We've moved from one house to another. The original house stands empty and has been on the market for 6 months. (Hopefully it will sell soon!) Yesterday, I received the terrible news that our homeowner's policy for the first house would no longer be in force since it does not cover homes that are vacated for longer than 30 days at a time. My agent said he could place with me another provider but that the fee would be almost THREE TIMES my original rate. Has anyone else ever experienced this? Does anybody have any good leads on reliable but not-so-expensive coverage for such situations? (Or is this just a fact of life that I need to choke down.) Any comments would be very much appreciated. Doc
We've moved from one house to another. The original house stands empty and has been on the market for 6 months. (Hopefully it will sell soon!) 1*Yesterday, I received the terrible news that our homeowner's policy for the first house would no longer be in force since it does not cover homes that are vacated for longer than 30 days at a time. 2* My agent said he could place with me another provider but that the fee would be almost THREE TIMES my original rate. 3*Has anyone else ever experienced this? 4*Does anybody have any good leads on reliable but not-so-expensive coverage for such situations? (Or 5*is this just a fact of life that I need to choke down.) 6*Any comments would be very much appreciated. Doc ============== 1*This is common policy among insurers nothing new or different about it in your situation. They will ether not insure a vacant house or as you just found out if they will insure it the premium is at a premium. 2*see number 1 3*Just about every body who has tried to insure an empty house. 4* 5*You just got the 101 facts of life course. 6*Even mine. LOL Comments Why didn't you run this by me before you got into this? At least if you had it wouldn't have snuck up on you as the big surprise it did. Ya see Doc. U don't know it all no matter what you say about me.LOL ****************************************************** NEW MEMBERS READ THIS. http://consumers.creditnet.com/straighttalk/board/showthread.php?s=&postid=410243#post410243 ******************************************************* >PS: You could rent it out which should be at a lower premium than the vacant rate.
Great feedback, lbrown59! (You're going to shatter my image of you, you know.) Well, this is a terrible life lesson to be sure! Thanks, Doc
Doc, either rent it out, or have someone house sit for you. It will still be higher, and it will not be the same policy - non-owner occupied houses get dwelling fire coverage, stated risk, no replacement cost, limited contents coverage. You don't want it sitting unoccupied for more than just insurance reasons. Your insurance company did a "survey" and probably found that the house was empty that way, they look to see if the electric meter head is gone. Look at it this way - you got away with it for 6 months.
they look to see if the electric meter head is gone. ================= They don't have to remove it to shut off the electric.
Oh, really? I didn't know that. <silly grin> I didn't say they have to remove the meter head to turn the power off. I've been sent out to take pictures of that empty hole a number of times, then forward the pix to re-underwriting, because the company was going to cancel the policy. When the house is unoccupied for an extended period of time, the power co removes the meter head.
