Recently one of our clients suffered a fire in one of their rental houses. As a landlord myself I have also been through this and it’s tough. You lose the rental income, the use of your house and sometimes you have to return the customers deposit and put them up somewhere else until they can find suitable housing. It’s a mess! It takes up a lot of time and energy to deal with:
- The tenant/customer, is everybody OK? Where do they go and what do they do?
- The fire department (make sure you get the complete fire report from the fire chief).
- The insurance company – the claim, the deductible $, the time, the details and the rehabilitation of the unit. *Note you should be on a high deductible if you can afford it.
Remember your “claim record” is a bit like your “driving record” so if it’s a small claim you may want to think twice before making it. And using just any insurance company and any value can get you in trouble! So be prepared! Use a reputable insurance company that will pay their claims. If you are ready to quit reading by now because this is a boring subject just remember:
- Have a good agent that you can call! (See below)
- How much is your dwelling coverage (replacement costs)**? With values and construction costs going up quickly do you have enough coverage?
- Loss of rents? Fair Rental Value?
- Landlord Liability, 300K? More?
*Note these are only a few things that you need to be looking for in a Landlord Insurance Policy OR a Owner Occupant Policy. Disclaimer, I am not an insurance specialist. and I didn’t even sleep at a Holiday Inn Express last night! 🙂 But if you want to be sure you are properly insured check in with your insurance agent today!
Two of our preferred insurance vendors are:
Stephen Piper – Piper Insurance – stephen@piperinsurancegroup.com – 864-564-1654
Vic Morgano – Morgano Insurance – vic@morganoagency.com – 864-609-5285
PS – Make sure your tenant/customers are carrying renters insurance. This will help if something happens to their belongings. It’s good for them and good for you!
If you need help navigating this topic or any others that home ownership requires, please give us a call! 864-395-6538
To your success!
Thank you for your business! Call us today about renting or selling your property!
Robert
