All Topics / Help Needed! / Landlord Insurance – Expensive and Never Used? Ideas

Viewing 20 posts - 1 through 20 (of 24 total)
  • Profile photo of energy4anarchyenergy4anarchy
    Member
    @energy4anarchy
    Join Date: 2009
    Post Count: 47

    Hi Guys,

    Don't know how i did it – but somehow over the past 7 years I managed to slowly acquire 5 rental properties in Victoria.

    I turned 30 this year… and have a bub on the way… and now more than ever I need to make sure I sharpen my investment pencil.

    Going over my tax i realized i was paying a small fortune for "Landlord insurance" with RACV.

    $2500 all up – or roughly $500 per property for both Landlord insurance and house insurance.

    Now in the 7 years I’ve had these properties – I’ve NEVER made a claim and all have been tenanted with good, screened tenants who my property manager interviews prior.

    So I’m just thinking – is their one insurance policy I can have, that covers defaulting or destructive tenants for ALL my properties… rather than individually.

    Or… do I even need it?

    Or… is their an alternative?

    It just seems like its costly for something I may never need

    Regards

    Profile photo of Jacqui MiddletonJacqui Middleton
    Participant
    @jacm
    Join Date: 2009
    Post Count: 2,539

    It's a tax writeoff against the rental income anyway…

    Wait till a tenant does a malicious damage job on your property and pays no rent while they are doing it.  It is VERY easy to do $40k of damage.  It is equally as easy to do $60k of damage.  Perhaps you need to ask yourself how you would recover from such an event if you were not covered by insurance.

    Jacqui Middleton | Middleton Buyers Advocates
    http://www.middletonbuyersadvocates.com.au
    Email Me | Phone Me

    VIC Buyers' Agents for investors, home buyers & SMSFs.

    Profile photo of energy4anarchyenergy4anarchy
    Member
    @energy4anarchy
    Join Date: 2009
    Post Count: 47

    Thanks Jac… that's a great point!

    I was thinking "oh, they might do 2, 3k of damage etc"… but yeah, they could really destroy a house if they wanted to!

    Do you know of alterntiaves or cheaper ways of doing it. All my 5 properties are roughly $300k and i pay $500 a year insurance on them

    Profile photo of Jacqui MiddletonJacqui Middleton
    Participant
    @jacm
    Join Date: 2009
    Post Count: 2,539

    Shop around.  Ask an insurance broker to shop around also.

    Insurance is going up by the way.  A lot.

    I had someone do $40k of damage.  The carpet was trashed (seemingly the tenant walked around inside with buckets of bleach and pink stuff that belongs in a garage and spilled it on the carpet), punch holes in the wall resulting in the need for the electricals to be checked, plaster replaced and the wall repainted, furniture trashed and stolen (it was furnished), portions of the kitchen damaged (why could they not ruin the whole kitchen for heaven's sake, then insurance would pay for a new kitchen), wrecked some of the powerpoints – again requiring electrician – damaged some curtains, bashed some of the floor and wall tiles resulting in having to redo the entire bathroom due to not being able to find a matching tile to patch it….

    They smashed the glass of a sliding door but replaced it themselves with non-safety glass…

    Just imagine if a tenant damages the roof.  The colorbond steel for instance.  That's $15k right there, minimum, surely.  Don't think they won't.  I have seen weird objects on the roof that a tenant put up there for some strange witchcraft behaviour.

    I've heard of people dismantling an entire car with all its oil and grease….. in a loungeroom.  On the carpet.

    You get the idea

    Jacqui Middleton | Middleton Buyers Advocates
    http://www.middletonbuyersadvocates.com.au
    Email Me | Phone Me

    VIC Buyers' Agents for investors, home buyers & SMSFs.

    Profile photo of FreckleFreckle
    Blocked
    @freckle
    Join Date: 2012
    Post Count: 1,680

    Murphy's Law.When you have it and never use it you moan about the cost because you see no tangible value to it. The day you don't have it and need it you wish you'd had it and not been such a miserable sod.

    Profile photo of grimnargrimnar
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    @grimnar
    Join Date: 2010
    Post Count: 86

    My folks had a similar situation several years back.

