Insurance on a Rental House

7 years ago

last modified: 7 years ago

I know this isn't buying or selling, but figured there were knowledgeable real estate people on here... we have 5 rental houses. Recently our insurance changed and we received a letter from the new company that one of the houses needed the garage painted. And we had 90 days to complete this task.

Problem being, we live in Ohio, it's November... nobody paints outside this time of year! My husband called them and asked what this was even about. He was told it's called "pride of ownership". The agent agreed the timing was way off and we don't have to paint the garage till next year. But still, when did this start? We take pride in our rentals and have several long term tenants (10 year leases).

Oh we were also told there were tree branches touching the garage roof that need trimmed. We can do that, but the tree is in the neighbor's yard so all we can do is cut what's over our property line.

Just wondering if this was something anyone else has encountered. Painting the garage was something we were going to do anyhow but it's irritating that an insurance company would care about something cosmetic and then basically demand that it be done.

Featured Answer

PRO

Anglophilia

7 years ago

Wow! Most insurance companies don't have time to be driving around looking at the paint on the garage or the tree branches on the roof. I guess we can thank Google for this - now everyone can see everything!

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (9)

two25acres
7 years ago
It's a sign of the times. More than likely the property will be coming up for renewal shortly and my guess is your company has had it's share of losses in the rental properties as well as primary residences. Insurance companies are going out and inspecting property's to reduce their risk for loss. Tree branches over a roof and gutters are a risk. High winds will snap the branches and can do damage to the roof and gutters. As a non owner occupied property the tenant does not have the same interest in your property as you do, damages can get worse if not attended to right away. The peeling paint, yes it a pride of ownership issue and generally not difficult to get around.
share_oh thanked two25acres
Related Discussions
udate on daughters relocation (long)
Q
Comments (15)
Check the laws in your state. Where I am a landlord can collect IN FULL from either tenant with a co-signed lease. And it does not matter who is residing there. A co-signed lease is not a 50/50 payment agreement with the landlord. Co-signers are EACH 100 percent responsible for the payments jointly or separately. This means that if Jerk lives there, and does not pay up and "falls behind in rent payments", the LL can still collect in full from your daughter. They will go after whoever has the most money or both. I would think that your daughter should not give anything towards the apartment. Let the BF pay in full if he is living there. If he does not pay on time, the lease has been broken and he will get kicked out. Yes, the landlord will sue but it will only be for the rent until the apartment is re-rented. Daughter should call the landlord to let them know what is going on. This does not let her off the hook legally for the financially aspect but gives a heads up to the landlord that something is amiss and they will monitor the situation with the BF more closely while he lives there. The landlord may offer to renegotiate the lease as it may be to his advantage and if both signers of the current lease are amicable to it. My sympathy goes out for such a bad situation.
...See More
Do you purchase car rental insurance?
Q
Comments (9)
When I rent a car I always charge it to my credit card which automatically includes coverage for the first $500.00. There's no extra fee. My personal insurance will kick in after that. DH had a rental and didn't realize that someone had banged into the passenger side of the car while he was in the hospital visiting his mother. When he returned it they said he'd be responsible - our credit card the $500 deductible and our insurance paid the rest. It was very easy to do. But I agree that the rental agents try to scare you into purchasing insurance. I think in most cases it's just a rip-off. Many rental companies insist that you return the car with the same amount of gas that was in it when your picked it up. If they have to add gas they usually charge a significantly higher price per gallon so I always try to give them the same amount.
...See More
Home insurance for vacant home twice as expensive.
Q
Comments (14)
When I asked my agent he said I shouldn't have said anything to the insurance company and that they would have been none the wiser. I think if you intentionally lie to your insurance company about a vacant house and you need to make a claim and they could show that you basically lied, then they may be able to deny the claim. But if the 'error' was done by your insurance agent (ie. he should have realized it was vacant and advised you that you needed to change your policy) and you needed to make a claim, they'd probably have to honour it. It was their employee's fault. Some agents may unintentionally do this or maybe even be willing to take whatever slap on the wrist might happen if their 'error' is noticed in order to keep their clients happy. So that's probably why he told you that you shouldn't have mentioned it. Now that you have, he can't claim that it was an oversight on his part so you'll have to change your policy. But that's just my opinion. That may not be the case and maybe your agent made a huge blunder that could have cost you if something had occurred. Insurance companies like to make people think that claims can be denied for the tiniest infractions and they will deny legitimate claims all the time because if even a fraction of the claimants give up and go away, that's money in their pocket. If you fight the denial then the worse case is that they have to pay it. Why would they jump to that position right away? They aren't your friend.
...See More
Why do insurance co's care about cosmetic house items?
Q
Comments (17)
Well our agent/broker came over today and said a lot of insurance companies are hiring out this type of inspection to freelancers - if they can't find something legitimate to complain about then they do stuff like this to try to justify their cost to the insurance company. He agreed this was not something they should even be looking at and he was going to call the insurance company. We have no problem leaving them for another company since we've only had them for the past 2 years. Funny thing about trees - we have 2 huge ones that are obviously dying. We are just waiting for it to get dry enough for the tree contractor to bring his heavy equipment onto the property without getting stuck. The inspector never even brought anything up about them.
...See More
share_oh
Original Author
7 years ago
I understand what you're saying about the tree branches being a hazard perhaps. But why would an insurance company care about paint?! I'm not sure why they would care about pride of ownership at all. There won't be any insurance claims against peeling paint.
two25acres
7 years ago
It's just a reason for them to non renew. They are looking for anything to do that. The biggest issue is the branches. Sounds like the company I work for and that starts with an A. Pride of ownership in their opinion equates to the house being taken care of and that is really what insurance companies want today. Sorry for your frustration, I see it on a daily basis.
share_oh thanked two25acres
User
7 years ago
I know Allstate just did that to my hairdresser for the same reason. They claimed water intrusion could happen in the cedar clapboard. Dumbest thing I have ever heard. They are looking to drop existing policies in NJ and use these demands as excuses to not renew policies
share_oh thanked User
two25acres
7 years ago
Yep. But who wants to throw good money after bad. It's all the companies, those not on the band wagon yet are getting there. We are atleast taking people with prior claims, many companies are not.
share_oh thanked two25acres
kathyg_in_mi
7 years ago
On our home we had to trim tree branches that were touching and over hanging our roof. Then take pictures and send them to the office! Did it and no problems since.
share_oh thanked kathyg_in_mi
ncrealestateguy
7 years ago
Simple... give your business to another insurance company.
share_oh thanked ncrealestateguy
C Marlin
7 years ago
I don't see the problem, one company gave you notice to fix things, you don't like them telling you do do it. That is their right, read your contract. You can move your coverage or they can cancel you. It goes both ways. Get other quotes, if you like the new quotes, there's your answer, if not start painting.

Insurance on a Rental House

Anglophilia

Comments (9)

two25acres

Related Discussions

share_oh
Original Author

two25acres

User

two25acres

kathyg_in_mi

ncrealestateguy

C Marlin

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

Insurance on a Rental House

Comments (9)

Related Discussions

share_ohOriginal Author

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

share_oh
Original Author