All Forum Posts by: Michael Badin

Basically it's a real estate resume. You need to include what type of properties you have invested in, i.e. single family, multi-family etc. Include what (if any) properties you purchased in the past. What was your strategy with them, did you make a profit at sale? 

Then list current properties, how many units each have. Do you self manage? Include details on that. If you do, include a copy of your Property Manager Guidelines.  If you do not you will need to include info on your property Management company.

There is more that goes into it.  PM me and I can send your an outline of what you will need to include.

Personal property would cover things like your refrigerator. You should not have much more personal property than that in a rental unless you are renting it furnished. 

Dwelling limit is the total amount they will cover for the property in a single loss (or depending on the wording of your policy within a certain term no matter how many losses you have)

FYI a "loss" is a claim.

All perils deductible means you have coverage for anything that happens to your property UNLESS it is specifically excluded in your policy. 

The deductible portion is the amount you will be responsible for before insurance kicks in.

Hurricane deductible, there is often a higher deductible for these types of claims, appears that is the case with your policy since it is listed separately.

Loss of use, in the case of a rental this can pay you the lost rent if you suffer a loss that causes your property to become uninhabitable and your tenant must vacate the property because of the loss.

The loss assessment coverage is to cover any responsibility you may have for a loss to common areas. These costs are sometimes split between all owners in that community, this coverage takes care of that.

Liability, if someone gets injured or sues you, this coverage is for that. Medical payments goes along with this. 

Building ordnance or law coverage is for when a loss occurs and current codes require upgrades to be done. This coverage helps with that.

Personal property loss settlement is what determines how they pay for your personnel property. Is it listed as Replacement cost (RCV) or Actual Cash Value (ACV)?  Replacement cost is more expensive but pays you what it would cost to replace the item.  ACV is less expensive but pays RCV minus depreciation.

Sinkhole loss coverage, given that you are in Florida I would definitely keep this coverage.

Hope this helps.

I have storage units in the basement on one of my properties.  I built them out of lumber and chicken wire like Dick mentioned. However I kept the units small and included them in the ammenities of the units as an additional selling feature.  I have two entrances into my basement, they access the storage through the rear entrance.  Keeping them small allowed me to renovate the remainder of the basement into another efficiency unit.  

At the same property I also have five 1 car garages. Each garage rents between $100 - $125.  The size of those storage units are 18' x 9'

Goto rentometer.com type in the beds and bath you have and your zip code.  It will give you a median going price for that type of rental in your area.

Also look on craigslist or apartments.com for similar listings to see what other properties are charging and what amenities they include.  What condition is your property compared to the photos in that listing?  This will give you an idea if your property is on par, below or above average for your area.

If you want to take it a step further make an appointment for a walk through with one of the units.  Be upfront with the landlord, never know thay may become a great partner one day.

I have my tenants pay online through the Cozy website. Rent gets directly deposited into my bank account. It is free for landlords and if the tenant pays with their bank account it is free for them as well. Cozy gives the tenant the option to have their rent payments reported to the credit bureau if they choose. Just another option you may want to look into. 

What you need to look into is RUBS.  This will seperate the bill per unit for you without having to submeter. It will save you a lot of money.  Contact the local utility company and they can help you with it.

Get the "rebuild" as you called it.  Also known as builders risk policies. If you don't many claims will not be covered during the renovation period. The little bit of extra cost will definitely pay off if you end up having a claim that would have not been covered otherwise.  Shop around for the best quote but definitely go with the builders risk policy.

PNC has a great account. Single account that keeps separate records for each tenant security deposit.

Maury B. Reiter, Esquire

Kaplin Stewart Meloff Reiter & Stein

Union Meeting Corporate Center

910 Harvest Drive

P.O. Box 3037

Blue Bell, PA 19422-0765

@David Krulac  I agree that it should be and wish you were right but the way the tax law is written it does not appear to be the case...  however

@Steve Babiak  Thanks for the link!  I looked it over and it does appear there might be a way to be creative and work around it.  Don't know yet if it will work but I am again hopeful.  Thanks!