Insurance on flip houses

Insurance on flip houses

Orlando, FL · Member since 2016 · 70 posts · 5 votes

Florida

Is it difficult to get insurance on flip houses? I called one agent pertaining to a rental property I was interested in purchasing. She was telling me that the home needs to pass a 4 point inspection prior to being insured. She had some other options that didn't require a 4 point, but they are for catastrophic type events. 

The house I'm thinking about purchasing has not been shingled. It just has underlayment. The contractor started and did not finish. The same thing with the repipe. Someone started and didn't finish. I'm wondering if this house would be hard to insure. I don't want to purchase it and then it burns down the next day.

Also, how would I handle the home inspection? He can't really test the plumbing. I'm not sure about the electrical. There were a lot of switches and other things removed. I was going to have a plumber come out and give me a quote on the finishing the repipe during the inspection period. 

The house is an REO. The weird thing is that the work was started in November. What are your thoughts on this? Why would the homeowner start all these major repairs knowing a foreclosure is looming. I checked into it and all this other houses are in foreclosure or have been foreclosed already. He was a property investor. The house I'm interested in was his homestead.

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Insurance Agent · Orlando, FL · Member since 2015 · 297 posts · 122 votes
10y

I write 1-12 month policies for vacant renovations (flips) through Lloyds of London. The policy usually works out to be around $1,000/6 months so its not cheap but it is the right coverage.

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  • Rental Property Investor · Gainesville, FL · Member since 2015 · 1k+ posts · 432 votes
    10y

    I can give you the number of an agent ( broker ) that I use ( I don't flip properties - yet ) that is part of my REI group. She is very knowledgeable and would be able to help you out. PM me and I'll pass over her information to you. I just talked to her this weekend about getting an umbrella policy to cover my properties and vehicles. When I was there we talked about flipping properties and insurance. I'm sure she'll be able to help you out.

     @Konrad R.

  • Real Estate Agent · Buena Park, CA · Member since 2016 · 743 posts · 424 votes
    10y
    Did you ask for the right type of insurance? You need commercial property construction insurance because you are reconstructing the home for the next 2 months or so.Call A friendly Farmers Insurance agent and specifically ask for insurance to protect a home rehabilitation job site for 2 to 3 months till you're ready to sell or find tenants.Also get quotes from Allstate,State Farm,etc.
  • Real Estate Agent · Buena Park, CA · Member since 2016 · 743 posts · 424 votes
    10y
    Second thing,the plumber can inspect the pipes using a camera through the end of the pipe to look for leaks underground.If you are going to repipe the entire home it's about 7 grand or so.Electricians will test the main board and every circuit to look for problems.If the find something bad,expect all the drywall to be taken down to access the wires and then replaced
  • Insurance Agent · Maitland, FL · Member since 2015 · 397 posts · 244 votes
    10y
    Farmers, Allstate and State Farm cannot provide the most correct insurance solution, even in CA. But, there is a market or three that can. But your problem is exacerbated by Florida. There is one market left out of those 3. We represent those markets if you want a closer look at a policy. The reason farmers/foremost cannot provide the best solution is as soon as you tell them the property is vacant, they will move you to a basic form policy. Basic form excludes theft. Theft is the biggest risk in flipping. Now with that being said, unless you are in Orlando (central), Farmers is not even an option.
  • Real Estate Broker · Woodbridge, VA · Member since 2013 · 179 posts · 33 votes
    10y
    I stumbled on Affinity while listening to one of Dave Van Horn podcast. I now have 6 flip and several rentals through them now. They are great!
  • Insurance Agent · Orlando, FL · Member since 2015 · 297 posts · 122 votes
    10y

    I write 1-12 month policies for vacant renovations (flips) through Lloyds of London. The policy usually works out to be around $1,000/6 months so its not cheap but it is the right coverage.

  • Specialist · Kirkland, WA · Member since 2013 · 1k+ posts · 817 votes
    10y
    Originally posted by @Konrad R.:

    Florida

    Also, how would I handle the home inspection? He can't really test the plumbing. I'm not sure about the electrical. There were a lot of switches and other things removed. I was going to have a plumber come out and give me a quote on the finishing the repipe during the inspection period. 

    Some inspectors are now starting to get into sewer scoping, and all inspectors should be checking the panel, and any sub-panels, testing switches and outlets.  But remember Home Inspectors can only inspect and report on what they found working/not working at the time of inspection.  If the electricity is shut off to the property there's nothing to test, if there's a missing switch, they might take a wire sniffer to it to see if it's hot.

  • Investor · Member since 2017 · 4 posts · 2 votes
    4y

    @Bret N. "Affinity" brings up a lot of Google results. :-)  I'm not finding one that resembles this type of insurance. Can you share the link to their website or, if not allowed, the full name and location of the company?  Thanks! 

  • Alecia LovelessPro Member
    Member since 2019 · 3k+ posts · 2k+ votes
    4y

    @Konrad R. I just had to get a Renovators policy for a property I just closed on Friday the 21st that I will be rehabbing. It is a 6 month policy that I can cancel any time after 3 months if we’re finished and replace with a regular policy but it cost $1400 instead of my regular $8-900 for an annual policy. And once again that was only 6 months so would be $2800 for the year.

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