All Forum Posts by: Chanté Owens

I can say this, having worked doing insurance claims for many years; you can have people sign all the waivers you like, and it MAY help you for the final outcome, but it does NOT stop them from filing a lawsuit against you, and you DO need to answer that lawsuit and handle it; therefore, the price you pay for attorney's fees, etc, can far exceed you having made sure your handy person has insurance.

It all sounds good to have this person who you pay $10, $12, $15 an hour and you're saving money, and yes, nothing may NEVER happen...until it does. Regardless, you are going to pay some money if a claim/lawsuit is filed, and I can almost guarantee you that the cost of defense can cover you paying insurance for a handyman for a long, long, time. Just my .02. 

Additionally, with my clients who hire subs. I always recommend to them (whether they listen to me or not is a different story) that if a project goes longer than expected, that they have their subs resubmit proof of insurance. I know (gasp) it's hard to imagine, but sometimes people in general (not just subs) will get insurance in place to get a job, and then cancel the policy the next month. They've been able to provide proof of insurance for the job, but then don't pay for any additional insurance. Many contractors have caught subs doing this...and without going into a long and detailed explanation about this, the short story is  - it's a bad, bad situation should there ever be a lawsuit. It's hard enough when everyone has the insurance that they are supposed too, because insurance companies will fight amongst one another so they don't have to pay; so imagine what happens when YOU are the only one who has insurance or worse - you don't.

That's an awesome return for 3 years; kudos to you! Keep your hustle on and good luck for your next endeavors, I'm sure there will be more to come.

@Dawn Anastasi Sorry Dawn!!! I don't know why I thought "Minnesota!" My bad :(

@Valerie Lang I don't know a lot of the Mid-west cities too well; however, I do know people in Kansas & Missouri area, and if you work with a good "boots on the ground person" you may be able to find some properties in the price range you are looking for to rehab and sell for a decent profit; however, you definitely need to have someone who knows the areas, because they can get real rough, really quickly.

Also, there is another investor on here, @Dawn Anastasi who is in the Minnesota area, and she seems to have an incredible knack of finding these incredible diamonds in the rough. You may want to read some of her posts too. I believe others have commented on the difficulty of someone farther away managing flips in that region if they aren't there, but if you get a partner, you may be able to do it. I believe Dawn specializes in buy and holds, but she could be an invaluable source of good information for that area.

If you ever want to know the "health" (so to speak) of an insurance carrier, you can always check the A.M. Best Rating. It's a wealth of knowledge and information. You have to have an account with them, but it's free. Additionally, there are some mortgage/finance companies that will require an insurance carrier have at least a certain rating, example, B+/A- or better in order to lend the money for the loan - just an FYI.

Additionally, the general population may only be aware of the most "popular" insurance companies (see: commercials), like, Allstate, State Farm, Nationwide, etc; however, there is a multitude of insurance companies out there; especially for rental types of policies and investment properties, because the Allstate's, State Farms, etc are much more risk adverse and prefer NOT to insure certain types of risks. I won't go into all the Surplus Lines type of carriers, but there are a plethora of them that are NOT commonly known by the general public, but are excellent A+/A++ rated insurance companies that have been around for years.

No problem. You're welcome, and good luck to them :)

@Catherine German Hi Catherine! I sent you a PM with one of my friends and colleagues information. 

Good luck and I hope you get the Apartment Bldg, if the numbers work!

@Rosston Smith I recommend checking out this website called Afford Anything (not sure if I'm allowed to include the link, but Paula has written on Bigger Pockets before). The person who started the site is named, Paula, and she started out by buying a lot of properties in the Atlanta, GA area. 

In some of her older posts, she talks about her house hacking the duplex/triplex that she and her boyfriend lived in. I believe that in the one they resided in, they also had a roommate too; which significantly decreased any of their own out-of-pocket expenditure for their own amount they would have needed to pay towards their mortgage. I want to say they lived free & clear because of the roommate, but don't quote me on that. Good luck with your purchase!

By the way, because of her willingness to sacrifice some things, she and her boyfriend have amassed an incredible portfolio of properties, and they are only in their early 30s (if that, since they started in their mid-20's).

@Jered Sturm Great post, and what I realized is that the top two points (probably the others too) are based on being proactive vs reactive. In example number one, you are actively working your business by - answering the phone, returning calls, and generally being accessible. In the second point, you ASKED the seller of the dryer if he knew of anyone selling properties in the area. Again, you proactively were pursuing your main goal of acquiring more properties by proactively ASKING questions.

I have a colleague who used to say, "A closed mouth don't get fed." Well, your examples in the post prove that point.

Wishing you continued success, and thanking you for the "food for thought action!"

Also, just know that your insurance will likely be more expensive for your property insurance, as the regular carriers do not write this type of insurance (at least not here in Washington State). No State Farm, Allstate, Foremost, etc. You will need to get special insurance, and the tenants will need to do the same; which may be a cost you pass on to the tenant.

Obviously they will also need to get insurance for their business too, depending if they are a retailer, processor or grower. Again, I'm not sure about California, but in Washington, the Liquor & Cannabis Board have specific guidelines around the types of safe you have to have on premise, as well as cameras, etc, in respect to the security issues that someone mentioned earlier in the thread. I'm not sure what California does or does not require, so as a landlord, you'd want to be aware if there would be some sorts of special tenant betterment & improvements that would be completed on your property.