Jacksonville FL Multifam Building Insurance Co Recommendations?

Question

Hello! I've been lurking around the forums for a couple of months and have a question that I figured I could bring to the experts.

In the process of purchasing my first quad. Having a hard time finding an insurance company who will cover a 1916 4-unit in Jacksonville FL. The building was severely neglected by the previous owners and the roof is in rough shape. A lot of companies see the inspection report and deny us. Does anyone have a company they might recommend??

We've asked the owners if they will share their current insurance company to see if we can go with them, but they're not terribly responsive (they're in their mid-80s, I guess I can't blame em).

Thank you in advance for any advice you might have to offer!

Sarah Shockley · Answer

Oh boy. Sounds like the issue isn't so much the age of the property, but the condition (although they are related). Most insurance companies have standards the property must meet in order to qualify for getting any kind of policy.

Usually the insurance company will require a "4 points" inspection - Roof, HVAC, Plumbing, and Electric - and those 4 things will need to be in generally good condition. You should have at least two options though -

1. Getting an insurance policy that doesn't cover the defective item - like the roof. So then if damage occured to the roof or because of it, that would not be covered by the policy. A policy like this is usually less expensive than a regular policy with more coverage.

2. "Construction/Rehab" policy - this is a type of policy you can get to cover the property while extensive renovations are occurring. Then once the work is done you get a regular policy. Typically twice as expensive as regular coverage.

Also, are you purchasing the property with a conventional loan? There are also certain criteria the property will need to meet to qualify for getting a loan.

I've used Brightway Insurance to source coverage for my properties, which are all built in the 20s and 30s. People's Trust is my insurance carrier for all of my multi-family properties, and I have American Integrity for one of my houses, with a policy that "doesn't cover" the roof.