Juan's Blog

A SIGN OF HOPE?

Juan Luengo (Farmers Insurance) — Sat, 28 Mar 2009 17:55:01 -0700

After watching 20/20 last night I thought that rather than sit here and educate my audience on insurance, I thought it would be a good change of pace to write something different that regards our nation.

Like I mentioned earlier, I saw a report on 20/20 regarding the amount of debt that we, as Americans, have accumulated close to a decade - $2.5 trillion dollars on credit card debt. It's not only shocking to see that figure and read about the families that have losed hope on the "American Dream." Moreover, before I go any further can you describe what the "American Dream is and/or was?" Was it:

A big home?
Having fancy cars?
Having a big family?
A combination of all three?
None of the above
Was it greed that we develped within the inside of ourselves?

Even though some financial advisors don't know when or if we've hit rock bottom yet, last night, for me, was definitely rock bottom. Just watching/reading of people losing their homes, hearing people losing their jobs and/or seeing people with anxiety because of the lack of income they are bringing home is very hard to cope with.

Our country was built on the foundation that if we do things properly, we will see prosperity but with this going on and on top of that we have the media constantly being so negative, how can we even get motivated to get out of this mess? We fought through the "Great Depression," we've fought in two World Wars, we did the unthinkable - put a man on the moon, so on and so on; what separates us from every other nation? Simple....Our creativity, innovative and fighting spirits. That when we are in trouble, we, as a nation come together to try to fix the problem.

As an individual, what can you do to help? First, you and your family must be united. Second, with your actions, inspire other individuals. Lets get our country back on track together by doing things properly. God gave us all a seed to plant. Lets plant them and cultivate together.

I'll leave you with this: "Our problems are man-made, therefore they may be solved by man. No problem of human destiny is beyond human beings." President John F. Kennedy

HAS YOUR HOME DROPPED IN VALUE DURING THIS ECONOMIC CRISIS?? YOU CAN TURN THAT AROUND!!

Juan Luengo (Farmers Insurance) — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 09:53:09 -0800

Written by:
Juan Luengo
February 2, 2009

Although I've been on a hiatus for a period time, thanks to the growth of my business, I want to inform you, my readers, that from here on out I'll be writing consistenly twice a month (bi-weekly basis).

Aside from life insurance, stocks and retirement plans, many Americans know that their home is the number one consistent asset that they have that builds cash value over the years.

Moreover, with the worries that all homes have lost value in the past 3 quarters, let's put all the negativity aside and focus on YOU for a minute. What steps have you taken to make sure that your property maintains its value? If you do not know where to start, here are a couple of recommendations that can help you get started:

Home Inspection - According to the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) doing a home inspection will provide a buyer, seller and a homeowner 1"detailed information about the overall conditions of the home." An assessor will look at your home to evaluate:
- The Tangibles
  •a.     Electrical - alterations, modifications or repairs
  •b.    Plumbing, Heating & Cooling - type of plumbing, no leaking, space heaters, hot water heater and furnace properly vented and appropriately distanced from walls
  •c.     Interior - no signs of water damage, no major cracks, unrepaired damage or separation of walls, flooring or ceiling.
  •d.     Roof - shingles and tiles are not missing or broken
  •e.     Exterior - siding is not cracked, broken or missing sections, paint is not cracked, windows are not broken or boarded.
Appraising Home - an appraisal is good to have because it will calculate the overall value of the home, will make sure that the property is complying with the FHA rules and assures the homeowner that the home is marketable.
100% Reconstruction Cost vs 80% - the current value of your home is completely different from what it would cost your insurance company to rebuild your home. Insurance companies estimate what it would cost them, at today's labor and material price, to rebuild your home. For this same reason, you need to make sure that your property insurance is at least $20,000 over the value of your home to anticipate inflation, labor and materials. I highly recommend homeowners to stay away from 80% reconstruction cost because in the event that the unexpected happens, then he/she is going to have to spend money out of pocket, which makes no sense when you are paying monthly premiums. Also, keep in mind that there are a lot of insurance companies that if you have 100% Reconstruction cost they will add an extra 25% (or cover your home for 125% total) for a small fee.

For more information regarding the topics that I covered earlier today, please, feel free to contact me at jluengo@farmersagent.com. Also, feel free to open a discussion as doing so will help others learn more regarding the subject.

