How much do I insure my property for??

Yesterday, a customer called wanting to insure a building for 860k, which is what she paid for it.   Naturally, I ask questions like:

How big is it?  Tenants?  Age?  Etc.....all very common insurance questions.

However, I discovered that the building has a RECONSTRUCTION COST or VALUE of about 400k, which is about 100 per square foot.  (Even that is a little high, as insurance value tends to be around the 80/sqft range to obtain REPLACEMENT Cost coverage)  Anything lower than that, gets Actual Cash Value, and depreciation is taken in to consideration when claim time comes, along with deductible.  (There are a myriad of other factors here, so please call me for more information)

So, this means we have an issue.  Typically, people are more inclined to underinsure their buildings than to over insure their buildings, due to cost.....Obviously, more insured value = more premium.

She admitted to over paying due to location.  However, as an insurance agent, I can't insure "land" as part of a building to bump up the insured value.

So there are some things to consider when insuring your property.  Reconstruction costs being most important, then use, etc.

Some important takeaways to consider.  Market value DOES NOT EQUAL insurance value!  Just because something sells for X, doesn't mean it's worth X.  This typically applies to all things.

YOU CAN NOT INSURE LAND AS PART OF A BUILDING!

You can insure land for General Liability in regards to a lease, vacancy, etc....

As always, stay protected my friends, and please think of me for your commercial insurance needs!

Words mean things

As I'm winding down this year and reflecting, I am EXTREMELY grateful for SO MUCH.  Grateful for all of the new clients I've gained, clients retained, friendships that have lasted, new friends I've made, and new opportunities to come.  (I've missed so many things, but you get the gist)

There are also a few truths that I've known for sometime, but have been galvanized in my brain over this last year.  Among the most important is the fact that words mean things.  Yes, words mean things.  And not in the sense that we know, but in the sense that words live, breathe, evolve, and actually manifest themselves in to whatever our thoughts direct them to.  With words, I've seen my business increase about 100%.  With words, I've seen a best friend COMPLETELY turn his life around.  With words, I've seen complete transformations take place.  I've also seen words completely destroy as well. 

As we find ourselves reflecting on 2014 and our pasts, I challenge you to speak positive, powerful, and encouraging words in to your life.   Speak them in to the lives of your friends, family, peers, etc.  Say them.  Repeat them.  Rinse.  Repeat.  Say what you want for your life so many times a day, that you can't help but believe that what you say is your new reality.  Say it.  Whatever you want will happen.

Don't believe me?  Good.  Write down 3 things you want for your life.  Start saying them 100 times a day to yourself, building it up to a thousand.  Do it for a month.  If you don't have a definite change, I'll buy you a beer and you can tell me why you think it didn't work.  : )


I challenge my friends to live a life of positive expectations, expecting for your goals and dreams to become your reality.  I am. 

I hope and expect for you to have the best year you've ever had, filled with triumphs, abundance, love, happiness, and growth. 

And as always, stay protected my friends.


Mind is the Master--power that moulds and makes
And Man is Mind, and evermore he takes
The tool of Thought, and, shaping what he wills,
Brings forth a thousand joys, a thousand ills:
He thinks in secret, and it comes to pass, Environment is but his looking-glass.

-James Allen

Here is the PDF of "As a man thinks" by James Allen.  Do yourself a favor this next year and read it.  Trust me.

http://www.consciouslivingfoundation.org/ebooks/Allen,%20James%20-%20As%20A%20Man%20Thinketh.pdf

The Betrothed

Stumbled upon this gem of a poem.  Hope you enjoy it my friends :)

