All Forum Posts by: John Schaeffer

Hey Adzo! Welcome to Bigger Pockets!

You should connect with Jake Handler. He's very active and knows the market quite well.

@Jake Handler

Hey Santosh,

As of right now you're extremely exposed regarding insurance and I'm going to assume legally as well.

If the home isn't registered as a legal multi-family with the town that's something you'll have to correct ASAP and make sure the home is up to code.

Insurance wise as soon as they find out what you're doing they'll cancel you as the risk has changed from a single family owner occupied home to a multi family owner occupied home. With that comes different exposures and risks that they need to properly rate for. You cannot have a traditional homeowners policy and a landlord policy on the same dwelling.

Hey Rachel,

I can't help you because of the location but you're going to have an extremely tough time finding insurance for that type of risk. 

The homeowner insurance market right now is a dumpster fire with carriers refusing to write business and creating incredibly tight underwriting guidelines. You're best bet is to call a few brokers local to the area and see what they can come up with.

It's definitely going to be a surplus or excess carrier that will do it and the premiums will be high. 

Insurance is going to protect you financially from lawsuits, damages, total losses, and other scenarios we can't even begin to imagine until it actually happens.

You'll want to have a broker you can work with and trust that will make sure you're properly protected in the event of a loss. This means that sometimes the insurance will be higher than you would think it would be or need to be but be warned; insurance is a "get what you pay for" type of transaction. If you constantly chase the bottom dollar and bottom tier coverage you'll be the one carrying the most risk.

Happy to connect and talk more.

Welcome to BP! Find as many investor meetups as you can as the knowledge others have are invaluable when you're first starting out. 

Typically in my experience EVERYONE is happy to help.

Hey Alejandro,

Welcome to the BP community! Happy to connect with you and share experiences.

Hey Andy,

You'll want to be listed as an additional interest on the policy. This ensures you will be notified if your tenants cancel their coverage or have a lapse.

Adding you as an additional insured would open you up to any claim they would make which  would be a huge risk because those claims would follow YOU for any other purchases you would intend to make for at least 5 years.

Your homeowner/landlord policy will provide the liability protection if something was to happen.

Hey Hyatt!

Welcome to BP. Happy to connect with you!

Make sure you update your insurance policy. I've seen people get dropped from carriers  and claims denied because they did not disclose that the use of the home changed.

Welcome to BP Terrance!