Owning a Home

26 articles on everything owning a home involves — maintenance, insurance, and the ongoing realities of homeownership.

Home Maintenance

Septic System Maintenance for Coastal Homeowners: What Most People Get Wrong

You’ll learnHow a septic tank separates sludge, scum and effluent, and why solids left to accumulate eventually clog the drain field soil

Landlord Insurance for Rental Properties: How It's Different From a Homeowners Policy

You’ll learnWhy a homeowners policy is written around owner-occupancy, and how leaving a carrier uninformed of the change can be treated as misrepresentation

Home Maintenance

Exterior Paint and Caulking: When It's Maintenance vs. When It's Cosmetic

You’ll learnWhy chalking and fading alone are largely cosmetic, while cracking, peeling or bubbling paint means the surface is no longer sealed

Home Insurance Deductibles: How Choosing the Right One Changes Your Premium

You’ll learnHow a flat-dollar deductible differs from a percentage deductible, which is calculated against dwelling coverage rather than the size of the claim

Bundling Home and Auto Insurance: When It Actually Saves Money

You’ll learnWhy a multi-policy discount is a percentage off one carrier’s own baseline price, not proof of the lowest total cost

Filing a Homeowners Insurance Claim: What to Expect Step by Step

You’ll learnWhy policies expect reasonable steps to prevent further damage, and why receipts for tarping or water extraction are typically reimbursable

Home Maintenance

Gutter Maintenance: The Cheap Habit That Prevents Expensive Damage

You’ll learnWhat failing gutters actually damage: foundations that settle as water pools, rotted fascia and soffit, and damp basements or crawl spaces

Home Maintenance

Termite and Moisture Prevention for Coastal Homes

You’ll learnWhy subterranean termites thrive in coastal conditions, and how sandy or low-lying soil changes how water moves around a foundation

Your Homeowners Policy Probably Doesn't Cover This: Sinkholes and Earth Movement

You’ll learnWhat a standard policy's earth movement exclusion typically bundles: earthquake, landslide, mudflow, subsidence, and sinking or shifting soil

Home Maintenance

Budgeting for Home Maintenance: The 1% Rule and Beyond

You’ll learnWhere the 1% rule breaks down: a home's age, its climate exposure, and the deferred maintenance you inherited at purchase

Do You Need an Umbrella Policy? How to Think About the Choice

You’ll learnHow an umbrella policy works as excess liability coverage that attaches once homeowners and auto liability limits are exhausted

Flood Insurance and Flood Zones: What Every Buyer Should Check

You’ll learnWhat FEMA's zone designations mean in practice — Zone X, the Zone A and AE Special Flood Hazard Area, and coastal high-hazard Zone VE

Prefer to browse just one topic? See Insurance or Home Maintenance on their own.