New to Real Estate · Member since 2021 · 18 posts · 4 votes
Hi there! I'm a new BP user and just had my first property damage. Someone broke into my rental property in Phila, broke a window and damaged the front door. Nothing stolen as far as I can see. My Home insurance deductible likely won't even cover the damages so it's probably out of pocket expense. I made a claim anyway. My tenant made a police report. I can either wait for the insurance claim or fix it all ASAP using people I know. Is there anything I should have done differently or do differently in this situation? Did I take the right steps? Will my insurance rate go up now that I made a claim?
It sounds like an inside job to me where the tenant broke into the house because the tenant did not have the keys, or someone who knows the tenant broke into the house.
There is an old theory, saying, belief or whatever you call it that a high percent of the time a house is broken into it was someone who knew the victim.
It sound fishy to me that the keys were outside and nothing in the house was stolen. What type of criminal breaks into a house and doesn't take a computer, television, microwave or something that can be sold for a few dollars for a heroin fix.
Investor · NorCal · Member since 2015 · 282 posts · 240 votes
5y
One of my tenants called and said I must immediately come, someone broke in (busted the whole door frame) and she is scared to death without being able to lock the door now. She said nothing got stolen. I said why would someone break in and then not steal anything? While I fixed the heavily damaged door frame her boyfriend came home and her little 3 year old boy pointed at him and yelled out loud “that is the man that broke the door!”
I would address the suspicion theory with the tenant and put some pressure on them for half the cost. Then, when the tenant agrees to half the cost you know they were the culprits and not the victim.
I would say; since there is no evidence that the break-in was the result of some sort of criminal act then the tenant is obligated to pay for the damage and the burden of proof is on the tenant.
While this may not seem kosher many tenants are ignorant enough to fall for this action.
Rental Property Investor · Grand Prairie, TX · Member since 2018 · 2k+ posts · 2k+ votes
5y
@Kristen C.
I filed a claim with my insurance when my tenant called and said the garage caught on fire and the fire department came to put it out. They said a couple walls burned as well as the ceiling. I assumed it was bad and of course I’m always out of town when things like this happen. Lol. The damage ended up being less than a grand so I ate the cost and cancelled my insurance claim. But because I filed a claim, I now have a red flag on this rental with insurance companies. I had a couple companies deny insuring me because of it and some previous claim years ago by a previous owner. I try and not claim anything unless it’s big.
Vacaville, CA · Member since 2019 · 218 posts · 140 votes
5y
@Kristen C.
Hi Kristen, you asked if you are paying too much for your insurance premium of $1200 annually. What kind of property is it? SFH? 3/2? Square feet? Pool? We have a few SFH's that are 3/2's, about 1400 sf, no pool, nothing fancy, and our premium is about $700 annually for each property. Our deductible is $2500. Hope that helps a little .
Thanks, I cancelled it. So what ARE appropriate claims to file? And I guess I don't understand the purpose of insurance if theyre going to count against me everytime I *need* it?
Welcome to corporate America. Insurance is the biggest scam in the country. Its the only product that companies lose money on when you actually use it. So they want you to buy it and not use it. Practically, home insurance is good if your house completely burns down but that's pretty much it. Otherwise its there to protect the banks money.
Rental Property Investor · Member since 2020 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes
5y
This is something that is going to be hard to prove and pin on the tenant. I’d just fix the door and widow and change the locks. I suggest kwikset smart key you can change the key in under a minute. When I buy a new property I buy 1 set from Home Depot and another fro Lowe’s and a third from Amazon if I need it. This gives you a high likelihood of having 2-3 sets of keys you can use in a rotation. I have about 10 sets and a new set is $7 and includes 2 more. It cost more up front than a standard lock but saves a lot of hassle. If the tenant has been fine up to this point this isn’t something I’d make a big deal about but would be looking for a rent increase on renewal to help cover some of the costs.
Investor · Narragansett, RI · Member since 2013 · 8k+ posts · 4k+ votes
5y
@Kris A. I once had an insurance agent say to me you had a really big claim a few years ago on a house in PA so you are a bigger risk. The claim mentioned was a truck hit my house. How does that make me a bigger risk on a different house? , that is insurance. If it is going to significantly exceed your deductible like a fire etc then file. Liability you have to file.
Charge the tenant for re-keying. She was negligent with the key, and get the police report. If it is different then what they said then call them on it.