All Forum Posts by: Pete Schmidt

Here is what I was told or found out by some of the suggested companies.

Safely- Told that they are only accepting new customers who have 20+ short term rentals at this time. 

Tower Hill- Called them and the woman I spoke with could not tell me if they covered what I am looking for or not, said I had to contact a insurance agent and not them directly. 

Proper- The do not cover liability for the activities we have. 

Waivo- Does not cover injury resulting from the outdoor activities we have. 

Two other companies that have sent me info which I am still reviewing is 

Xinsurance - They send a 13 page application to complete.

The Heartford. I spoke with someone from their company and a quote from another company called Tivly was emailed to me. Then on the quote it showed the policy was by "Merkel". Has anyone heard of either of these companies?

Thank you Lauren and Pete for the additional suggestions, I will look into them to see what they have to say.

For anyone looking to get into any kind of "abnormal" rentals, keep in mind that its never easy having things different. If I was looking for a policy on a "cookie cutter" single family home or apartment, there is hundreds/thousands of companies out there to choose from. Make something unique, then get ready to do a lot of additional leg work and searching!

Thanks again for all the info everyone has provided!

Yes I have a rental policy on the home that will cover damage to the home and injury to anyone on the property (no its not a homeowners policy it is actually for STR use). No I do dont have a policy to cover damages to a $1500 tent or $150 picnic table. Should someone damage one of those, I feel fairly confident that I could scrape together enough spare change to replace them, without it bankrupting me. lol

I was simply asking for recommendation on who people on here use for liability on their STR's that would cover the things like animals and outdoor activities. I know that that most on here don't have rentals or set ups similar to what I offer, so they may not understand what I am looking to do or get.

Ultimately insurance comes down to what tolerance you have and how much of a risk you want to take. For me, someone getting hurt is worth me getting a policy to cover it. However, getting a policy to cover a few thousand dollars worth of damage to one of my glamping tents is not worth the money, time, or energy for me. Especially if I was to ever file a claim on some $800 damaged, the amount that all my other policies could go up because I filed a claim would go well beyond what the small amount of payout I received from the claim. But to each his own. I will check with the places mentioned and thanks again to all who gave suggestions!

Quote from @Michael Baum:

Hey @Pete Schmidt, so you only want liability? No coverage for the rental itself?

That sounds like crazy talk to me.

I will recommend that you get full STR insurance on your property. It will have the requisite liability coverage in addition to coverage of the property itself.

Regarding animals, do you mean horses and goats or bears and coyotes?

If you want to add more, get an umbrella to cover everything. It will kick in after the main policy is maxed out.

Proper, Foremost are 2 big insurers. You will want to shop around. Check with other major insurers as many are offering STR coverage these days.

We use Proper. It is more expensive but very comprehensive. It offers coverage for guests even when they are away from the house.

Thanks for the reply Michael. We have been through several hundred guest in the last few years and not had more than a few hundred dollars damage at most the whole time, so our guest have been really great. With a few of our STRs being glamping tents and RV sites, the cost of a policy to cover a the repair/replacement of a tent or picnic table is not worth it in my opinion. Plus if they book through somewhere like Airbnb or VRBO they we have the insurance to protect stuff that way. Or if we start taking direct bookings, we can get a deposit or have a card on file to cover damages that they cause. The cabin/home we have does have a full policy on it so if it was to burn down or someone gets hurt on the property it will be covered, so that is why the "crazy talk" of looking for just a liability coverage policy and not something for the property.  

The most concerning is the stuff that is beyond anyone's control or even due to the lack of judgement or intelligence by a guest. Though accidents could happen, 99% of the time these issues that most people need to get policies for are due to the lack of common sense or for someone accepting responsibility for their actions. Example: someone walking one of our hiking trails and trips on a rock or stick. They see a snake and try to catch it, and get bit. Or they don't obey the rules and signs to stay away from the horses in the pasture. My insurance broker does not have a policy to cover wildlife issues and said she is not sure who would. And though I would like to believe that a jury would not find a property owner guilty for a guest chasing after a wild animal and getting bit, there is still the time and out of pocket expense of getting an attorney to defend such a nonsense case. 

