Vargas & Vargas Insurance

1133 Washington St
Dorchester, MA 02124

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What Costs Are Part of Your Monthly House Payment?

If you’ve been looking at houses, you’ve probably seen real estate websites where the estimated monthly payment is shown. This is a great feature for breaking down the cost of a home that you will pay off in 15 or 30 years, and it can help you stay within your budget.

Woman smiling as she reviews her house payment at home
Monthly house payments include your mortgage payment, a portion of your property taxes, and your homeowners insurance premium.

However, it doesn’t always show the whole picture. The estimated payment only factors in the cost of the loan for a traditional 30-year mortgage at the current interest rate. It does not include the other costs that are factored into a standard monthly house payment. Two additional costs include:

  1. Property taxes
  2. Homeowners insurance

Property Taxes

Just like everything else in life, having property is also taxed. When you take out a mortgage loan, the property taxes are calculated into your monthly loan payment and put into an escrow account. When your taxes become due, your mortgage company makes the payment for you.

The percentage of taxes you owe depends on where your property is located, and this can be checked prior to purchasing a home. 

Although it may seem like a negative, having your taxes included in your monthly payment is actually a great way to stay organized. It takes away the burden of paying property taxes in one lump sum. Also, you don’t have to worry about whether you made the payment or not. (And if you love your home, you definitely don’t want to forget paying your property taxes!)

Homeowners Insurance

The other cost that goes into your monthly mortgage payment is homeowners insurance. It is standard for the insurance cost to be part of your mortgage payments, and mortgage lenders will often not loan you money if you do not have it. If anything should happen to your property, the lenders want to make sure that they can recover their costs. However, having the right home insurance policy isn’t just for them — it’s for you. You’ll want to be protected in case your home is damaged, and the right homeowners insurance policy can give you peace of mind.

You get to pick out the home insurance policy that works for you, and you should have it ready at the time of your closing. Here at Vargas and Vargas Insurance, we can guide you through the process. Contact us today for more information.

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To Escrow or Not To Escrow?

Many Homeowners have an escrow account for their mortgage payment. The purpose of the escrow account is to maintain a balance of funds the mortgage lender uses to pay bills on behalf of the Homeowner such as property taxes and insurance.

Many other Homeowners do not have an escrow account, even if they have a mortgage; they pay their own taxes and insurance directly.

Not every mortgage program requires that a Homeowner maintain an escrow account.  The general rules are the following for an escrow requirement:

  • Down payment less than 25% at time of purchase
  • Government Insured mortgage (FHA, VA), regardless of down payment at time of purchase

If your mortgage is not a Government-insured mortgage, and your down payment is less than 25% you still have the option to request a “waiver” of the escrow account requirement. Sometimes a lender will charge a premium—usually in the points paid—to waive the escrow requirement.

There is one primary benefit to having your property taxes and insurance included in an escrow account.  This is the monthly budgeting benefit.  Since the taxes and insurance escrow is included in your mortgage payment, then the mortgage payment is the only budget item you need to plan for.  

But there’s an important negative aspect to an escrow account.  The “set it and forget it” mentality that can easily set in.  That is, since your Homeowner’s insurance is included in your mortgage, many Homeowners not only forget to review their insurance on an annual basis to determine savings on premiums, but these same Homeowners often have no idea of the amount of their annual insurance premium, including when the premium increases.

If you have the opportunity to remove at least your Homeowners Insurance from your escrow account, you should do so.  This control allows you to discuss your insurance twice every year with your Independent Insurance Agent to lower your premiums and to take advantage of any developments that can improve the quality of your insurance coverage. 

The process to remove your Homeowners Insurance from your escrow account can be difficult but is worth the effort.  Contact your mortgage servicing lender today to find out if this option is available to you.

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Prequalification vs. Preapproval: What’s the Difference?

When you’re looking to purchase a home, there are many steps that you need to take. One of the most important is meeting with a lender to discuss how much they are willing to give you for your home. Depending on who you talk to, this will usually be called ‘prequalification’ or ‘preapproval.’

You may be wondering what the difference is between the two terms is, and thankfully the answer is easy: they are practically the same thing. There are some distinctions (for example, preapproval is typically a more involved and sometimes requires you to pay an application fee), but you can consider the terms synonymous. The important part is that your prequalification or preapproval is a letter from your lender that states how much they are willing to lend you for your mortgage, with certain stipulations. It’s also important to note that these are not guaranteed loan offers.

The amount indicated in your preapproval letter will be a key point in determining the houses that you are able to afford, so do your best to maximize your preapproval amount. There are a few things that you can do to increase the amount lenders are willing to give you. One of the most important things that you should do is to make sure that your credit score is as high as possible. Read more on the “lingo” in the home buying process here.

Once you’ve found your next home, make sure that you call Vargas and Vargas Insurance Agency at 617-298-0655 to get a Massachusetts home insurance quote. We will work with you to ensure that you and your loved ones are protected with a great home insurance policy.

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I’m In Love With Many Things…

“Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever.”
-Mahatma Gandhi

Thank you to everyone who showed their love by replying to last week’s message!

