Acreage Anywhere provides a global marketplace for vacant land ownership opportunities of all types. Easily find land for sale all over the country, whether you're looking for ranches, rural properties, second homes or recreation properties.
There's no way of knowing when a natural destructive force will put your home in serious risk. All you can do is anticipate certain scenarios and take measures to minimize the damage in the event that a natural disaster threatens your home. Here are three helpful ways to protect your property form unforeseen natural disasters.
Helpful Ways to Safeguard Your Property From Floods
If you live in an area that experiences frequent flooding, it's important that you take the necessary steps to shield your property from flood damage. If you're building a home from the ground up, elevate your foundation to preempt the risk of floods.
Do your best to take any electrical system (like a fuse box or circuit breaker) and elevate these electrical units far off the ground. Do the same thing for any heating, cooling or ventilation systems. If you have a fuel tank on your property, set the legs of your tank in concrete to stabilize the tank in the event of a flood.
Helpful Ways to Safeguard Your Property From Fires
Some homeowners live in areas that are susceptible to wildfires. If this is the case with you, you can implement certain measures to safeguard your house from a fire-related disaster. Start with your landscaping, and create a two-foot ring that separates your property from flammable vegetation and other plants. Make sure that all dead vegetation and trees are trimmed and cleared from your immediate property surroundings. Adding a swimming pool to your backyard or a stone wall that surrounds your house will help you minimize fire threats.
Helpful Ways to Safeguard Your Property From Hurricanes and Tornadoes
If tornadoes and hurricanes pose a threat, reinforce everything on your house. Use straps and other braces to latch down your roof and garage. Place storm shutters around every window of your house. Use anchors and clips to secure wood framing.
Natural disasters can strike at any time, so be prepared for the worst. By safeguarding your home for floods, fires and hurricanes, you can minimize damages to your home, protect your personal property and shield your equity for the long-term.
Finding a way to finance your first property purpose can be a challenge. You have to familiarize yourself with all the different types of loans on the market and choose the loan that makes the most sense for you and your property goals. As long as you understand what you're getting into, a piggyback can help you secure your first home.
What Is a Piggyback Loan?
When you're looking to finance a property purchase, a piggyback loan combines multiple mortgages from multiple lenders. The three most common types of piggyback loans are the 80-10-10, the 80-15-5 and the 80-20 loan.
The first figure represents the percentage of the purchase price that's financed by the first mortgage lender. The second figure is the amount financed by the second mortgage lender. The final number represents the down payment percentage that the borrower is responsible for paying.
How a Piggyback Loan Can Help You Purchase Your First House
Piggyback loans can help you secure a much larger house than you'd be able to afford with just a standard mortgage. With two mortgage companies taking on the risk to finance your purchase, you will qualify for bigger loan amounts. These loans also help borrowers put less money down during the initial purchasing stage. Having to come up with less than 20 percent of the purchase price for a new house certainly appeals to many first-time homebuyers.
The Downside of Piggyback Loans
Borrowers who take out a piggyback loan to purchase a first house will encounter larger combined interest rates than borrowers who choose standard mortgages. Most piggyback loans include a massive balloon payment at the end of the loan term.
Borrowers who do not adequately prepare for this balloon payment could face serious hardship once it arrives. One more thing to consider is that piggyback loans can remove the financial safety net of a second mortgage.
Should a financial crisis arise, borrowers will be unable to take out another mortgage on their homes, because the piggyback loan they secured during the purchase process already features two mortgages.
Can a piggyback loan help you secure your first property purchase? Certainly, but you have to understand what you're getting into. Be prepared for larger interest rates, balloon payments and the removal of your second mortgage safety net. If the advantages of buying a more expensive home with less money down outweigh the drawbacks of a piggyback loan, this financial option may be right for you.