A few months back some friends and I decided to get a hotel room and take a long weekend vacation on the beach. The hotel we made our reservation with was one we were familiar with because we have stayed with them numerous times.  It is a great ma and pa place . . . → Read More: Hotels in Florida]]>

A few months back some friends and I decided to get a hotel room and take a long weekend vacation on the beach. The hotel we made our reservation with was one we were familiar with because we have stayed with them numerous times.  It is a great ma and pa place right on the beach. Our favorite room is actually an apartment with a full kitchen.

We packed the van with kites for the beach, cards in case it rains and our bathing suits and we were off for our three day adventure.

After driving a few hours we arrived at our destination only to find our favorite room was not available.  It wasn’t that they rented it out to someone else but it was being remodeled after some people had a wild time in it and basically destroyed the place.

I got talking to Rose the owner and she said this kind of thing happens more than she cared to admit. She said between the spring breakers, the weekend binge drinkers and some folks that just do not have respect for other people’s property, she “remodels” pretty often.

I asked if she had an inventory of each of the apartments, efficiencies and hotel rooms.  She claimed she had thought about it, but couldn’t find the time.  After I told her what Florida Inventory Services does, she asked me to call her later in the week and speak with her business partner about our services.

We were hired and because this hotel has a proper asset inventory, Rose and her partner are able to charge the culprits for items they destroy.

Be ready, be prepared and be safe.

Recently we received a phone call from a client who needed out services.  He was looking update his homeowners insurance and wanted to be sure he had enough coverage should a flood or other disaster hit their home.

This family is a large collector of many things.  Some of . . . → Read More: Do You Have Enough Insurance?]]>

Recently we received a phone call from a client who needed out services.  He was looking update his homeowners insurance and wanted to be sure he had enough coverage should a flood or other disaster hit their home.

This family is a large collector of many things.  Some of these collections include coins, artwork, designer shoes and bags. 

Besides the collections, their home is filled with items they bought on their travels or were given to them as gifts.  Needless to say, everything was not only beautiful but also had sentimental value.

When I finished taking their asset inventory, the data, pictures, receipts, warranties and appraisals were all added into the completed report.

When the client received their compile report, they did not realize they were $60,000 UNDER insured on their homeowners insurance.  This could have been a devastating scenario if something would have happened to their goods and they needed to file a claim.

I find it surprising and not uncommon that businesses and homeowners alike are not aware of how much it would cost to replace the goods they have.  It is difficult to know all the assets you have without a complete inventory.

Whether you do it yourself or have a professional like Florida Inventory Services, be sure to compare it to your insurance policy to make certain you have enough coverage should disaster strike.

Be prepared, be safe and be ready

Tammy Wynette wrote the quintessential country song called D-I-V-O-R-C-E.  For those of you who have not heard it, it is exactly what you would think, an iconic country songstress belting out the letters of every married couples nightmare while wearing a sequin gown, showing off her big sprayed country . . . → Read More: Divorce Help]]>

 D-I-V-O-R-C-E

Tammy Wynette wrote the quintessential country song called D-I-V-O-R-C-E.  For those of you who have not heard it, it is exactly what you would think, an iconic country songstress belting out the letters of every married couples nightmare while wearing a sequin gown, showing off her big sprayed country hair and never breaking a sweat.

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I am sure that song came from Miss Wynette’s real life, she was one of the lucky few who came through her divorce, wrote a song about it and cart wheeled all the way to the bank.  Those of you who have or are going through a divorce probably won’t be able to write a career defining song about it nor will you receive royalty checks after the divorce is final.

So what does divorce have to do with my blog?  A long time friend of mine and his wife are going through a divorce.  He and his wife have been married for going on 14 years now.  In that time they have accumulated many wonderful items for their home.  Collectible art pieces, antiques they used to spend weekends shopping for and furnishings that truly make a house a home.  Now, through their attorneys they are going item by item and figuring out who gets what.  It is a process that can be very tedious but one thing they did last year as a married couple was to hire Florida Inventory Services to compile a thorough inventory of all their assets.  They hired us to be sure their home had proper insurance coverage.  As is turned out, this same inventory can be used by each of their attorneys to split the assets in a fair and equitable way.  Because Florida Inventory Services is a bonded and impartial third party, and the inventory was taken about eight months ago, the attorneys did not feel it necessary to spend additional monies to take yet another inventory.

Be sure to have your assets covered when it comes to having the proper insurance coverage, knowing what you have before it is gone and just taking stock of all the things you have worked so hard to purchase.

Be prepared, be safe and be ready.

Early detection of leaks can be the difference between cleaning up the mess with a mop or hiring and entire crew to do a major construction job that involves mold, new flooring and other costly repairs.

The sound of a running toilet drives me . . . → Read More: Running Toilets Can Run You Out of Home and Money]]>

Running Toilets

Early detection of leaks can be the difference between cleaning up the mess with a mop or hiring and entire crew to do a major construction job that involves mold, new flooring and other costly repairs.