Your feedback and responses have been incredible, AND I am so looking forward to having coffee with you and will reach out to everyone else by the end of this week to schedule a time for us to meet.

I’m glad last week’s emails resonated with so many people!

I am a man in love. I’m in love with many things, and a few people. And I’m also in love with learning – it’s what makes my ‘business-me’ work well.

I’m drinking a Starbucks “Clover Pressed” Panama Carmen Estate Reserve Blend at our local Starbucks shop (I find that I sometimes work better here than at home or the office, it helps me to pause and people watch). What’s in your cup?

I asked in last week’s message, “How are you feeling about your year so far?” I am feeling pretty good about my year… the summer is here, which in my book has always meant that the workload scales back a notch or two and Kathy and I get outdoors more than ever, and all of the meet and greet family and friend events are starting, of which I try to not miss any.

Lately, I’m learning from people who push beyond average. The time for average is over. I am learning from people who live simply but with impact. I’m learning how clarity and the value of integrating your life around the alignment of your mission, your goals, and the targets related to those two points matters a lot more than which social network you use.

We are wasting so much energy in turbulence instead of in forward motion. We are drowning ourselves in distraction (Trump, Russia, impeachment, etc.) and are avoiding facing the work that we must do. We’re still chasing the shiny and new when what we need most are the basics. We are seeking every possible opportunity to lie to ourselves, coddle ourselves, or make excuses.

There are plenty of employees and passive people roaming the planet that are just waiting for “the man” to ruin their lives more so that they will have something new to complain about. But you’re an owner/entrepreneur. Even if you’re an ‘employeepreneur,’ your belief is that you own your choices affect your own your life, and you aim to own your future.

We strive to build our capabilities through learning and executing on that knowledge so that we can be of better service to the people we have the opportunity to serve.

What’s right for you? Even if you’re not sure, I know this: learning is a part of the menu, and it must be. Every day.

Since starting down the path of helping others, I’ve learned that it’s important to be relationship-minded. I’ve learned that, like with all industries, there are good and bad examples. I’ve learned that my concept that “we are all salespeople” is absolutely true in marketing. And I have learned that many self-employed/entrepreneurs are happy to “just be,” rather than growing their knowledge or brand.

Right now I am reading two books, my summer enjoyment reading is Winter of the World by Ken Follet and to stay sharp and continue learning, Fanatical Prospecting by Jeb Blount.

That’s all I have for today. I’m finding myself drawn to people seeking the next level. Those who are making excuses or who feel they’ve already figured it all out aren’t that interesting to me. I’m sure they’re nice people, but I’ve only got 50 years left on this planet (if I’m very lucky) and I’d rather spend it with people who care.

And thus, I end where I began – What you learn matters. Do you agree?

What are you learning?

Carlos

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Monday Motivation June 19, 2017 When You Reach The End Of Your

I hope you had an amazing Father’s Day weekend!

As always I like to start my week off right with some words of inspiration…

“When you reach the end of your rope, tie a knot in it and hang on.”
-Thomas Jefferson

Whether you are new to or a seasoned professional in sales, there are times in our life where we have done all we can… In those times,
don’t give up
don’t stop,
just hang on and continue pushing….

Consistent action, even if the action is just hanging on, will pay off…

Keep pushing and keep creating the amazing life you know you want and deserve!

We have made many changes at our agency to better help you and your clients when you have an insurance question or need a quote.

You can call us at 617-298-0655
You can now text us at 617-409-0329
Or, for a quick insurance quote, you can email: quotes@vargasinsurance.com

Check out our blog for some advice if you are working with a property that is vacant or unoccupied, read the blog here.

And remember that I work deliberately from my plan, and my plan involves serving you to the best of my ability. Help me stay accountable? And make sure you help me understand how best to serve you. Fair?

Have an awesome week!

And know that you are loved.

Carlos

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No one saves us but ourselves.

“No one saves us but ourselves.
No one can and no one may.
We ourselves must walk the path.”
-Buddha

Yesterday was an exciting day in our family. Our youngest son, Matthew married his best friend. We are all so very proud. Matthew and new bride, Cristiana have known each other since preschool. They attended school field trips together. They were friends long before they started dating, they hung around together with the same group of friends, and experienced all of the stuff that teenagers do when they are together in a group.

But in High school, they started dating, and slowly some of the teenagers in their group faded away, and their relationship developed. They went off to college and figured out how to get along on their own, get up for class, and stay away from trouble. Cristiana graduated with a teaching degree and is gainfully employed in her field.

Matthew, in his sophomore year of college, decided that he wanted to commute to school. Kathy and I thanked him for the consideration, but we had planned to pay for his 4 years of post education, tuition, boarding expenses, and all.  He said it was not about the money, the college scene was not what he wanted – there were too many parties, and too many raucous events (he inherited this part of his being from his mother). All in all, there were too many distractions. He wanted to start working in sales and needed to be closer to home. He had a plan.