OPEN the old cigar-box, get me a Cuba stout,
For things are running crossways, and Maggie and I are out.
We quarrelled about Havanas—we fought o’er a good cheroot,
And I know she is exacting, and she says I am a brute.
Open the old cigar-box—let me consider a space;	5
In the soft blue veil of the vapour musing on Maggie’s face.
Maggie is pretty to look at—Maggie’s a loving lass,
But the prettiest cheeks must wrinkle, the truest of loves must pass.
There’s peace in a Laranaga, there’s calm in a Henry Clay;
But the best cigar in an hour is finished and thrown away—	10
Thrown away for another as perfect and ripe and brown—
But I could not throw away Maggie for fear o’ the talk o’ the town!
Maggie, my wife at fifty—grey and dour and old—
With never another Maggie to purchase for love or gold!
And the light of Days that have Been the dark of the Days that Are,	15
And Love’s torch stinking and stale, like the butt of a dead cigar—
The butt of a dead cigar you are bound to keep in your pocket—
With never a new one to light tho’ it’s charred and black to the socket!
Open the old cigar-box—let me consider a while.
Here is a mild Manilla—there is a wifely smile.	20
Which is the better portion—bondage bought with a ring,
Or a harem of dusky beauties fifty tied in a string?
Counsellors cunning and silent—comforters true and tried,
And never a one of the fifty to sneer at a rival bride?
Thought in the early morning, solace in time of woes,	25
Peace in the hush of the twilight, balm ere my eyelids close,
This will the fifty give me, asking nought in return,
With only a Suttee’s passion—to do their duty and burn.
This will the fifty give me. When they are spent and dead,
Five times other fifties shall be my servants instead.	30
The furrows of far-off Java, the isles of the Spanish Main,
When they hear my harem is empty will send me my brides again.
I will take no heed to their raiment, nor food for their mouths withal,
So long as the gulls are nesting, so long as the showers fall.
I will scent ’em with best vanilla, with tea will I temper their hides,	35
And the Moor and the Mormon shall envy who read of the tale of my brides.
For Maggie has written a letter to give me my choice between
The wee little whimpering Love and the great god Nick o’ Teen.
And I have been servant of Love for barely a twelvemonth clear,
But I have been Priest of Cabanas a matter of seven year;	40
And the gloom of my bachelor days is flecked with the cheery light
Of stumps that I burned to Friendship and Pleasure and Work and Fight.
And I turn my eyes to the future that Maggie and I must prove,
But the only light on the marshes is the Will-o’-the-Wisp of Love.
Will it see me safe through my journey or leave me bogged in the mire?	45
Since a puff of tobacco can cloud it, shall I follow the fitful fire?
Open the old cigar-box—let me consider anew—
Old friends, and who is Maggie that I should abandon you?
A million surplus Maggies are willing to bear the yoke;
And a woman is only a woman, but a good Cigar is a Smoke.	50
Light me another Cuba—I hold to my first-sworn vows.
If Maggie will have no rival, I’ll have no Maggie for Spouse!

Uber Good....?

Uber - denoting an outstanding or supreme example of a particular kind of person or thing.

"an uberbabe".  German Origin

 

Uber as we know it now - A ride sharing app that enables people with cars to give rides to folks needing a lift.  It has become known as a taxi ride alternative.

 

What you need to know and my 2 sense worth.  Seems like a great idea for those wanting to make extra cash and those needing a cheap lift in a car that's probably nicer than a taxi.  However, there are a few things you need to know:

 

1.  The people giving rides could be crazy.  Yes, crazy.  Like Kathy Bates break your ankles crazy.  Like girlfriends climbing in through your window crazy.  Crazy.

 

2.  The folks requesting rides could be crazy.  See above for examples.

 

3.  YOUR PERSONAL AUTO POLICY DOES NOT COVER YOU FOR GIVING RIDES FOR OTHERS FOR A FEE.  Get an email or something in writing from your personal auto agent stating you have coverage for this if they say you do.  Talk is cheap.  Get everything in writing.

 

All in all, if you do this correct, it seems like it's free market capitalism at its finest.  Connecting services for clients, all at a cheap price.  Love the idea. 

 

And as our economy continues to skyrocket upward with all of our new hope and change (being incredibly sarcastic here), I bet other goods and services will be emerging that will challenge the status quo.  Because after all, necessity is the mother of invention and with an unadvertised unemployment rate greater than 20%, you can bet your nalgas that inventions are coming down the pipe line.

 

Stay protected my friends, and make sure you're properly protected. 

I lost the title to a car I never registered. What do I do?