    The tenants didn't pay rent for a few months, then did a midnight flit. After we eventually got up there to check it out, there was several thousand dollars worth of damage done.

    The bloke used to run stock cars, and drained the sump oil directly onto the garage floor… it was all pooled up in a corner somewhere. He also used to work on bits of the engine on the lounge room carpet (where the tv was) without drop sheets. On the way out, they smashed holes in every door and lots of walls, ripped fans from the ceiling, smashed almost every third tile in the bathroom, slashed every flyscreen, and stole every lightbulb from the house… including the one from the oven.

    That's just the stuff I remember… pretty sure there was more though.

    Oh yeah, and the RE agent gave them their bond back 2 weeks before we even knew they were gone.

    Worst part was, my folks had always had insurance, but my grandfather (who used to own several unit blocks he built through his business) told them "they will never do enough damage to make insurance worth while". So on that advice they canned it a year or two before all this happened. Ooops.

    It took years of rent to recoup the expense.

    Profile photo of grimnargrimnar
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    @grimnar
    Join Date: 2010
    Post Count: 86

    That said… it was a one off event in 15+ years owning that and other properties.

    Profile photo of CatalystCatalyst
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    @catalyst
    Join Date: 2008
    Post Count: 1,404

    Insurance on anything you very rarely use but can you afford not to have it?

    If you own houses your building insurance will cover a certain amount (like public liability).

    But if you own units the public liability only covers common areas.

    So can you risk a tenant getting injured (or dying) or a workman getting injured? got a cool $10 million sitting around?

    So if you have great tenants in a house then sure you can not insure and run the risk. But without public liability insurance I couldn't sleep at night.

    Profile photo of Jacqui MiddletonJacqui Middleton
    Participant
    @jacm
    Join Date: 2009
    Post Count: 2,539

    On the workman issue, if a workman causes damage and he is not insured, too bad for you.  Your insurance will not pay out on damage done by a tradie you hired. 

    As such, no tradies are allowed to step foot inside my property boundaries unless they have insurance.  One would assume this would extend to gardeners your tenants may hire to do the lawnmowing for them.  You need to ensure that your tenant's gardener has insurance….

    Jacqui Middleton | Middleton Buyers Advocates
    http://www.middletonbuyersadvocates.com.au
    Email Me | Phone Me

    VIC Buyers' Agents for investors, home buyers & SMSFs.

    Profile photo of JDKirkmanJDKirkman
    Member
    @jdkirkman
    Join Date: 2012
    Post Count: 8
    energy4anarchy wrote:
    Hi Guys,

    Don't know how i did it – but somehow over the past 7 years I managed to slowly acquire 5 rental properties in Victoria.

    I turned 30 this year… and have a bub on the way… and now more than ever I need to make sure I sharpen my investment pencil.

    Regards

    Sorry to go off subject….but can you give me some pointers on how youdid this?…..

    Profile photo of FreckleFreckle
    Blocked
    @freckle
    Join Date: 2012
    Post Count: 1,680

    Jac and Catalyst make good points. If a trady or tenant for that matter do any sort of work on your property you are liable by law for their safety. So the well meaning tenant who cleaning leaves out of the guttering, slips falls and breaks his back, the sparky rewiring a switch but fails to isolate it properly and electrocutes himself, the roofer who temporarily disconnects his fall safety harness and falls off the roof. 

    Then there's thing that go bump in the night. The tree roots lifting a driveway/wall/foudation. A leaking tap, blown hot water system flooding the neighbor. The tree limb that falls next door. The brick wall that feel into the neighbors (happened to a guy here). There's a million little things that can go wrong. 99/100 they don't but that 1/100 is a ball breaker.

    Not only will the financial side wipe you out but the stress will probably wreck your life for 10 years. The public liability alone is peanuts. They appoint the legal guys, fight the case and pay the award. That's worth gold. 

    Profile photo of Jacqui MiddletonJacqui Middleton
    Participant
    @jacm
    Join Date: 2009
    Post Count: 2,539

    Freckle's comment is very wise.  Never underestimate the value of your sleep at night money.  If by making a certain decision, will you cause yourself such stress in the worry of what might, or does happen as a result that you will be unable to sleep?

