All Forum Posts by: James Call

@Sam B. Thanks for sharing your story.  It looks like you have inspired a ton of people by spreading your success around. 

I wish you the best of success in your journey!

@Lindsay Brake,

Thanks for sharing this story. 

That is a great way to use the insurance money from the hurricane to move ahead in your investing.

I agree that one of the biggest missed opportunities is primary residence.  Sometimes folks have a goldmine in their own home.

I wish you the best of success in your real estate investing journey.

@Josh Sicking, 

We specialize in landlord insurance in Texas and what we have seen is that you should use insurance if the damage really requires it, and if it is really just some delayed maintenance, you take care of it out of your expense account on the property. 

Insurance companies are all about lowering their risk and getting paid for increased risk.  

When you submit claims, the insurance companies will track that information and it may result in some increased premiums in the future for coverage. 

I would suggest that you reach out to your insurance company or your insurance agent and tell them what you have and get some advice from them. 

Thanks,

James

@Eric Fernwood,

When are you going to start selling property in Southern Utah (St. George Area) where I live? 

I love that information.  As an investor, that is fantastic data.  

When we have been buying properties here, we don't get that kind of info.  

My theory is that if I am the most knowledgeable person in a real estate transaction, something is pretty messed up! :)

Thanks for sharing that info. 

-James

@Andrew P.,

I would reach out to your insurance agent and see what that additional umbrella coverage will cost you.  If it is a few hundred dollars a year, it may be a good way to buy some piece of mind. 

We find that in Texas and Utah, where we work, by the time someone has their home, auto, and landlord insurance in place, (and in your case an umbrella on some properties) the gap that you are covering with a personal umbrella policy is pretty inexpensive. 

Good luck,

James

@Simon Stahl,

I understand the value of simplicity.  It is really important to get everything as consolidated as you can.  

Having said that, if you are looking for Indiana and Texas under the same roof, that is probably going to have to be a national company.  

We are an independent insurance company that specializes in landlord insurance but we only have coverage in Texas, Utah, and Colorado.   

Why those states? Because we are based out of Texas and have team members who live in Utah. 

I would recommend that you find either a good national company or find someone who does good Texas work, then find someone else who does good Indiana work.  

Good luck,

James

Hi Francisco,

We service Texas with Landlord insurance. I will shoot a DM to you.

Thanks,

 James

 Hi Josh,

 We service Texas with Landlord insurance.   I will shoot a DM to you.

Thanks,

James

@Alfred Litton,

@John Mocker is right on this.  

We right insurance for landlords all over Texas and this is a fairly common question.

You may be able to walk away with just the $$$ from the ACV and do another investment.  But it is really a numbers game.  If you have a partial damage situation using John's numbers the difference can be pretty big.  

Most insurance agents want to write insurance that their clients can afford, in the sense of, if there is a catastrophic damage to your place would it be easier for you to come up with $1000 per year, or pony up $5000 - $10000 for repairs.  

Most people don't have the financial reserves to splash $5k-$10k-$20k for a repair.  They would rather pay the extra $1000 per year you are referring to.  

If you have the cash reserves then maybe going ACV instead of RCV is the best for you.  You can walk away from the property if you have to, or you can pony up the extra money to do the repairs IF/WHEN there is a claim.  Then you save $1000 per year on insurance.  

The other difference is in the $90k and $160k numbers you mentioned.  That is $70k.  With a current $1000 premium, you are betting that in 70 years you won't have a total loss.  It is really about appetite for risk.  If you can make the numbers work for you with a partial or total loss, and the insurance savings makes a difference for you,  then do what you want. 

As an insurance agent who specializes in landlord insurance, I am often surprised at how many people will look at all kinds of other ways to increase rents by $50 per door and NOT look at saving money on insurance.  If you are saving $1000 or $2000 per year on insurance that can be $80 - $200 per MONTH of extra money that you get to put in your pocket.  

You may not be able to shop around for the best deals on property taxes in Texas, but you can shop for different coverages and different prices that match your investing strategies. 

James

@Devante,

There are companies that provide windstorm insurance.  Like @Account Closed mentioned about getting someone who can shop around different companies for you.  That is the best way to get insurance in my opinion. 

When you say "homeowners" coverage, I assume that you will be living in one of the units??  If not, then you will want "landlord coverage" or fire and dwelling.  This is a common mistake we see with investors, they buy homeowner insurance on a rental and the property doesn't have the proper coverage.

If you want to PM me, I can share some more info about this with you. 

Thanks,
James