Re: Re: Home insurance TRIPLED! HELP!!! Good tips and very true -- I guess I'm just inviting everything from vandalism to theft to big trouble with that thing sitting empty. If the upstairs water heater began to leak, or if something shorted out, or (etc.), and nobody was there to notice for a few days, we'd be up the creek I guess. I just hate facing reality when reality costs money -- sometimes psychosis is a fun thing. Sheesh. You're right -- I saved some bucks for half a year, and I'm grateful for that. Maybe I just need a new real estate person... I want that thing sold this year... YES YOU DID, BREEZE! (Just kidding, heh.) Thanks for the helpful feedback. The original insurance for the house was about $1500 for the year. Now they want $1200 every three months so long as it's vacant. Somewhere in those numbers lurks an answer that resembles just what you said -- find a house sitter. Doc
Re: Re: Home insurance TRIPLED! HELP!!! ****************************************************** NEW MEMBERS READ THIS. http://consumers.creditnet.com/straighttalk/board/showthread.php?s=&postid=410243#post410243 ******************************************************* 1*If the upstairs water heater began to leak, 2*or if something shorted out, or (etc.), and nobody was there to notice for a few days, we'd be up the creek I guess. I DOC K lol =========== 1* Shut the water off at the meter and the house & drain the tank and waterlines. 2*It can't short out. Breeze has the meter head = remember LOL
Re: Re: Home insurance TRIPLED! HELP!!! P-Doc, Why isn't it selling? Given the Feds (Greenspan's) nod to 25 basis point increase and probably another 25 basis points in September the mortgage feeding frenzy is in full swing. Maybe the comps you're getting are somewhat high as the interest rates have been so low for the last 18 months. You might have to take that into consideration. New agent, lower price...just a thought. I don't think just a "house sitter" would solve this insurance prob...it might give you some peace of mind that the house isn't being vandalized etc. If the house is leased then the insurance company will want to see the lease before giving you the lower non-owner occupied rate. Given the math I agree with breeze...amortize the higher cost with the 6 months free and it might not hurt too much. Find someone aggressive to get the sucker sold! clc
Re: Re: Home insurance TRIPLED! HELP!!! Very interesting thread. I'm looking for a 2nd home as an investment property here in the west valley of Arizona and was recently pre-approved for the loan. The money is cheap but, unfortunately, the 2nd home must become my first and my first must become the investment property. Could I simply pay the mortgage on the investment property, have some mail forward to the 2nd home, and in six months rent/lease it out without headaches? What are some implications of doing this? ...and good luck Doc with your situation. You could always do a HELOC to create some cash until it sells or rents to cover expenses (there are possible positive tax implications). Or, give it a little freshening up because a home that sits for six months will show it. CardKid
Re: Re: Home insurance TRIPLED! HELP!!! Cardkid, Without much thought insurance fraud might be one. P-doc inadvertently let it slide for 6 months. If something happened to the house and you needed your ins. coverage to ante up you could be faced with some BIG problems. clc
Re: Re: Home insurance TRIPLED! HELP!!! I guess my question should have been "how long would I need to live in the new home before I could make it a rental property?" I'm certainly not interested in breaking the law. CardKid
Re: Re: Re: Home insurance TRIPLED! HELP!!! There is no requirment that you have to live in it before making it a rental property.
Re: Re: Re: Home insurance TRIPLED! HELP!!! Cardkid, You could own fifteen homes and insure them as "owner occupied" and there are multi-millionaires that actually do. BUT if you own a home, townhouse, condo as an investment and/or revenue producing asset by renting and/or leasing it then the policy MUST specifically say "non-owner occupied". Now does everyone who rents an investment property have it adequately covered...probably not as P-doc quite simply articulated...non-owner insurance premiums cost more. Can you get away with it....sure if the mortgagee lets you. BUT if a wild fire, hurricane, tornado, flood, broken pipes, neighbor's teen runs through the living room with the family's SUV...whatever and you're not covered. I think the answer is rhetorical. Most people are required to insure a home adequately by their mortgagees....and mortgagees DO ask if the property will be owner occupied or not. Do people lie...well yeah. Do they get away with...well yeah. Is it advisable to do...well no. So forgive me if you think I was insinuating you wanted to break the law...but the answer to your question is when you move into the new home the insurance should specify "owner occupied" and the old home insurance should be changed to "non-owner occupied". The cost of the premiums should be covered by your rental income and can be expensed. Did I omit anything?? HTH, clc
Re: Re: Re: Home insurance TRIPLED! HELP!!! Thanks for the reply. Although insurance would not be an issue, it's the lender that is. Therefore, I've decided to work with a lender that's flexible and understands my intent. Thanks again. CardKid
Re: Re: Re: Home insurance TRIPLED! HELP!!! Bet I fooled you dock. Who would have thought that someone with only 20 years experience in insurance and just 31 short years of owning their own housing company would know anything about homes or insurance. Now all seriousness aside:Any luck on finding reasonable home insurance?
