StrucSure Home Warranty Presents Platinum Builder Award to O’Dwyer Homes

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Cindy Huber and Dan O'Dwyer

Cindy Huber and Dan O'Dwyer

StrucSure Home Warranty is proud to announce it has presented Dan O’Dwyer, President of O’Dwyer Homes, with its Platinum Builder Award. This award represents a mark of excellence and designates O’Dwyer Homes among the top builder members in the country. Obtaining a Platinum Builder designation with StrucSure Home Warranty is an accolade that is presented to builders who have maintained a high level of customer satisfaction and have shown exemplary building practices and strong industry involvement.

Dan O’Dwyer is a licensed home builder in the state of Georgia, is a member of the Board of Directors of the Greater Atlanta Home Builders Association (GAHBA) and is a member of the prestigious Certified Professional Home Builders Program (CPHB). In 2006, O’Dwyer Homes was recognized by its peers with a Builder of the Year award from the GAHBA at the annual OBIE Awards. Dan O’Dwyer gives back to his community by maintaining an active roll with HomeAid Atlanta, a non-profit organization that provides shelter to homeless women and their children.

Over the past 20-plus years, O’Dwyer Homes has built more than 1,000 homes in the Atlanta metro area. Each home has been constructed with careful attention to detail, quality construction and the latest trends in building practices. As a builder who is focused on energy efficiency, every home built by O’Dwyer Homes is Energy Star certified by a third-party. O’Dwyer Homes’ customer satisfaction program represents the epitome of excellence recognized by the StrucSure Home Warranty Platinum Builder program.

O’Dwyer Homes goes above and beyond in ensuring their customers are satisfied and protected with third-party, insurance-backed structural warranty coverage from StrucSure Home Warranty. “In a competitive housing market, this is a must have to attract buyers and close the sale,” said Donna Steakley, Director of Marketing for O’Dwyer Homes.  “The entire O’Dwyer Homes team always focuses on putting the customer first while demonstrating the highest level of integrity and providing exceptional customer service from the beginning to end of the buying process,” commented Steakley.

“Our relationship with StrucSure is very important in today’s home buying environment,” commented Dan O’Dwyer. “The additional comfort in having warranty protection from StrucSure Home Warranty when buying a home is an added benefit to our homebuyers.”

“Having O’Dwyer Homes as one of our select Platinum home builders is an honor. Dan has weathered the downturn in the market by applying smart business and risk management practices. We work closely with him to ensure that each new homeowner has a positive customer experience,” said Cindy Huber, V.P. of Sales for the Eastern Division of StrucSure Home Warranty.

About StrucSure Home Warranty

For more than 16 years, StrucSure Home Warranty has been providing builders, remodelers and contractors with warranty products that deliver peace of mind. Our warranties protect our clients from expensive claims, liabilities and legal fees, and offers their clients peace of mind through third-party, insurance- backed warranty protection. Just like any risk management product, the hope is that you’ll never need it, but when a problem emerges, you’ll be glad you’re covered!

For more information, call Cindy Huber, Vice President of Sales, Eastern Division, at 770-363-7823, email chuber@strucsure.com or visit www.strucsure.com.

Do I Need Identity Theft Insurance?

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Faster recovery with identity theft protection

Faster recovery with identity theft protection

You’ve probably seen advertisements for identity theft insurance. Have you wondered what it really is and if it’s something you need?

The insurance pros over at the Equifax Finance blog recently covered the topic of identity theft insurance in the article, “

Do I need Identity Theft Insurance?”

Here’s the rundown: Identity theft insurance is niche insurance, for those people who are concerned about the costs involved with repairing their identity should a theft ever occur. Recovering from identity theft can be costly in time and in money. Identity theft insurance can’t actually stop a theft, of course. It just helps reimburse individuals for the costs of restoring their identity, like phone bills, lost wages, notary costs, certified mail costs, and possible even attorney’s fees. The insurance also usually provides access to services that can also help. If you are interested in purchasing identity theft insurance, be sure you know what you are buying. Get all the details on policies from several different companies, comparing price, coverage, limits and deductibles.