He graduated the top of his class with a marketing and communication degree, and is now one of the managers at Enterprise Rent-A-Car at Logan Airport, overseeing 200 employees and 11K automobiles.

(I suggest Enterprise to every parent that I speak to that has a son or daughter that is looking to start in the working world. They hire the largest number of college graduates in the nation each year and have the best sales training program anywhere. They teach their employees all of the skills needed for a successful career in nearly any field of business.)

Matthew decided to take advanced classes, take extra classes, and commute – he had a plan and was going to work for it.

Why? I believe it’s because he was … DRIVEN. He had a goal, had a plan, and was taking action to reach that goal. I am SUPER proud of him and his new wife, Cristiana!

But, you think, I hear you ask, “Carlos, what does that have to do with real estate, mortgages, law, and business?”

Everything!

“There are plenty of difficult obstacles in your path.
Don’t allow yourself to become one of them.”
-Ralph Marston

My son was on one road, and chose to change road he was on half way through his college career. He chose to follow a different path, he tried to make the right choices.

I hope that you are on the right road, and that you are having your best year EVER!  But, if you are like some business people, you may be stumbling, wandering from day to day, you may think that you need some help following a different path, to achieve better results, or you need a different course of action. Maybe you need to put a new system in place to achieve better results.

It’s not too late to start! You still have time to change your plan to get better results.  It’s not enough to have a desire to win – you need a plan. Stop chasing the newest shiny gimmick that comes your way (for now) and focus on what brings success, connecting with the people who know, like (even LOVE) and trust us.

I hope you choose to use my son’s story to inspire you and to maybe make changes in the path that you are on to be more successful!

If you need some to listen to your plan, or someone to give you some advice, I have shared my success plan with hundreds of professionals and would love to also do so with you, leave a reply below and we can schedule a time to meet.

And, know that you are loved!

Carlos

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“Change is hard, messy in the middle and gorgeous at the end.”

“Change is hard, messy in the middle and gorgeous at the end.”
-Robin Sharma

Change is hard. I know this for a fact, as I’m experiencing it right now!

Picture this…I’m sitting in my house right now instead of sitting in traffic like I’ve done for 37 years.

As you probably know from my online posts, Kathy and I moved from our Stoughton home of 33 years to Dorchester Lower Mills, just around the corner from the Vargas and Vargas office. Believe me, this change has not been easy all the time, but change never is – even when we know it is the right thing to do.

One of the upsides of our move has been that we now spend less time in traffic, and have more time together, more time to get regular exercise, and more time in the wonderful community of Dorchester.

Recently, Vargas and Vargas has also made some changes. We have updated our client management system and our website (you can now send us a TEXT to our agency 617-213-2820 and much more to come, stay tuned) to help customers and friends like you contact our trusted referral partners!

We’ve always had a partners page on our site, but we hope that this will be a resource for you and anyone you know that is looking for any of the following professionals:

  • Accountant
  • Attorney
  • Contractor
  • Electrician
  • Estate Planner
  • Financial Advisor
  • Home Inspector
  • Loan Officer
  • Plumber
  • Realtor®
  • And More!

(Send me a message and I can let you know how you be on our partner’s list)

And while you are visiting our new website, don’t forget to check out our blog. It is always being updated with insurance tips, helpful advice, and much more.

How to Start Recycling – We Can Help!
Auto Insurance Q&A: Borrowing the Car
Best and Worst Places to Store Your Wedding Rings
Building Permits for Residential Renovations

So what does our change of address have to do with making you more money?

Many professionals start their businesses filled with excitement and passion for their new venture, but quickly realize that building a brand is hard work! Once that realization sets in and business problems begin to surface, it is very easy to get disgruntled and lose your motivation for what you originally set out to accomplish.

In the beginning, your passion creates energy that keeps you moving forward, builds excitement for the next project, and helps overcome fears and obstacles. However, maintaining that passion can be difficult as time goes on, and you might find yourself in a “rut,” or longing to reconnect with the spark that once drove your business. Whether this longing resonates with you currently or you’re teetering back and forth on the fence of business growth, it’s imperative to implement 6 practices into your business to regain focus and reignite your flame! We’ll cover the first 3 this week, so stay tuned for next week’s insider to tie all 6 together!

1. Stay focused on your core business – There are a million money making ideas out there that can distract you from what your core business is all about. If you can’t draw a direct connection from a new loan or listing to your new venture, scrap it! It will only distract you from making money and growing your business.

2. Take inspiration from SUCCESSFUL professionals – Surround yourself with positive individuals who have achieved success and are passionate about what they do. They’ll motivate, excite and remind you of why you’re in business. The right individuals will build you up with a “can do” attitude, and offer you proven methods of achieving your goals.

3. Manage your time effectively – Unfortunately, if you don’t set aside time to do important tasks like following up with new clients and building referral relationships (making FROG calls), phone calls and emails can keep you busy all day long! Make sure that you schedule time in your day that’s committed to taking care of the fundamentals of business development which make you money and keep you excited! If you need assistance with time blocking, I can help!

And know that you are LOVED!

Carlos

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