All Forum Posts by: Ratho R.

@Johann Kleisch My first question is what are you looking to insure? Do you have personal belongings/property in the rental unit? Are you just talking about the structure?

For property, I generally set my clients up with Replacement cost. For what they do, Replacement cost makes it easier to pay for the loss and replace what is damaged/lost. ACV has depreciation, so if you have a loss and you paid full brand new price, you may be losing some decent cash. However, if you are getting materials/property at a used/discount price, then you may still come out ahead. Either way, RC has benefit in my eyes as it counts today's cost. So, furniture for example, that $1,000 couch you found on sale for $500, will be looked at as today's cost of $1,000 to replace brand new. 

I strongly recommend finding an independent insurance broker in your area to help research options and rates. Independent can shop many companies at one time saving you time and energy to focus on your deals while making sure you are not wasting money on expensive policies. 

When you find a good agent to add to your "team", have them shop rates, then see what it would cost for the different coverage options there. Have your agent figure the break even point as in, ACV vs RC, is it going to increase your premium substantially vs how much more are you going to save on depreciation? If so, it might be better to do ACV and just offset the depreciation with your own funds (basically saved from the premium costs.)

Summary, and what I usually look at with my clients, does it cost much more to add RC? If not, then lets turn that tragic loss into a win and replace with some brand new items. Hope that helps with some perspective from an agent point of view. 

Yeah. I vote no for many reasons. you are inviting way to many variables that are not able to be backed up, in addition to any local laws to doing work that requires license. From other posts, it doesn't sound like it's that hard to get. I caught the post advocating to help the little guy get started and I'm all for that, but at what risk and cost!? 

On the other hand, depends on what is being done. Some painting or maybe some landscaping etc. I would be fine with that. If there is Code, or risk of damage or loss involved get someone with a license and liability insurance to back up their work. This also saves the relationship. Uncle Joe that is handy and wants to help, is going to turn into that relative/friend you NEVER want to see if things go south for any reason. Just don't put the relationship on the line because you want to "Help his aspiring business". If he is serious about his work, he will take the time to get a license and insurance. 

Hey, glad I could help you out even though you made a little mistake there and got my house burned down by electrical fire. Lol. Sounds like @Ronnie Wilson has some legit workers with licenses. I would check into that route. Not worth it to save a couple bucks if you end up in a lawsuit due to unlicensed work. (Depending on what needs to be done.)

@Jon Moser

 I would throw in a tip that pops into mind when negotiation. "He who speaks first, loses." This family seems nice and great that they are willing to talk to you off the market. Be careful though. If it's not on the market, and a unique type property and use for that area, it could get messy really fast. I would recommend finding a local Realtor that is familiar with this type of property and use. 

Couple benefits to using a professional. 

1) They are not emotionally attached like you will be. They can look at hard numbers and tell you what you need to take or offer to make it work out. 

2) They know what to look at and consider in the big picture to make sure this turns out to be a profitable venture. 

3) You have someone else to blame. lol. Funny way to say it. Honestly though, it removes you from the negotiation so the current owners are not hurt or offended by your offer. I don't know if you know them personally, but it sounds like you have built some relationship there. If you go and offer $X, and they are upset, you can easily say, I have been talking with my Realtor and this is what they have come up with as a fair offer. They are free to do the same. Getting other professionals involved turns it into a sales fight by agents, rather than a spitting match with you and your new business friends.

Keep it clean, keep it fair, and save your relationship for coffee and getting to know each other. That is the best way to do business and keep from burning future bridges with people. Hope that helps. I know it's not a calculator to answer your question, but hopefully it helps lay some foundation on how to approach this to keep relationship, not rip them off (by not knowing), and not lose money that could have been easily saved in the deal. 

@Tristan Cortez

@Andy Webb is right. Find a local Independent broker (Avoid State Farm, Farmers, and all those captive agents. I am independent and every day I am able to shop rates with several competitive companies. A good agent will look up the rates for you before you get the property so you can add that into your numbers and see if it works any better. Find a good agent and make them a part of your team. They will appreciate your ongoing business and be happy to help research property options along your investing career. Plus, good agents will shop rates year after year to make sure you always have the best rate available. Set it and forget it is the goal of a strong insurance broker.

If you are not sure, I recommend looking up a Dave Ramsey ELP. Endorsed providers that cover your area. We have the heart of a teacher and there to help educate and work together on your financial goals. If you listen to Dave or not, doesn't matter, you just know you are getting an agent that is bound by contract to take very good care of you. You can zip search on daveramsey.com. 

