If you’re paying cash for a home, always get homeowners insurance. Today’s story will remind you why.
Usually on “Storytime With Gary,” I share stories that happened well into the past, but for this episode, I’m sharing one that happened the very morning I shot this video.
It all started when I advised a client of mine to do a 1031 exchange for their home sale in order to avoid paying a lot of taxes. They agreed, and once we found them a new home to purchase, we closed escrow. Before they could move in, though, they got a call from a neighbor telling them that water was leaking out from underneath their new home’s front door.
Once they got there, well…have you ever seen Niagara Falls? That’s about what it looked like. Water was pouring out of the kitchen sink at a terrible rate.
And here’s the kicker—they didn’t have homeowners insurance yet. They paid cash for the home and I advised them to get insurance, but they hadn’t done that yet.
“Have you ever seen Niagara Falls? That’s what it looked like.”
It seemed like they were out of luck, but because they bought the property from a house flipper, it had just been remodeled. Fortunately, when we contacted the seller and asked them to take care of the problem, they agreed.
The lesson here is if you’re paying cash for a home, make sure you get insurance for it. If you get a loan to buy a home, you won’t need to worry about this because your lender won’t even write the loan for you unless you get insurance.
As always, if you’re thinking of buying or selling a home or you have any questions about our San Diego market, don’t hesitate to reach out to me. I’d be happy to help you.
