Question by realchineseprincess: Is my home owner insurance will go up? Is there an rental insurance for tenant not paying rent?
My property has let live for free last two years to a friend and now he is going to leaving for a new job. So I consider to rent it out. Read so many bad tenants stories, I’m scared. For home owner insurance, if I rent the townhouse out, do they cover the damage that tenant may make? Does the premium will go up? Thanks
Best answer:
Answer by it_lady85
There is no such thing as rental insurance to cover costs that tenants make.You should do a good reference history on who you rent to.Call prior land-lords.
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You will need specific language in the policy to cover that. Most if not all policies will cover accidental fire, acts of God, theft etc. As for renters, you need to get at least 3 verifiable references, but even then you can ‘t be sure, I know a guy who gave the phone #’s of friends and relatives as references, they gave glowing accounts of him, then after he got the Apt, he never paid the rent and it took 7 months to get him out legally. So beware
When you rent, have the prospective tenant fill out a rental application. These applications are usually at a store that sells legal forms. You can get lease forms there also. Make sure they fill out all the information, and sign the application. Charge $ 15 to $ 20 for the application. If they refuse to pay, do not consider them. Call their employer and ask for human resources or payroll, not their supervisor. Tell him what they stated as monthly income and length of employment “Is that correct?” His monthly income should be three times the amount of the rent. Do not check his present landlord. Check his previous landlord. (the present guy may lie if he wants to get rid of him). Ask if he was a good tenant, was he a good payer, why did he move, would he rent to him again. Check court records. In my state this can be done on line. I look for evictions in the last three years. I look for judgments in the last three years, I ignore traffic tickets. I look for misdemeanors in the last three years. I look for felonies over the last six years. If you discover any of these, avoid him. If you can find a local place to get a credit check on him, do that. I judge credit by the score only. In a very poor neighborhood the score should be 530 or better. 580 to 630 in a better area. Best wishes.
I wish there were such a thing, but there isn’t. Your homeowner insurance will not cover damage that a tenant causes. You will need to screen your tenants carefully. Once they move in do a walk through every few months. All you have to do to make that happen is give them 24 hours notice that you will be stopping by.