All Forum Posts by: Michael R.

Well, like I said, I can pretty much make the tenant pay for it. I can "afford" to fix $5,000 in damage but I sure don't want to. (Rent is going up quite a lot also)

I see this as similar to renter's insurance, which is usually a pretty good deal for the renter. Low rates, cover $20K plus, low deductibles. This is a normal market, why not have the same for landlords? But Zillow isn't known for their insurance products. I use them for payments because it's free and background checks are cheap for applicants.

This same house previously came with a warranty when I bought it, it was actually a good deal. The seller paid like $500, I paid nothing, and they replaced a water heater. When it was time for renewal, the price was obscene so I stopped.

I recently found this new service from Zillow, called "Zillow Rental Protection". I won't post a link so you think I'm spamming, but you can google it. 

For $45/month, you get $5,000 in rental coverage for things like missed rent, excessive damage, excessive cleaning, pet damage, and eviction costs. Or so they say. Only available in 3 states currently, and I happen to be in one of them. (NC)

I have a vacant house to fill and I'm thinking about using this. I already use Zillow for payments and applications. Theoretically, I could advertise "no deposit" and charge something like a $500 move in fee, which is non refundable. This fee pays for the insurance. Problem is I don't want this attracting tenants who cannot pay, or making them think "who cares, I don't have a deposit to lose".

What do you think about using this in lieu of a standard deposit? Perhaps just collect a standard deposit AND buy the insurance? ($5,000 coverage is way more than my deposit would be) Or, will they be impossible to work with and try to deny any claims? I have a bit of a problem trusting Zillow fully...