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Gift a Swimming Pool
Before we dive into holiday planning, let’s address the elephant in the room. Yep, we’re saying it, “Christmas.” We’re a Christian based pool builder in Nashville, TN and one of our favorite times of the year is celebrating the birth of Jesus. The season of gratitude and gift giving is upon us. Whether you are religious or are just searching for the ultimate Secret Santa gift for your co-worker, we want to share this awesome gift idea with you! Daily life is stressful.Here are the facts. The NY Times released an article,Americans Are Among the Most Stressed People in the World, “Last year, Americans reported feeling stress, anger and worry at the highest levels in a decade, according to the survey, part of anannual Gallup pollof more than 150,000 people around the world, released on Thursday.” [Choksi, 2019] Stress is the root cause of a number of familiar diseases including heart disease, asthma, obesity, diabetes, headaches, depression, anxiety, gastrointestinal problems, and Alzheimer’s disease. It can be acute during major life transitions or build up into a chronic condition overtime from everyday stressors like traffic and demanding work conditions. It’s inevitable and unavoidable. The good news is that it’s manageable. Sick days are being skipped. Why Americans Don’t Take Sick Days, “Nearly a quarter of US adults have been fired or threatened with the sack for taking time off to recover from illness or to care for a sick loved one, according to Family Values at Work, which campaigns for paid leave.” [Wheeler, 2016] But, this isn’t the only reason that less and less Americans aren’t claiming time off of work. Other studies have reported that many Americans love and value their role at work. When we find our purpose in life, it becomes a core part of our identity. We believe our contribution to a business is in direct alignment with our service to humanity, and that is a natural deterrent from staying home in bed and recovering. Americans want to show up and participate in life. We’re losing sleep.Lack of Sleep is Affecting Americans, Finds the National Sleep Foundation,“Forty-five percent of Americans say that poor or insufficient sleep affected their daily activities at least once in the past seven days, according to the National Sleep Foundation’s inaugural Sleep Health Index™. The Sleep Health Index™ is a new annual general population poll that tracks Americans’ sleep behaviors and trends.” [National Sleep Foundation, 2014] A close cousin to skipped sick days and stress is the prevalence of sleep loss. Time has become a recognized commodity and more and more businesses have responded to that need directly by providing home services. Sleep is a critical component of growth, memory retention, recovery and repair. Sleep is also a key component in job performance. Vacation costs are rising.Study: Average Cost of a Vacation, “The average vacation costs $1,145 per person (or $4,580 for a family of 4).” [Kim P., 2018] We’re not trying to deter you from exploring the world but weekend getaways, dining out, and the annual family vacation add up quickly. While necessary, escaping isn’t always easy with the advances of technology. Even though we might be physically removed from an environment, we are connected mentally and emotionally by emails, texts, and social media. Fully immersing ourselves in new experiences at the expense of hefty price tags doesn’t always reap desired benefits. The perfect holiday gift.We believe the perfect holiday gift relieves stress, improves health, encourages sleep, and saves you money.Tennessee Custom Poolscreates beautiful outdoor living spaces and swimming pools. We design the perfect escape from daily life, a personal oasis, an opportunity to unwind. We bring the vacation to your backyard. Whether you want to be an entertainment magnet for family and friends or just disappear “off the grid” for an hour, our established Nashville pool builders can help. Your home is where most of your memories are made. Whether you are nesting in new construction or cozied up in a home you’ve loved for years, we can rejuvenate your space with a home improvement project. Home improvement is also the perfect holiday gift! Feather the Nest.You may be asking yourself, aren’t home improvement projects expensive? We found a solution. It’s calledFeather the Nest. If you are seeking to begin a home improvement project or give an unforgettable gift, this website provides a platform to do it. Homeowner’s can post their home improvement project dreams and share them on social media platforms, link them to their wedding registry, or send a request via email. Friends and family members can then opt to giftanyamount towards the project. Starting a nest is easy. After you obtain a design and project estimate from your Nashville pool builder, go online tohttps://featherthenest.com/startHere you can post your dream photos, design photos, and project cost goals. Then, just press share! Best reasons to crowdfund a Home Improvement project.The internet has connected us intimately with our friends, coworkers, clients, and local businesses. It’s become increasingly more acceptable to share personal details from fitness routines and finances to health and eating habits. Home improvement projects are not only a great way to transform your personal environment, but a fun way to engage and connect with others. We love when our clientsshare & tag usin their progress pics, and collaborate with us on platforms likeHouzzfor design ideas! Plus, more and more people are opting to use crowdfunding to raise awareness for entrepreneurial ventures, charities, and personal causes. Real Estate crowdfunding is an innovative way to embrace a sharing economy. The holiday season has commenced. As we come together in this season of family and friends and opportunities for establishing new life goals, let’s do away with impersonal gift cards and make a real impact on the lives of those around us. If you hear your friend talking about moving to a new home or venting from exhaustion and stress, let them knowTennessee Custom Poolshas innovative ways to help them connect with their goals. OurDesign ConsultationsareFree! Tennessee Custom Poolsbelieves in both building and serving the Nashville community. We provide 3d outdoor design and project management for Noble Building Group, LLC TN License # 63905. If you have questions, feel free to reach out at 615.987.0077 and we will be happy to help walk you through our design process from permitting through build. Our goal is for you to feel confident and happy with your home purchase.