    Jacqui Middleton | Middleton Buyers Advocates
    http://www.middletonbuyersadvocates.com.au
    Email Me | Phone Me

    VIC Buyers' Agents for investors, home buyers & SMSFs.

    Profile photo of DippaDippa
    Member
    @dippa
    Join Date: 2012
    Post Count: 15

    I am just going through this at the moment, I have 2 IP in Melbourne, 1 of them was handed to the hands of hell (god knows how) and has now ended up with no rent since November and many $$$$$ damage. We are being told by our Manager that the last time these people damaged a property (A different Company put them in the house, the new Managers had previous dealings with them) they did $$$$$ and  that persons Insurance wouldn't cover because they said "It was the Tenents lifestyle not Malicious". Anyway we will see what GIO say, fingers crossed. But my point is ask the question before you sign up. GIO has told me that if they have damaged walls then they will pay, Stay tuned.

    Profile photo of DWolfeDWolfe
    Participant
    @dwolfe
    Join Date: 2009
    Post Count: 1,253

    Yeah tenants lifestyle of smoking prohibited substances and spilling the black, disgusting water all over the carpet!

    I'm having to go through all our properties insurance this coming week as the premiums in the last couple months have absolutely gone through the roof. Love to hear some suggestions of cheap but decent insurers. 

    Ta

    D

    DWolfe | www.homestagers.com.au
    http://www.homestagers.com.au
    Email Me

    Profile photo of mattstamattsta
    Participant
    @mattsta
    Join Date: 2011
    Post Count: 604

    I feel you. Often it feels like you pay your insurance and never use it. It seems like you are wasting your money, but just imagine if the damage has been done to your property and it might cost you a lot down the road if you Don't have an insurance.

    Profile photo of fredo_4305fredo_4305
    Participant
    @fredo_4305
    Join Date: 2009
    Post Count: 336

    Definitely keep it. 500 per property isn't that much, I am paying 2500 a year with Suncorp, granted it was flooded but I wouldn't give it up for the world. I have used landlord insurance in the past, and try to get every cent that is owed. They are like banks in it for the money just like us as investors its a business, push them for every cent if something ever goes wrong. They will continue to pay your rent until a new tennant is found, so there is no stress and you can take your time.

    Your mad if you get rid of it. 

    Profile photo of fredo_4305fredo_4305
    Participant
    @fredo_4305
    Join Date: 2009
    Post Count: 336

    Cash in all the wanted baby gifts and christening presents on ebay. 

    Insurance for a year paid for smiley

    Profile photo of callmelescallmeles
    Participant
    @callmeles
    Join Date: 2007
    Post Count: 29

    Hi Guys,

    Yeah landlord insurance is a cost that you just have to bare.

    And if you are really unlucky you don't ever get to lodge an insurance claim. DOH

    Now we must remember that insurance is tax deductible which is one plus.

    One big claim on one property and you get to recoup all of your previous premiums, plus some.

    Good luck if you can obtain some type of group discount.

    I have had some luck with rolling all car, home and investment property portfolios with one insurer.

    My parents and brother came on board so as to use the group discount.

    It takes a lot of effort but if you get to shave a few points off of the policy…..every dollar counts.

    Regards 

    Profile photo of crjcrj
    Participant
    @crj
    Join Date: 2004
    Post Count: 618

    Is it feasible to combine all the properties on one insurance policy.  I had a friend who did that several years ago and reduced his premiums substantially

    Profile photo of fredo_4305fredo_4305
    Participant
    @fredo_4305
    Join Date: 2009
    Post Count: 336

    Some companies give you a multi policy discount. Suncorp do but if you pay by the month they charge you 15% so it cancels out the multi policy discount.

    You can also try negotiating. My PM negotiated with Suncorp and they dropped her 2013 policy back to 2012 premium rates. I tried to do the same and they laughed. She is very sweet through, and has great people skills. Not that I do but she might have used the fact she is a PM as leverage.

    Another thing to consider is like splitting up your portfolio with Banks, it can be a good idea to do a similar thing with your insurance. If you make to many claims your current insurer can choose not to reinsure then when you go to a new insurance company and you answer their questions they too make think it is too much risk to insure you. ie you get stuck, just like having your whole portfolio with the one banc.

Viewing 20 posts - 1 through 20 (of 24 total)

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