Intersection between Laura & Lease

[David Mathews]

I'm at an intersection and need advice ASAP! in Lake Charles where Hurricane Laura just totally destroyed. Luckily all of my rentals experienced minimal damage compared to so much destruction I've seen all around them. It is obvious that it'll be weeks before power is restored. All my tenants evacuated and its unsure when they'll return. With that said and the 1st approaching quickly I'm trying to figure out what to do. I'm thinking that I'll send out a message today to everyone stating that we are waving September rent. They are all on a lease. Is that what I should do? Will that cause a problem with insurance possibly not paying for loss of income? Does insurance even pay for loss of rental income? Any advice is much appreciated! Very limited service plus I will be on roofs putting on tarps all day so I may not be able to respond quickly. Thanks in advance!

[John Underwood]

Glad to hear you made it through without major damage. 

You probably still have roofs that need to be inspected as well as other minor damage as you mentioned.

I would wait and see who has a problem paying and why before I started waiving a month of rent for everyone. 

I lived through Hurrican Hugo and I lived in my house with no electricity for weeks.

So some of your tenants may come back in a couple of days.

We had a cooler and a gas grill. It was like camping.