Homeowners Insurance & Swimming Pools
Guest blogger & Metro Nashville Insurance Advisor,Brian CardenofELITE INSURANCE SOLUTIONS, LLCtalks about the insurance planning surrounding the addition of a swimming pool to your property. So, you want a swimming pool in your backyard? Awesome…nothing better than coming home after a hard day & just diving in and relaxing…or having backyard barbeques with friends around the pool on weekends. In ground swimming pools have become so much more intricate and elaborate from when I was a kid. Custom waterfalls, built in whirlpools, tanning ledges, etc., and the values of these pools are getting more & more expensive. I’m a big believer in “stress testing” all of the insurance planning I recommend, and several thoughts come into play here. The first is making sure that there is enough coverage to rebuild the pool in the worst possible scenario. In my mind, this is ground shifting due to earthquake or sinkhole. Yes, Tennessee has had earthquakes…most of them are in the western part of the state closer to the Tennessee & Mississippi Rivers, but just like the flood of 2010, they are possible. Middle Tennessee sits on a sheet of limestone, but yes, there are sinkholes. I would trust that your pool contractor would do core samples to eliminate this risk, but it’s something to consider…and to ask the company you choose to build your pool. Both earthquake and sinkhole coverages are optional coverages to the standard homeowner’s policy but can be added for a minimal additional cost. With regards to coverage on your homeowner’s insurance policy, a swimming pool is considered to be an Other Structure (or Coverage B) …meaning it’s on the property, but not attached to the home. Normally the amount of coverage is 10% of the value of the main home, or Coverage A. For example, your Coverage A is $250,000. Coverage B for Other Structures is typically $25,000 or 10%. The most prevalent “other structure” I see is a detached garage. In this scenario, let’s assume that the total reconstruction costs are $75,000. A good insurance advisor will see this and recommend increasing the “other structures” coverage from $25,000 to $75,000. You can always increase Coverage B, but rarely can you reduce it lower than the standard of 10%. There is a caveat here, and that is how claim reimbursement is handled by a majority of the “name brand” companies. With an other structure such as a detached garage, it can be covered at replacement cost, meaning it’s covered for repair or replacement up to the policy limit at 100%. Other structures which are not buildings, such as your new swimming pool, are covered at Actual Cash Value (ACV), which depreciates the amount the carrier will pay out based on the age and condition of the structure prior to the loss. With many of the companies that we offer as an Independent Agency, we have companies that will endorse a homeowner’s policy to cover your swimming pool at replacement value. Depending on the age and condition of your in-ground pool, this could be a significant difference in the amount of the claim reimbursement. That’s the part that protects the repair or replacement of the actual pool. There are two other issues that need to be mentioned, and the first is a fence that is gated and locked surrounding the pool. For most companies, this is mandatory! Talk with your contractor about a recommendation for this. A pool that is not fenced, gated and locked could be declined by an insurance agent for homeowner’s coverage. Yes, the fence is considered an “other structure” as well, so make sure to include the value of the fence with the value of the pool. The last, but definitely not the least important coverage that needs to be discussed here, and that is a Personal Liability Policy, or “Umbrella”. If I’m still “stress testing” the coverages regarding your new swimming pool, the risk factor for safety and liability increases exponentially. I remember as a kid, one of my good friends had a pool in their yard. It had a 12 ft deep diving area, and a ladder that went up seemingly forever. We also never rode a bike with a helmet either! That was then. Today, a swimming pool is almost always deemed an “attractive nuisance” and that means you as the property owner has a heightened obligation to keep the pool and surrounding premises reasonably safe for everyone…even if they do not have permission to be on the property. Diving boards and slides fall under this terminology, so make sure to disclose these as well. An “umbrella” policy is purely lawsuit protection. They come in increments of $1,000,000 and integrate with the liability limits of your homeowners, automobile, boat, RV, motorcycle policies. They are called “umbrellas” because one policy covers over the top of all of these types of personal lines policies. In my mind, everyone needs an umbrella policy because the attorneys on TV constantly tell me “I deserve to be paid”, and they do so by suing insurance companies. So, to wrap up…here’s what you need to take away… · Ask your insurance advisor to increase Coverage B, “other structures” coverage to the full value of both the pool and the fencing surrounding it. · Ask about including Earthquake and Sinkhole coverages to your homeowner’s policy. · Ask if the pool is covered at Actual Cash Value or can be covered at 100% replacement value. · Purchase no less than $1,000,000 personal liability policy. I hope this has been helpful in your decision to put a custom swimming pool on your property or purchase a home that already has one. My mantra is based on “Castles & Moats”. Meaning every castle of wealth & assets needs a larger moat of protection around it.” Thanks for reading. Brian Carden, Insurance Advisor Elite Insurance Solutions, LLC 2206 21st Ave South, #200 Nashville, TN 37212 615-506-0300 DIRECT LINE www.briancarden.com
Should I Finance a Swimming Pool?