I looked into an umbrella policy in the past, but the ones I found would only cover the amount over what the original insurance policy would pay. However if you don't have a primary policy, or if the original policy does not cover the loss, then the umbrella would not either. I don't feel like that would provide much of any value my current situation. If there is an umbrella policy that covers things that are not covered by the primary, please share as I would be interested in that.  

I will check into those companies you suggested and see what they have to offer and if it will fit what we are looking for. 

Thanks again for the info, its greatly appreciated.

Does anyone have suggestions on an insurance company in SC that will provide liability coverage for STR's? Not looking so much for damage to the rentals, but to cover injuries should someone get hurt on the property. The places I have contacted will not cover injuries from wildlife or animals we have on the property. With several hiking trails/boats/kayaks/bicycles/etc, and just nature in general, what do most people do protect themselves from potential issues?

I believe Im going to pass on Fl. for now. With the higher insurance prices, or sometimes even getting it, I think I can find a place in another state with a little better return. 
Thought I found a place in SC. Put an offer in on it and the seller raised the price way above what its worth, so thats a no go. Lol 

Looking into a few places in TN mts. as well as NC. If anyone has a multi they want to unload anywhere around there, pm me the info on it. 
Thanks!

Quote from @John Williams:

Quote from @Pete Schmidt:

I am selling one of my places, and believe it's time to look outside Myrtle Beach, SC for my next investment property. The states I am interested in would either be Florida, or in the mountains of Tennessee / North Carolina. Though I do prefer LTR's over STR's, I am open to either. Would like to pick up a 2-4 unit complex for under $700k. If anyone has any suggestion on the benefits of one state vs the other and what areas to look at in those states, it would be greatly appreciated. I don't mind doing the property search, it's just knowing what areas are better suited for investors I could use a hand on.

Thanks in advance for any suggestions or advice!

Hey Pete, let me know if I can be of assistance! Our brokerage and property management company covers middle Tennessee. Feel free to add me to your network!

TheHouseConnection.com/John

If the places I’m looking at in the next week don’t work out I will let you know. 

Quote from @Myrtle Mike Thompson:

@Pete Schmidt please consider sharing the details of the property you're selling.  I have buyers who would be interested.  Thanks!

It’s already under contract. Closing on April 17th. Thanks though. 

I am selling one of my places, and believe it's time to look outside Myrtle Beach, SC for my next investment property. The states I am interested in would either be Florida, or in the mountains of Tennessee / North Carolina. Though I do prefer LTR's over STR's, I am open to either. Would like to pick up a 2-4 unit complex for under $700k. If anyone has any suggestion on the benefits of one state vs the other and what areas to look at in those states, it would be greatly appreciated. I don't mind doing the property search, its just knowing what areas are better suited for investors I could use a hand on.

Thanks in advance for any suggestions or advice!

Quote from @Sherri Spruill:

Hello. I have 55 acres of raw available land with good road frontage in Wills Point Texas. Looking to promote it as a wedding venue opportunity. Any ideas?

For promotional ideas, here are a few things we do for our venue. 
- get in with other business (planners, caterers, photographers, DJ’s, etc..) to let them know what you offer. 
- post info/pics on our website. 
- post stuff on social media. 
- post on wedding planning sites. 
- join you’re local chamber of commerce.
- host the first few events (for friends/family) for free or next to nothing to get some pics/videos, and word out there. 
 We also held a Christmas toy drive for children. This took a little bit of cash, since we got a few jumpy houses, purchased and/or made some kids games, special event insurance, porta-john rentals, and a good bit and organizing. This event got our name out there and a good bit with some free radio advertisement at a few places. Of course the best perks came with the amount of gifts we raised for the kids and few homes the humane society places some dogs in (they set up a booth at the event). 

We had a few other things that seem to do well, but these were the main ones. 

Quote from @Chris Rosenberg:

@Pete Schmidt I actually appealed 4 property values this year. So far I got 2 back and they reduced their new assessment by $50k and $35k. 

Nice.  I have only had one property I appealed (and truthfully I thought the county’s estimate was fairly accurate), however the appraiser killed me with their low ball price, therefore I showed the appraisers report to the county and they reduced mine as well. Other than that one though, the county’s values seem to be a little on the lower side, but considering they base the taxes off their prices, I had no issues with that. lol