insurance on foreclosed properties

[Brett Hoggard]

My partner and I have buying foreclosure for the last 18 months and am curious to how everyone approaches insuring these properties. We typically buy the property and then spend a few months fixing up the property before selling it or transtioning it to a rental.

We have a time lag between when we buy the property at the courthouse and when we are able to get the former owners out. The last property took about 2 months. We have not been able to find an insurance company who will insure the property with the former owners in the house. I did have one agent who said he could get a special policy from Llloyds of London but then I could not get him to call me back. The previous agent we used told us to insure it with a vacant policy but when I read the policy it did not seem like we would be covered. Any suggestions?

Also, when doing a rehab is a builder's risk policy the best way to go?