These four types of coverage are crucial to have in place before residents move in:
Landlord insurance. Your homeowners' insurance is not adequate. To make sure your property is protected, you will need to convert your policy to a landlord/resident policy. The landlord policy is typically less expensive than a standard homeowners’ policy because you’re not insuring the contents of the house.
Fire and liability. Even though you hope that you’ll never need it, it’s important to protect your property from fire, vandalism, and other damage. Fire and liability insurance will help you recover the costs to repair or rebuild in the event of an unforeseen emergency.
Loss of use. This insurance goes hand-in-hand with fire and liability. If you can’t rent the property because of damage, the insurance company will pay your rent. For example if your house burns down, your fire and liability insurance will pay to have it rebuilt, which usually takes about nine months. Loss of use insurance will take care of rent payments until the home is rented, typically for up to a year. Malicious intent. You can’t monitor the inside of your property constantly.
Malicious intent insurance is like an 800-pound gorilla in your house protecting your investment. This insurance covers repairs if a resident intentionally and maliciously damages your property. Your insurance company will restore your property to the way it was, above normal wear and tear. However, it’s important to keep detailed documentation of how the property looked before the damage.
When you have these types of insurance, you can breathe a little easier when your residents move in.