Guest blogger and local Franklin, TN based Financial Advisor, Kevin Prendiville of Financial Transitions dives into personal finance and home improvement. Living in the ever-changing landscape that is Nashville Tennessee brings about two guarantees. Uncertainty and heat. Lucky for you and me there are a multitude of ways to deal with both. In the old days, when country music was all country, and pickup trucks had the old 2-60 air conditioners (roll down both windows and try to hit 60 miles per hour), Tennesseans often relied on the old swimming holes that dotted every farm and country road. Of course, the massive rivers that cut through Chattanooga and the valleys of the volunteer state offer respite from the 100 degree summers. But the Tennessee economic revolution of the 2000s has brought bigger homes, new perspectives and a coastal attitude that carried with it majestic custom pools. The decadent waters of modern gunite pools are the undisputed kings of cool down. But like with everything splendid, there is a splendid cost. However, these swimming pools will only have an associated cost, if they are financed incorrectly. The modern swimming pool can be financed in a number of ways, but in order to understand how to take advantage of such a home improvement, can we agree that we may have to learn some new finance terms and concepts? First and foremost, the concept of inflation is typically associated with larger products or spoken of in an abstract way. But the general idea is that over time, the value of a dollar will be less over time, as more are printed. Currently the United States inflation rate is calculated at 1.7% according to CPI statistics. This may seem like an odd place to start, but if something is financed with a loan of any kind, inflation plays into the hands of the debtor. For instance, if someone takes a 30 year mortgage, the final payment will be worth 1/3 of the original payment. This is because inflation has a cumulative effect, and it’s one of the reasons most loans have an interest rate. So, when considering financing a custom pool, know that it is actually cheaper to pay it back in installments than all at once. The next concept that we ought to examine is known as opportunity cost. Opportunity cost is the idea that any dollar spent today cannot be invested to create a profit. For example, USA Today estimates that the average American pays roughly $10,000 in personal taxes per year. If we use this number and apply the current market average rate of return of 7.91 percent, that one year’s payment of $10,000 costs $96,463 thirty years later. When we understand this concept, it almost seems as though paying for such a massive investment-like a gunite pool, in cash, is counter intuitive. So how does one take advantage of the way money works in order to better enjoy their home? I believe the most efficient way is to finance your swimming pool through your home. If you have lived in your home for a number years, there may be some equity that has accumulated, and so if you refinance to take a long term loan against your home, you can use the money to pay for construction costs and improve the value of your home immediately. The long term nature of a home loan and the current rate on a mortgage, hovering in the mid 3s, will actually play in your favor. You will be able to construct your new pool with the banks money, so you will avoid the opportunity cost, and then the debt will be rolled into your home. But because of your new custom pool, the house will actually appreciate to the value of the new pool. This means that inflation will also kick in, making your payment to the bank and new swimming pool much cheaper than if you used your own money. This can also be effective if you have an open line of credit on your home, if you are uncomfortable refinancing. Nashville pool builders can also help, if your current debt to income ratio is too high for the banks liking. The interest rate is also higher on these options, and because the are not secured by an asset like your house, and the repayment terms are shorter, inflation does not work as much in your favor. You can also try an unsecured personal line of credit, but because of the short repayment terms and because a swimming pool does not produce cash flow of its own, these are perhaps the lest viable option. Now that we know a little bit more about how money works, and how a custom pool helps both your net worth and your summer time enjoyment, what is stopping you from “jumping in”? Financial Transitionseducates clients on the whole story about how to have the freedom to control and access their wealth so they can save more and give more, for a better life. For more information on Financial Transitions,click here. Kevin Prendivilleis a local financial advisor, published author, and producer of the podcastCrime of the Century. For more of his articles,click here.