Picking an Insurance Agency

Pretty soon after signing the purchase agreement, we were contacted by a Ryan Homes partner company about insurance for our townhouse. I was pretty sure we were going to go with our regular insurance agency that we really like, but I thought I'd check it out just in case. This post is basically about how to compare insurance agencies... and why you should think twice about signing with the insurance agency that Ryan Homes recommends.

How to Compare Insurance Agencies

• Check for reviews. I'm not talking about Yelp, I mean checking with your state insurance commissioner and the Better Business Bureau. If your state doesn't really have a lot of information (mine didn't), check other states around you.
• Check for how they pay claims. Every insurance company has a "loss ratio," which is basically an indicator of how much they are paying in claims. The lower the number, the more likely the company is overcharging for premiums. The industry average is about 60% (source), so use that as your starting point.
• Check for financial strength. In case anything happens to your home, you want to make sure the company has enough money in the bank to pay your claim. A.M. Best, Standard & Poor's and Moody's Investors Service all evaluate insurance companies.

A Warning About Ryan Homes' Recommendation

I should start off by saying that RH doesn't place any pressure whatsoever for you to go with a particular insurance company. You can pick whoever you want, no questions asked. But, I think it's a little dirty to partner up with a company that has horrible business practices, so I wanted to warn others here.

Not too long after signing, we got an insurance quote from Westwood Insurance, although the policy was actually going to be serviced by a company called Praetorian.

Praetorian has been under fire for all manner of poor business practices. Some sample quotations and sources:

• In Texas, in 2013, Praetorian had nearly 15 (!!!) times higher than average compaints compared to every other insurer. In 2014 they had double the number of complaints. (Texas Department of Insurance)
• Current and proposed ... rates are clearly excessive and in violation of statutory rate standards. The very low loss ratios alone indicate excessive rates. (Florida Office of Insurance Regulation)
• [Praetorian] has offered to lower its rates by an average of 18.8 percent, despite the fact that state regulators said the rate decrease should be double that amount. (Insurance Journal)

If you have a military connection (you, your spouse, your parents), we can't recommend USAA highly enough. I'm not being paid or comped to say this or anything, we've just had a really excellent experience with them for fifteen years.

And We're Off to the Races

FINALLY! It feels like it's been forever and a day since we signed the purchase agreement (non-hyperbole time: three months), so it's SO invigorating to see them start construction. I have a feeling I'm going to burn up a lot of gas wanting to stop by and see the progress they've made. Based on timelines from other bloggers, I'm guessing we have about 2-3 weeks before framing begins.

Compared to the pre-construction photos I've seen of other RH homes, I have to confess this just seems like one big dirtpile. I guess I thought they'd clear out more dirt first, but what do I know about home construction?

Now we're officially off to the races on the construction calendar!

And on the way home, we spotted this guy. I always feel a little sorry for deer right in the middle of a big city, but he sure is cute with those velvety antlers.

The Ridiculously Easy $8 Home Security Upgrade

Home automation has come a long way, baby. Lighting is one of those things that make your home just a little bit safer, so setting up automated systems in place to turn on lights is a really cheap and easy step to make your home less tempting to would-be thieves.

Automating anything used to mean one of those noisy timers, and those of you who have used the “old school” kind know exactly how ticky and loud they are. On the other hand, they are very cheap and incredibly easy to set up, so I guess I can’t complain too much. We do put some of our lamps on daily digital timers, which are just as easy to use and completely silent. Both of these kinds of timers plug right into the wall socket, have a clock to determine on-off times, and most come with an “override” switch so if it gets dark early you can go ahead and have your lamp on.

Incidentally, daily timers are great if you use any kind of electronic air freshener like a Febreeze plug in or a wax warmer, because then you’re not wasting fragrance when you’re not even at home. We schedule ours to come on about fifteen minutes before we get home from work, and it’s so nice to open the door to the house smelling good.

But how do you automate things that are hard wired, like porch lights, rather than plugged in like lamps are? Well, if you have a little bit of electrical know how (we don’t), you can install a timer switch right into the wall. These allow for more sophisticated timing than a daily timer – for example, different schedules for different days of the week – but the switch is not exactly glamorous looking. I recently found an even easier, cheaper solution: photo-sensing light bulbs! The difference between timers and photo-sensors is that timers work on a prescribed interval (like 8 AM to 8 PM), where photo-sensors just cut on whenever it gets dark.