The sound of a running toilet drives me up the wall.  Not only is it annoying but it also wasteful and very costly.  A running toilet wastes 2 gallons of water per minute.  That equals about 7000 gallons of wasted water per month. 

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Clogged toilets are another culprit to wasted water.  Hanging bowl deodorants, inappropriate items and too much toilet tissue can cause blockage and lead to leaks or worse….floods.  Chlorine toilet tablets used to keep the bowl clean may corrode internal components also causing leaks or floods.

Soft spots in the flooring around the toilet are a good indication there have been or still are issues that need to be dealt with. 

Don’t let your toilet become a very expensive throne.  As soon as you detect a problem contact your local plumber.

Be ready, be prepared and be safe.

The Federal Citizen Info Center has a ton of great advice as to what records to keep and for what duration to keep them.

Birth, Marriage and Death Certificates can be stored safely in a fire proof box. I read about a great suggestion when using a fire proof box, place papers in . . . → Read More: Keeping Records]]>

The Federal Citizen Info Center has a ton of great advice as to what records to keep and for what duration to keep them.

Birth, Marriage and Death Certificates can be stored safely in a fire proof box. I read about a great suggestion when using a fire proof box, place papers in a sealed zip lock bag to prevent any possible water damage.

Health records, appraisals, wills, living wills or durable powers of attorney and home inventory can also be stored in the fire proof box. It is important to keep these records up to date. You can also place up-to-date insurance papers in your box.

Depending on the size of your box, you may want to place valid warranty papers and any other papers such as receipts that show proof of ownership.

A fireproof box is a great way to keep your important papers organized. It is also handy should you and your family ever needs to evacuate your home due to an emergency.

If you are one of the home owners presently using State Farm as your insurance provider you may want to take a better look at the services Florida Inventory Services offer. . . . → Read More: State Farm Pulling Out of Florida]]> finding a new carrier for their homeowners insurance. Single family dwellings, condos, boats and renters with State Farm homeowners will all be affected.

If you are one of the home owners presently using State Farm as your insurance provider you may want to take a better look at the services Florida Inventory Services offer. You will need to replace the carrier of your homeowners insurance and you want to be sure you have the proper coverage. Too little coverage could really be detrimental should you ever have to place a claim. Too much coverage could be throwing money out the window.

Do not wait until your policy is up for renewal. Start doing your homework now. It can save you not only aggravation but money for the future.

Be safe, be prepared and be ready.

Trim trees and eliminate low branches that either hang to the ground or lay to the eaves of your home.

Add "fuel breaks" to the landscaping of your home. Fuel break examples are gravel or brick walkways, stone or paved driveways and stone walls basically anything that will break up the path of . . . → Read More: Brush Fire Season]]>

Trim trees and eliminate low branches that either hang to the ground or lay to the eaves of your home.

Add "fuel breaks" to the landscaping of your home. Fuel break examples are gravel or brick walkways, stone or paved driveways and stone walls basically anything that will break up the path of the fire.

Remember it is life before property. If you hear of brush fires near your home stay informed. If you need to evacuate have your emergency bag with medications and essentials already packed. If possible have more than one evacuation route available.

Remember be safe, be ready and be prepared.

I took a break from flood duty and went to my Mother’s home around the corner and through flood soaked eyes; I took a good look at her living area. I realized had the exact same flood happened in her home, she would have encountered $10-$20,000 worth of damage. Because of decisions . . . → Read More: My Big Flood]]>

I took a break from flood duty and went to my Mother’s home around the corner and through flood soaked eyes; I took a good look at her living area. I realized had the exact same flood happened in her home, she would have encountered $10-$20,000 worth of damage. Because of decisions I had made when decorating my home, I was able to minimize the flood damage. I had not understood it at the time of my decisions but I have to say I am grateful for those choices now. You may be asking yourself what were those choices; well I am going to share them with you.

I personally like the feet of upholstered furniture to show. I am not a fan of the fringes or skirts that adorn sofas or chairs. During my flood, the water never touched the upholstery, only the wooden feet which made clean up easy.

When I was building my home, I had a budget of zero for landscaping. This meant I was going to be living with sand until I could afford to get sod laid in my yard. For this reason I decided to tile the entire house instead of carpet. I figured I could get rugs later but until I could afford grass, the clean up would be easier with the tile. During the flood, the tile cleaned up nicely with just a push broom.

This brings me to my final saving grace during my flood, the baseboards. After the tile was laid, I had a lot of large scraps and a few leftover boxes of tile. I decided to use the extra tile as my baseboards. Because of this decision, the flood never touched the drywall therefore the walls did not have to be replaced.

If you are doing a renovation, you may want to think about some of these tricks. They saved me during my flood and they make my home look great.

Be safe, be prepared, be ready