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Safety Tips for Renters: Ensuring Your Smoke Detectors Are Ready 

Safety Tips for Renters: Ensuring Your Smoke Detectors Are Ready 

Safety Tips for Renters: Ensuring Your Smoke Detectors Are Ready

As renters, it’s important to stay proactive about fire safety. Smoke detectors are essential for protecting you and your home. Here are some key safety tips to keep in mind:

1. Test Monthly

Press the test button on each smoke detector once a month to ensure it’s working properly. Regular testing is a simple way to stay safe.

2. Replace Batteries Regulations 

Replace the batteries in your smoke detectors at least once a year—or sooner if you hear the low-battery alert. Fresh batteries help ensure reliable operation.

3. Check Expiration Dates 

Smoke detectors typically last around 10 years. Be sure to replace yours if it’s nearing the end of its lifespan, or if it shows signs of malfunction.

4. Report Issues Promptly 

If you notice that a smoke detector is malfunctioning, missing, or making strange noises, inform your landlord right away. Quick action can prevent serious issues.

5. Familiarize Yourself with the Escape Plan  

Know your building’s fire escape routes, exits, and designated meeting areas. This knowledge is crucial in an emergency situation.

6. Know Local Regulations 

Different areas may have specific rules regarding smoke detector maintenance. Contact your local fire department or building office to stay informed about your area’s requirements. 

By following these simple guidelines, you can help protect yourself and your home from fire hazards. Stay safe and take action today! 

Dear Homebuyers: Learn About Your Down payment

Dear Homebuyers: Learn About Your Down payment

Dear homebuyers: Please stop thinking you need 20% down payment

NEW YORK – Feb. 18, 2019 – First-time buyer surveys consistently show the top hurdle to homeownership is saving up for the down payment. But potential home shoppers may be misunderstanding the amount of money they really need to buy a home.

“Paying 20 percent down is, quite frankly, a myth,” Karen Hoskins, vice president at NeighborWorks, told HouseLogic. “Most buyers pay only 5 percent to 10 percent down – some even pay zero.”Several assistance programs can help buyers with down payment concerns break into homeownership. For example, 69 percent of about 2,500 homebuying programs tracked by Down payment Resource offer down payment assistance. The average amount of assistance from these programs tops $11,000.

HouseLogic offers several places where buyers can search for down payment assistance, including through national government programs. The Federal Housing Administration offers loans to first-time buyers with down payments as low as 3.5 percent. Programs like the USDA Rural Development Loans and VA Home Loans offer eligible buyers zero-down payment loans. Mortgage financing giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac offer eligible buyers loans where they can put down as little as 3 percent of the purchase price.

When buyers put down less than 20 percent, they pay private mortgage insurance (PMI) each month to protect the lender’s interest, though the PMI can often be cancelled once they build up 20 percent equity in the property. Many state and local homebuying programs offer assistance programs too. There are many different forms of assistance, such as forgivable loans and grants (gifts for some or all of the down payment and closing costs) to soft mortgages (down payment assistance loans that are deferred for some period of time based on the program’s requirements).

Mortgage brokers should also be able to supply buyers with information about programs in their area and help determine eligibility.

SOURCE: © 2019 Florida Realtors®