All Forum Posts by: Joel Bechtel

Thanks for reaching out! I'd be happy to share a quick video overview of the software. Could you send me your email (feel free to format it like “name [at] domain [dot] com” to avoid filters), and I’ll send you the link directly.

Also, I’d love to hear more about your background:

• How long you’ve been in property management
• If you’re currently involved in multifamily investments or looking to expand into that space
• Whether you’re exploring tools for your own portfolio or considering something broader

Looking forward to hearing more and seeing if there’s a fit!

Ok. Thanks.

The agent I spoke with has about 30 years of insurance experience, so I’d hope she knows what she’s talking about and what she’s offering.

I have another policy with Allstate for my 6-unit property, which they were able to insure for approximately $890K because the replacement cost came in under $1M. I agree that 1-4 unit properties are a different ballgame, but within my portfolio, I have a 4-unit property insured for $715K—the same amount as one of my single-family rentals. Interestingly, the premium for the single-family rental is about half that of the 4-unit property.

I’ve owned rental properties for over 34 years, so I have a solid understanding of how premiums and coverages typically align with property values. Additionally, in the past six months, I’ve reviewed about 45 multifamily properties (ranging from 10 to 80 units) for my real estate private equity firm. Based on this experience, I feel I have a fair sense of what pricing should look like.

Do you have any supplemental carriers you’d recommend?

The property value (minus land) is about $1.4M, and rebuild costs are estimated at $1.6M. With Allstate’s RCV policy (not ACV), they estimated the rebuild cost at ~$1.3M. Meanwhile, my current carrier increased their estimated rebuild cost from ~$1.6M to ~$2.6M to justify their premium hike.

Most other quotes I received estimated replacement costs between $1.3M and $1.7M, but finding a carrier willing to underwrite this policy has been challenging. Many have pulled out of insuring multifamily properties or only cover up to 4-unit buildings.

While Allstate doesn’t have a unit cap, they do cap total coverage at $750K on a landlord policy—which is why I’m exploring options for supplemental coverage.

The carrier raised my rate by ~86% on all three properties under this policy. The premiums didn’t make sense compared to the other options I found for the two properties I moved off this policy, nor did they align with the rates I have for other properties in my portfolio that are not on this policy.

I’ve shopped this policy extensively across multiple companies and brokers. The other quotes I received were often unreasonably high compared to other properties in my portfolio—sometimes exceeding my current carrier’s increased rate for this property while offering less coverage. Since Allstate caps property coverage at $750K, I’m specifically looking for supplemental insurance options to bridge the gap. This particular policy originally included three properties, and I successfully found coverage for the other two.

Are there any surplus lines carriers you’d recommend?

Hi BiggerPockets community,

I’m currently evaluating switching to Allstate for coverage on my 7-unit multifamily property built in 1974, as my current carrier increased my premium by about 86% despite no claims. However, Allstate is capping their landlord insurance at $750,000, which creates a coverage gap I need to address.

I’m looking for options to add at least an additional $750,000 in coverage and am wondering if anyone has experience with Difference in Conditions (DIC) coverage or Excess and Surplus policies. Specifically, I’m interested in finding carriers you might recommend could help fill this gap.

Has anyone dealt with a similar situation, or do you have advice on which brokers or carriers are best suited for this kind of coverage?

Appreciate any feedback you can share!

Thanks in advance,
Joel Bechtel

Hey everyone! I’m Joel Bechtel. With 34 years of real estate investing experience, I’ve been involved in everything from owning rental properties to flipping. I also have a background in software, having founded and sold the majority of my software company in 2014. Since then, I’ve worked as a CTO and consultant, but real estate has always been a key focus. Now, I’m full-time with Zuma Capital Group (ZCG), a company I co-founded to focus on acquiring and managing multi-family real estate investments. ZCG leverages both my decades of real estate experience and innovative tools we've developed to streamline the investment process.

At ZCG, we’ve developed a real estate investment deal funnel that automates lead intake, analysis, and tracking, which has been a game-changer for our deal flow. We’re currently using it for multi-family properties in a few core markets.

While redIQ is a much more sophisticated tool that focuses on properties with over 50 units, our system is perfect for properties up to 50 units, providing an efficient solution for managing lead intake and financial analysis without the complexity of larger systems.

Here’s how it works:

Lead Intake & Processing: Automatically processes broker emails and key documents (OMs, Rent Rolls, T12s, etc.).

Quick Review: Evaluates leads based on key metrics like IRR, price per unit, and more.

Detailed Analysis: Extracts data from documents, evaluates financials, and identifies additional income sources.

Market Research Integration: Automates checks on flood zones, demographics, school quality, etc.

Deal Tracking: Uses Google Sheets to visually organize lead data—while not a full database system, it provides a simple and efficient way to store and track deals without the need for a full-fledged database like MongoDB.

Financial Analysis: Built-in underwriting and financial modeling with automated reports.

In addition to ZCG, I also own a portfolio of properties. Having this hands-on experience with real-world properties helps refine and enhance our software.

Important Note: This is not a commercial off-the-shelf software program—it's an internal tool we use for streamlining our deal evaluation. However, if you’re running an investment group in another market, we’re open to licensing it or finding a way to make it work for both parties.

If this sounds useful, DM me or comment below, and I’d be happy to share more details!

Congratulations and thanks for sharing!