Did summer really end last week?
I hope not; I am really not ready to say goodbye to it.
I just came back from Atlanta after visiting my sister for a surprise, 70th birthday party.
She had been extremely ill, due to, I believe a combination of medications that a doctor prescribed (she was in the 1 percent club of those that had an allergic reaction).
I am writing this article prior to Hurricane Hermine coming up the coast from Florida.
Hopefully it didn’t ruin your Labor Day.
I hope it missed us or it did less or no major damage as it did in Florida.
More important, that everyone up here was safe!
What did you do to prepare your home, if anything?
The following are some things that I hope many of you prepared in advance of the Hurricane or Major Storm:
1. Did you go out and buy the basic staples of water, milk, food or whatever you thought necessary in preparation for the storm?
2. Was all your outside furniture and tools, put away or at least tied down?
3. Did you duck tape your windows (I did this to our windows prior to Hurricane Irene and Sandy) as well as all the other stores on Bond St.
3. If the electricity goes out, are you prepared with your natural gas generator? Did you test it recently?
If a regular gasoline generator, did you go out and get gas in advance of the storm; (made sure you didn’t use it inside your garage, but in a well ventilated location?)
4. Did you fill up your gas tank in your car? (remember those long, long lines, last time?)
5. If you have a sump or french drain pump, did you test it prior to the hurricane, to make sure it was operational (cover the pump with enough buckets of water to enable it to kick in and start)?
6. Did you clean your gutters and leaders to make sure they were clear and unclogged, so the water would not stream down and over the gutters and behind your wood soffits; getting inside your walls?
7. Did you have plastic bubbles over your window wells to keep the water out of the pit and your basement from the potential overflow?
8. Have you ever capped your chimney to prevent squirrels or raccoons from making a nest or heavy rain from entering your home?
9. Most important, did you trim or remove any weak or damaged trees from around your home, the last time we had a major hurricane or storm?
I saw a multitude of Oak and Maple trees fall on many people’s homes, during Hurricane Irene and Sandy, causing severe damage and insurance claims.
10. Did you check your insurance policy to make sure you had adequate storm and/or flood coverage? (I have noticed that sometimes insurance companies have over insured their customer’s properties, due to the fact that they have the replacement value of the homes much higher than they should be, because they are factoring in the value of the land and land doesn’t burn in a fire and generally doesn’t get damaged.
The cost of repairing or rebuilding a home can be considerably less, when you factor out the value of your land and more important, a higher deductible can save you thousands in premiums, (on your car policy too!) assuming you feel comfortable with this method of savings.
I have always had the highest deductible, since I have never had a claim on my homes; and no claims on my vehicles in the last 22 years, so I have saved a boatload of money.
Ask your insurance agent about your savings and you could potentially reduce your expenses too!
I thought of how many homeowners were going into contract, those in contract or about to close or those who just recently closed on their homes; hoping none of you experienced any major or even minimal damage to you, your homes or businesses and that everyone was safe.
Maybe Hurricane Hermine, just veered off into the Atlantic Ocean or sought out other locations to reek its havoc over the populations or just petered out.
I will find out when I get back from Atlanta.
I wish you all a safe passage or that you weathered whatever type of Hurricane or Storm we went through.
