just like sanitary wipes, cotton does not break down enough to make it through the pipes. Cotton can clump together and get stuck, causing a backup.

Fats, Oils and Grease. Flushing food waste is a bad idea that will lead to any number of plumbing problems. When hot, these substances are in a liquid state, but once they cool, they congeal and build up on the sides of the pipes.

Feminine Hygiene Products. These products expand when they come in contact with liquid. This means, when flushed, they absorb more water and get stuck in the pipes.

Kitty Litter. It may not seem that bad since it’s cat waste, but kitty litter is made of clay and sand, which will create major problems for plumbing.

Adhesive Bandages. These products are non-biodegradable and can easily stick to pipes and cause issues.

If you have any question about an item youre thinking about flushing down the toilet, Harts Services advises to remember that when in doubt, throw it out. Otherwise, you may end up paying for costly repairs that couldve easily been avoided.

Published with permission from RISMedia.