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If youre buying a house with cash only, you may have gotten a lower price for it and you certainly wont have to deal with a bank to get a mortgage loan. Another advantage is that you dont have to buy title insurance to protect your lender.

Mortgage lenders usually require buyers to purchase a title insurance policy, usually for about $1,000, to protect the lenders interest in the property. The home is the collateral for the loan, so the lender wants to make sure there arent any problems with the title of a property.

While a cash purchase of a home wont require title insurance for a lender, called a loan policy, homebuyers may still want to buy it for themselves. An owners policy protects the new titleholders ownership rights. The policy is in effect for as long as the owners or their heirs own the property.

Before issuing an owners policy, a title insurance company will search and examine public records to determine the state of the propertys title. Any issues found will be fixed, and if there are challenges, then youll be alerted to the issue so you can determine if you want to proceed with the transaction.

You wont be required to buy an owners policy when buying a home with cash, but it may be a smart purchase anyway. Title insurance can protect you financially from any prior liens on the property, restrictions on the use of the property or forgeries in public records.

A missing heir to a former property owner, for example, could be found. Or a deed could have been forged in the past. Title insurance not only helps uncover such issues, but protects you against any undiscovered issues that could arise in the future.

How likely are cash purchases of homes? In January 2017, 23 percent of home sales were cash, according to the National Association of REALTORS.

Only 6 percent of first-time buyers paid all cash for homes. The most likely buyers to pay all cash were investors, followed by international buyers, distressed sales and second-homebuyers. As investment and distress sales have declined, so do cash sales.

Buying a lenders policy for title insurance is a relatively small cost when purchasing a house. Still, the savings when paying cash for a home can be a little bit of a boost to your bottom line. At the very least, the savings could be put toward buying an owners policy for title insurance for yourself to give you some peace of mind during the buying process.

Published with permission from RISMedia.

Published with permission from RISMedia.

Even if you vacuum frequently and clean up spills immediately, your carpets may be filled with ground-in dirt, dust, bacteria, germs and allergens.

Those toxins can lead to poor indoor air quality that can affect your family’s health.

Hot water extraction, or steam cleaning, can remove toxins trapped in carpet fibers and make carpets last longer.

You should clean your carpets at least every 12 -18 months, but more often if you have kids or pets, your carpets get a lot of foot traffic or they are particularly dirty.

You can buy or rent a machine and clean your carpets yourself, but professional machines use more heat and suction.

Published with permission from RISMedia.

Published with permission from RISMedia.

If your homeowners insurance policy covers your pet, it will pay for injuries or damage the pet caused to a person or property not named in the policy.

But it won’t cover injuries to your family or home.

Many companies deny coverage for dog breeds considered aggressive, regardless of the pedigrees or individual histories. Some companies provide coverage, but with high premiums.

Homeowners policies generally exclude exotic pets, such as ferrets and snakes.

Standard liability limits might not be enough. Consider a dog liability policy, umbrella policy or excess policy.

Tell your insurer about your pet. If you dont, it may deny a claim and/or cancel your policy.

Published with permission from RISMedia.