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1. US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). For your Protection get a Home Inspection. 07/31/2008

Although we are preoccupied with the Market, we also must be concerned with other risks!!

Juan Luengo (Farmers Insurance) — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 15:42:18 -0700

My fellow Americans, last week I wrote a brief article (The Gov. is NOT going to bail you out) regarding the simple steps you can take to protect your homes because as you are well aware, 30% of home values have gone down due to our economic crisis.

Although our minds are preoccupied with the level of uncertainty in the stock market that has our retirement money and investments sliding southward, we also must be concerned about managing other important risks, such as our homes. Some key questions that we, as homeowners, should ask ourselves to prepare for the unanticipated are: (a) what happens "if" your biggest investment burns down? (b) do we have enough money saved to cover our deductible? (c) where can my family temporarily live in the event of the unexpected? (d) are my documents, receipts, pictures and/or video in order? After living through Hurricane Andrew, seeing what Hurricane Katrina did in Louisiana and Hurricane Ike did to Texas, now more than ever is when we should be ready - preparing for every step in the event of the unexpected.

Just like every book has a beginning, a climax and an end, our preparation efforts must follow the same three steps. Today, we are going to begin by defining the most important aspects of a homeowner's policy:

1.      Reviewing the Dwelling cost indicator.
2.      Reviewing the Personal Property cost.
3.      Reviewing the Loss of Use.
4.      What is the deductible in policy.

• The Dwelling cost indicator is NOT the actual value of your home rather it's the amount it would cost your insurance agency to rebuild your home at today's cost.

• Personal Property is the amount of money that the insurance company will pay out for your clothing, cooking articles, furniture, toys, etc.

• Loss of Use is the sum of money that the insurance company will pay for you and your family to stay in a hotel while your home is being rebuilt your home from the ground up. (This would be in the event of a fire, hurricane, tornado, flood, etc).

By definition a deductible is the amount of money that as a homeowner you must first put down before the insurance company distributes any money towards the reconstruction of the home.

Please, stay tuned because my next article is going to cover recommendations as well as other details you should take into account like:

Appraising your home and the impact it will have.
80% vs 100%
The importance of inventory.
The difference between deductibles and the financial impact it will have.

The Gov. is NOT going to bail you out

Juan Luengo (Farmers Insurance) — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 17:08:16 -0700

As you well know, our Government plans to bailout a couple companies that shouldn't be helped because of the lack of conscience as well as respect to the American public. For some reason the people that represent us think that we are dumb.

Hello! my name is Juan Luengo, I'm a small business owner and my blog today will be dedicated to help people who need a bit of guidance. First off, I would like to say, do not panic because our economy is going to recover sooner rather than later but it's going to take some time. Remember that our economic system was built on consumption, meaning that the American public is still going to go out and buy but with moderation. Having said that, it took to this point a so called "crisis" for people to realize that they cannot spend what they cannot afford!

Many talk about credit drying up, I don't buy that for a second. Just because people are not buying homes that have inflated or fictitious prices doesn't mean that the government is not going to change the rules of the game later on to help the economy. Prices of homes will come down a bit more, congress will approve a law that will allow people to purchase homes at a reasonable price and the consumer will definitely buy because it's more affordable (and regulated). This measure will attract foreign investors, especially Europeans because they can get more out of the Dollar from the Euro.

In the meantime, protect your assests and most importantly your family. Through these tough times remember that you can replace articles but you cannot replace the person(s) that you love.

As an insurance agent, I recommend that you do the following:

1. Do an inventory of the articles that you have at home, take pictures or video, organize all your receipts and store them in a place where they are not going to be harmed (like a safe deposit box).
2. Appraise your house and compare it to the reconstruction cost of your insurance policy.
3. Go over your homeowner's policy to make sure that in the event of the unexpected you are covered. Make sure you look for: (a) Reconstruction cost of your home - You need to find out whether your house is covered at 80% or 100%. (b) You need to find out how much your insurance company is going to pay for you and your family to stay in a hotel or supplemental home 'til your home is reconstructed in the event of a fire, hurricane, tornado (This is called Loss of Use) (c) Take a look at your deductible to see if you can afford it.

In my next blog I am going to talk more in debt about my three points. If you have any questions please feel free to contact me.