Best of luck out there. I know insurance is not top of everyone's excitement list, but it is a foundation part, and an easy part to lower numbers by shopping different rates. 

Ah gotcha. Yeah that confirms, avoid this option and find a more trusted source with a physical US address. (Even if not local, depending on how your current market is). Search around here on BP and I'm sure, if you haven't already, you will find some much safer paths to get on your investing journey. Best of luck! 

Good call @Jeff L.. When in doubt, find something else. Is better to find another opportunity and miss something rather than get in and find out you lost capital on a scam. Haha. What exactly are you looking for that you were hoping to accomplish there with them?

Hi @Jeff L.

My basic rule is if you are not sure, just avoid it or look up Google and see what is out there. I did so for you and really didn't find anything. I pasted a summary of where the site comes from and looks like it may be based in India? I see they promote world wide networking or something like that, but their website content is my second check on unknown companies. I see cheap FLASH clip of money and an ultra basic content site. 

Ask yourself, if they work all over the world, couldn't they afford just a little more than a basic blog post looking website? Especially if this site has been up for over 4 years. 

Then you have flags like a PO BOX here in the US. An INda company registered phone, Free email accounts for the owner and support etc. All this is fine for starting up investors like us here at BP. However we are looking at a company toting that it helps connect investors all over the wold. Who does that with a Gmail account using just the name of their company? 

It's up to you, and hopefully someone here has actually experienced something with them, but I am putting all my money down on this being a scam company. Save your investing money and look for someone local that you can either talk to, or at least has a physical US address somewhere. Even if different State, they should have a building that people can walk in and check up on them. 

-------------------------------------------------

Website: moneytoloanusa.com

Title:

Domain Age: 4 Years, 261 Days
Website Speed: Fast

Owner: Diaz, Jr., Jorge
Owner Address: PO Box 101034
Owner City: Cape Coral
Owner Postcode: 33910
Phone Number: 9175088356
Phone Type: mobile :Punjab Vodafone Essar Ltd
Email:

Owner Country : United States
Website Location : United States

Probable website origin :-
72%; United States
28%; India

Notes:-
Registered contact email address is a free one
Technical contact email address is a free one
Administrative contact email address is a free one

Analysis Details:-
Although this website appears to be based in United States there are other countries involved and you should review this information carefully and decide if it is as you expect.

Free email addresses have been used in the setup of this website. This is not necessarily worrying, depending on the site. For online shops, this can be a sign that the site has some risk (Emphasis mine -RR)

Source: http://www.scamadviser.com/check-website/moneytolo...

@Mike O'Connor

I got here a little late, but I think you are making the right choice there.
Unless you specifically make Beach Vac rentals your niche, stick to something local that you can check on from time to time. Property management is great as you grow, but who is to say they are really doing their job either. 

Not sure how far along you are in your RE journey, but I always recommend start out local so you can drive by personally or it could cost you a LOT in the future if tenant or property management fail to do their part. Think of rentals as your own personal home, just letting someone borrow it for a price, because when they move on, you are left with the Home and all responsibilities of fixing/updating/repairing their mess. 

Summary: Good choice! Slow and steady wins the battle in RE investing for sure! 

Hi David. Welcome to BP! I'm an insurance broker so I work with different companies but not partial or bias on any of them. Being a Dave Ramsey ELP, I usually approach these situations from that perspective. With that in mind my short simple answer would be to get 3 estimates. You have one from the insurance company. Now get 2 others to make sure you get an accurate idea of the costs. To go a touch further, I would ask about this preferred contractor. If they do the work, will you have to pay out of pocket? Since they are preferred, would that speed along the process and ensure quick and simple payout from Nationwide? Asking that would help work through the situation. Basically look at these things like a math problem and it makes things more simple and less emotional.

Very common question I am seeing here @Chris H.

I am independent Broker and all the companies I network with require to be tied to the Auto policy. You may be able to search something out. I did some hunting and did not really find much. Google search "Standalone Umbrella policy" and you may find some resources. Most likely going to be a little more expensive, but since you don't own vehicles, you are in a bit of a unique situation. 

Another option may be to find Commercial insurance broker and ask them if they have anything along the lines of Liability insurance that could cover your needs there. 

Hope that helps. Please share back if you find something as this seems to be coming up lately. Stand alone Umbrellas. (As indicator, most policies are average $200-$300 range for Umbrella tied to Auto policy. Just for reference when you are searching out there.)