Car Drove Into My Rental Property

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
General Landlording & Rental Properties
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Car Drove Into My Rental Property

Karen Johnson
Investor · AMBLER, PA · Member since 2013 · 158 posts · 98 votes

Good day,

I will be researching other posts on this topic as well, but appreciate any help I can get.

Tenant texted me last night to say that someone drove their car into my rental property on Saturday night. Would have been great to know about this on Saturday when it happened, but not much to be done about that now. Tenant has the individual's contact information and is in the process of filing a police report, he says. There was a passenger in the car who was seriously injured, taken to hospital and requires surgery. Not sure what the circumstances were. Our house is set back from the street and has a driveway. They somehow drove all the way to the house, knocked down a pillar for the upstairs porch, drove into security door, shattering the glass and bending twisting the metal framing, and also broke the downspout on our drainage system. I obtained a phone number and an address for the driver from my tenant, as well as pictures of the damage and of the vehicle in question along with license plate. I have no idea if this person has insurance. 

What are my next steps here? I presume I should call my insurance company in case this individual has no or low converge. Do I take ownership of getting the police report filed? Do I contact the driver of the vehicle? Do I need a public adjuster? I've never been in a situation like this before so any and all advice is welcomed.

Thank you.

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Nathan Grabau
Realtor · Longmont, CO · Member since 2021 · 577 posts · 631 votes
4y

I would contact local law enforcement and your insurance. Depending on what insurance you have, they might cover the costs for the property and then go after the driver and his/ her insurance to recover the cost of the damages to your property. I would remember that your insurance works for you, and you are at no fault in the situation. I have had similar situations with our car insurance for my family's roofing company where they prefer that we submit the claim through them, then they pursue who is at fault to recover their costs. It is much better for you to have your insurance pursue their insurance as opposed to you having to do that. 

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  • Nathan Grabau
    Realtor · Longmont, CO · Member since 2021 · 577 posts · 631 votes
    4y

    I would contact local law enforcement and your insurance. Depending on what insurance you have, they might cover the costs for the property and then go after the driver and his/ her insurance to recover the cost of the damages to your property. I would remember that your insurance works for you, and you are at no fault in the situation. I have had similar situations with our car insurance for my family's roofing company where they prefer that we submit the claim through them, then they pursue who is at fault to recover their costs. It is much better for you to have your insurance pursue their insurance as opposed to you having to do that. 

    5Reply
  • Sergey A. Petrov
    Real Estate Consultant · Seattle, WA · Member since 2022 · 1k+ posts · 784 votes
    4y

    Happens unfortunately. Call your insurance company and file a claim, make sure you have a copy of the police report (or at least the case number), take immediate steps to protect the property (plywood, etc depending on how bad the damages are), tell your renter to file a claim with their insurance company as well (especially if they had personal belongings, furniture, etc that were damaged). 
    Once the above is done start working with an insurance assigned adjustor and a contractor on repairs.

    If your tenant claims they are unable to occupy the property due to the extent of the damage, your insurance may have additional coverage for loss of rents. Theirs may have some coverage as well.

    1Reply
  • Patricia Steiner
    Real Estate Broker · Hyde Park Tampa, FL · Member since 2019 · 2k+ posts · 3k+ votes
    4y

    The joys of real estate...and yes, this has happened many times before.  Stupid happens - repeatedly.  So sorry you're having to go through this.  Your tenant did a lot of things right but reporting it to you immediately wasn't one of them.  What I recommend is to contact your insurance agent and provide all the details.  They will need the police report and a statement from your tenant which they may prefer to obtain themselves.  Your insurer will contact Stupid and obtain his insurance information.  A claim will be made against Stupid's insurance for your damages.  It's important that you do this asap.  

    Please take photos of your property and secure it if needed.  Your insurer may want you to retain all debris so don't throw anything out yet.  An inspector/adjustor will be coming to the property to assess damages and do interviews.

    Call the police to get the police report.  

    And, breathe...make the call to your insurance agent and let them work for you in getting your property repaired at Stupid's expense.  Best.

    2Reply
  • Karen Johnson
    OP
    Investor · AMBLER, PA · Member since 2013 · 158 posts · 98 votes
    4y

    Thank you so much to everyone who responded. I will start taking action immediately.

    0Reply
  • Colleen F.Pro Member
    Investor · Narragansett, RI · Member since 2013 · 8k+ posts · 4k+ votes
    4y

    @Karen Johnson  We had a truck hit our house years ago and take out two cars and a room on the back of the house so it happens.  File with your insurance and have the renter file with theirs.  It worked like any any other insurance claim.    Our insurance company paid us and went after the drivers insurance.  I would also file a police report if there is not one already.   Did your renter call the police when it happened?   If so they already have a report.  I'm wondering how the ambulance showed up and there would not be a police report unless taken to the hospital means they didn't call an ambulance.

    1Reply
  • Nathan GesnerBusiness Member
    Moderator
    Real Estate Broker · Cody, WY · Member since 2010 · 28k+ posts · 41k+ votes
    4y
    Quote from @Karen Johnson:

    Good day,

    I will be researching other posts on this topic as well, but appreciate any help I can get.

    Tenant texted me last night to say that someone drove their car into my rental property on Saturday night. Would have been great to know about this on Saturday when it happened, but not much to be done about that now. Tenant has the individual's contact information and is in the process of filing a police report, he says. There was a passenger in the car who was seriously injured, taken to hospital and requires surgery. Not sure what the circumstances were. Our house is set back from the street and has a driveway. They somehow drove all the way to the house, knocked down a pillar for the upstairs porch, drove into security door, shattering the glass and bending twisting the metal framing, and also broke the downspout on our drainage system. I obtained a phone number and an address for the driver from my tenant, as well as pictures of the damage and of the vehicle in question along with license plate. I have no idea if this person has insurance. 

    What are my next steps here? I presume I should call my insurance company in case this individual has no or low converge. Do I take ownership of getting the police report filed? Do I contact the driver of the vehicle? Do I need a public adjuster? I've never been in a situation like this before so any and all advice is welcomed.

    Thank you.


     Contact the insurance provider immediately to start the claim. Try to get the name of the officer that took the report/statement.

    Have a conversation with your tenant and remind them the importance of contacting you as soon as possible when there are issues/emergencies. There's no excuse for waiting three days to call you or to file a police report.

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    1Reply
  • Karen Johnson
    OP
    Investor · AMBLER, PA · Member since 2013 · 158 posts · 98 votes
    4y

    Thank you everyone. I called the police department and there was an auto-incident report. Apparently, the driver also hit several cars before driving into our house. I then called my insurance and filed a claim, providing the incident report number and precinct information, the contact information for the driver and also for my tenant. Hopefully this gets resolved without too much (more) trouble.

    @Nathan 

    @Nathan Gesner I completely agree about the tenant. I think his job sometimes takes him away for days at a time, but I will follow up with him and remind him the importance of communicating with me swiftly.

    0Reply
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