You're joking, right????  I mean, seriously?   I can't tell you how many times I've heard those words.  Ever since I've been promoting Title Bonds, that is the most common reason for lost titles I've heard.  SO, I thought I would give all of my friends the steps to get a title to a vehicle.


In order to qualify, you must be:

• a Texas resident, or
• Military personnel stationed in Texas, or
• Have a vehicle that was last titled in Texas.

The vehicle must be in your possession and cannot be considered abandoned, junked, stolen, or in any other pending lawsuits. Although not required to be operational, it must be a complete vehicle including a frame, body and motor or if a motorcycle, a frame and motor.
If you meet the above eligibility requirements you may take or mail the following documents and a $15.00 administrative fee to the nearest TxDMV Regional Service Center:

• A Statement of Fact for Bonded Title (Form VTR-130-SOF)
• A Statement of Physical Inspection (Form VTR-270)
• Any supporting evidence of ownership (Bill of Sale, Invoice, Cancelled Check, etc.)
• Acceptable photo ID

• VTR-130-SOF Bonded Title Application
• VTR-270 Statement of Physical Inspection

Out-of-state- vehicles: If the applicant is a Texas resident, but the evidence indicates that the vehicle is an out-of-state vehicle, the vehicle identification number must be verified by a Texas certified Safety Inspection Station (Form VI-30).

If your documents are approved, you will be issued a letter stating the amount of the bond equal to 1½ times the value of the vehicle. The department will determine the value of the vehicle using:

• The Standard Presumptive Value (SPV) from our web site as the primary source
• If a SPV is not available, National Auto Dealers Association (NADA) reference guide will be used, or
If a value is not available either through SPV or NADA, a licensed motor vehicle dealer or insurance adjuster may appraise the vehicle on a form provided by TxDMV (Form VTR-125).
VTR-125 Motor Vehicle Appraisal for Tax Collector Hearing / Bonded Title

• For vehicles 25 years old or older:
  • TxDMV will determine and assign the bond value
  • Appraisals less than $4,000 will not be accepted

The process is easier than you think!  Go to the DMV on Lee Trevino for the applications and a checklist.  If you get lost, give me a call!  915-996-2071

And as always, stay protected my friends :)

Reborn?

http://www.forbes.com/sites/christopherhelman/2014/03/31/t-boone-reborn/


Friends, read the article above about T. Boone for some inspiration, a few laughs, and an overall good feeling.


And as always, stay protected my friends!

SSHHHHHH......it's a secret

So you've built a business.  You're doing well.  What next?  Do you expand, stay the course, or sell?  Well, if you're like me and chose to sell, here are some helpful tips that can save you a ton of headaches down the road. 

1. Get your house in order. The most important thing to do is to make sure your business is performing as well as it can. Now is the time to assess your cash flow, your expenditures, your tax strategy and other elements of your operation to see whether they are optimal.

2. Consider the timing. It's always easier to sell a business when it's on the upswing. For this reason, owners of seasonal businesses should look to sell soon after their busy season begins

3. Consult with experts. There's no shame in seeking expert assistance. If structuring the sale in a tax-friendly manner, setting a price or other parts of the process are too much for you, consult your accountant and consider getting a business broker to handle the sale. That way you can focus on doing what you do best: running your business.

4. Show buyers a bright future. When a buyer buys a business, primarily the focus is going to be on the proven track record, but there is also the future potential to consider. One of your greatest assets as a small-business owner is your intimate knowledge of your own operation; use that to point out opportunities for the new owner to expand the business. The few days' work it requires may pay dividends in a sale.

5. BE QUIET.  This is incredibly important for 2 MAJOR reasons.  If word gets out that you're in the market to sell, customers aren't as likely to remain loyal to you.  Secondly, employees will use their "work time" as "job search time" if they know you're looking to bail as well.

Last, I highly recommend using a business broker, or someone who has actually sold a business before.  AND WHAT DO YOU KNOW?????  I've got this kind of experience!!!!

So, if you're looking to buy or sell a business, give me a call.  You'll be glad you did :)  Stay protected my friends.