If you have been a victim of identity theft, call one of the three major credit reporting agencies to request a fraud alert (whichever agency you contact will alert the other two agencies, so you only need to call one). Order a copy of your

credit report so you can see what is going on.

Get more identity theft protection information at the Equifax Finance blog.

When Can You Buy a Home After a Foreclosure

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By recovering your credit ratings after foreclosure, you can become a homeowner again.

By recovering your credit ratings after foreclosure, you can become a homeowner again.

Many Americans were forced into a foreclosure or short sale over the past few years due to job loss, decreased incomes and declining home values. The market is recovering now and homeowners who did fall victim to foreclosure or short sale may now be wondering when they will be able to purchase a home. The real estate pros at the Equifax Finance blog addressed this question in the recent article, “

Can I Buy a Home After a Short Sale or Foreclosure?”

According to the article, when is the right question, not if. Homeownership is a smart idea but buyers will have to demonstrate the ability to pay for a mortgage with proof of sufficient and stable income, the willingness to pay based on credit ratings and the ability to provide a sufficient down payment. But when depends on individual circumstances. In order to buy a home again, “you must focus diligently on improving your credit and saving money.” There are five variables that go into your ability to secure financing on a home:

  • Duration of delinquency – the longer your short sale or foreclosure proceedings took, the worse
  • Deficiency judgments – how much unpaid negative debt you were left with on your

    credit ratings after your short sale or foreclosure

  • Interest rate – a lower credit score may mean a higher interest rate, which can make a big difference on a major purchase like a home; waiting until you can get a better interest rate can save you thousands of dollars
  • Down payment – a higher down payment may be required; some rules require down payments of up to 20 percent (saving that much will take some time)
  • Waiting period – many major investors and mortgage insurers have set rules on how long a borrower has to wait after a foreclosure or other housing problem, from two to seven years, depending on your situation

Get the full article on the Equifax Finance blog, and while you’re there, get more personal finance advice on topics like retirement, taxes, credit and more.

June Numbers Show Continued Improvements for South Carolina Real Estate

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South Carolina real estate

Earlier this week, the South Carolina REALTORS (SCR) association released its statewide June market reports which show that the housing recovery is definitely coming.

South Carolina new home listings increased by 4.2 percent to 8,867, and pending sales were up a whopping 12.1 percent to 5,544. Couple this with a shrinking inventory of 47,149 units (8.5 percent decrease), and you can tell that demand is on the rise. Prices also rose by 4.4 percent to $164,900, days on market saw a dramatic decrease of 16.3 percent to 112 and supply decreased by an also impressive 22.2 percent to 9.3 months.

All of these numbers plus an improving economy spell good times ahead for the South Carolina real estate market.

The South Carolina REALTORS association is the largest professional trade association in the state. Serving as the voice of real estate for more than 14,000 members, SCR is dedicated to protecting and promoting the local residential and commercial real estate industries.

Five Reasons You Might Need to Upgrade Your Insurance

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Homeowners insurance protects your upgradesOutdoor living spaces have been a hot home design trend for the past few years. If you have been one of the many who recently added an outdoor living space, like an expanded deck or porch with seating, outdoor fireplace or kitchen, gazebo, pool, hot tub, etc., it may be time to check your homeowners insurance policy to ensure that those spaces are covered.

A recent article on the Equifax Finance Blog, “

5 Reasons to Update Your Homeowners Insurance This Summer,” gives five situations in which you might need to re-evaluate your policy.

  • If you recently made an outdoor improvement (these spaces may or may not be protected in your existing policy)
  • If your outdoor property is in poor condition (ex: an old wooden deck with deteriorating planks)
  • If you need different coverage (like bodily injury protection)
  • If you need more coverage (like the kind you can get with an umbrella policy added onto your existing property)
  • It’s been a while since you reviewed your policy (you may be eligible for savings or discounts)

Get more insurance tips and advice at the Equifax Finance blog, as well as tips on other finance topics like retirement, taxes,

credit ratings, identity protection and more.