We bought two Philips Energy Saver Dusk-to-Dawn14-watt CFL bulbs. The little red dot at the base of the bulb is the photo-sensor that monitors how dark it is outside. These are actually designed to go on at dusk, so they turn on before it’s completely dark outside, which we like. We currently have two carriage style porch lights, and I was a little bit concerned the light from one might cause the sensor in the other to trip and not come on, but they work perfectly. I do notice that on especially cloudy or dark days sometimes they stay on, but because they’re CFL bulbs the energy usage isn’t a big deal. I love that when the days are short and it gets dark before we get home, the our house is automatically lit up before we even get home.

So there you have it: the easiest $8 you will ever spend to make your home more secure.

The Official Fan Page

We bought some fans! (See what I did there?)

All things being equal, I'd rather have a nice light fixture because I think they look a lot nicer, but after living in the South for over a decade... we sure do appreciate having a ceiling fan when the weather is hot and sticky. Plus, a typical central A/C unit uses 3,500 watts while running, whereas a typical ceiling fan uses 60 watts, even on high... so this frugal and environmentally minded mama is willing to compromise. We're putting fans in the two rooms we anticipate using the most often, the master bedroom and the living room.

J turned out to be far more opinionated on ceiling fans than I ever thought possible. I'm partial to the schoolhouse lighting kits, but it was a no go for J. Pinterest boards were created. Reviews were compared. Airflow was compared. In the end, we selected this bad boy, the 52" Casa Compass ceiling fan in brushed nickel:

It clocks in at 71 watts, and has an airflow of 6,371 cubic feet per minute. We weren't in any hurry to buy these seeing as how the house isn't built yet, but LampsPlus had these discounted by an extra 20% until June 7, so what the heck. (Speaking of my frugal side, I should point out that they don't honor discount codes on items that are already on sale.)

It was a learning experience to discover that a lot of fans, even some of the high end ones, don't come with a remote. If you have tall ceilings, using a pull chain is a total pain, and in the bedroom it's nice to turn out the light or adjust the fan speed without getting out of bed. You can buy remotes super easily BUT know that the fan needs to have extra room in the canopy (the part that houses the light and blades) to smush the receiver in there.

What about you? Do you plan to put in a ceiling fan?

First Furniture Purchase for the New House

Time seems to be ticking away interminably while we wait for Ryan Homes to break ground, but RH hosted a little block party last weekend, and it was so much fun to meet future neighbors! I even met two sets of neighbors that will live in my little townhouse block, which was great. I think we're all impatient for things to get going.

In other house related news, we bought our first piece of furniture for the house! We wanted a cozy chair for the room that we'll use as our office, but we also wanted something that could double as an extra bed when we have a full house. Daybeds look pretty, but it would have been too big in a relatively small room.

Enter Crate & Barrel's Oxford Twin Sleeper:

The chair's actually a Craigslist find. Both Pottery Barn and Crate & Barrel have twin sleepers that are really well reviewed, so we set up a search alert to see if any happened to pop up for sale. I did think twice about getting something upholstered secondhand, but it was in immaculate condition.

The other big ticket items that are on my list are ceiling fans and a new TV. I was hoping the holiday weekend might yield some sales, but I didn't really spot anything I liked.

Your Limousine, My Dear?

Homes are selling fast!

In our community, the developer (Woodlawn Development Group) is required to either have a walking path in place or hire a shuttle bus service to the metro station by the time they issue the 200th building permit.

Well, guess what came before the city council on April 13? Hiring a shuttle bus service! The proposal was for Reston Limousine to provide weekday service during peak commuting times, from 6:30 to 9:30 am and from 4:30 to 7:30 pm.

In related news, I guess there's some dispute about where the walking path to the metro should actually go. The Greenbelt News Review reported that a potential easement for the FBI headquarters "would not permit the proposed hiker/biker trail connections approved in detailed site plans for Greenbelt Station" (p. 5).

I'm all for the FBI next door... but let's be clear, we called dibs on the land first, suckers!

Just Your Average Day at Work

No progress on house construction, but I did get to attend a work meeting in sunny Puerto Rico... so I think I'll still chalk this one in the W column. :)