First fire at one of my rentals

[Kerry Baird]

It finally happened...tenants experienced a fire in the garage of one of our houses.  Thankfully, everyone is safe.  There is smoke and water damage to the house, damage to sheet rock, smoke in the HVAC system, water damage and so forth.  The cost of remediation was bid out at $11,452 for a 3 bedroom 2 bath house.  I am not sure what caused the fire at this point.

I am one of those people who think, "What's the worst that can happen?" and this ranks up there.  Had a foundation to mud-jack last year, so ticked that box. Have had termites several times, and ticked that box.  Now the "fire" box has been ticked.   

[Nathan Gesner]

Quote from @Kerry Baird:

It finally happened...tenants experienced a fire in the garage of one of our houses.  Thankfully, everyone is safe.  There is smoke and water damage to the house, damage to sheet rock, smoke in the HVAC system, water damage and so forth.  The cost of remediation was bid out at $11,452 for a 3 bedroom 2 bath house.  I am not sure what caused the fire at this point.

I am one of those people who think, "What's the worst that can happen?" and this ranks up there.  Had a foundation to mud-jack last year, so ticked that box. Have had termites several times, and ticked that box.  Now the "fire" box has been ticked.   

Did the tenants have renters insurance? This should be motivation for you to start requiring it. Tenants should have a renter insurance policy with $100,000 in liability coverage and they should list you as "Additional Insured" or "Additional Interest" on the policy. That ensures you're covered under their policy and it ensures you are notified if the Tenant ever attempts to cancel their policy or allows it to lapse.

Additional Interest vs. Additional Insured