insurance Archives - GATELY Properties

Renting out your house… Are you insured for that?

TeroVesalainen / Pixabay Renting out your property, whether it’s part of the home you live in or a separate space altogether, can be a great way to generate income. That is, as long as it’s properly insured. If you’re acting as a landlord for a short- or long-term rental, you’re most likely going to require more coverage than a regular homeowners policy provides. See which policy type is right for your situation and find out how to adequately protect against risk:

What does landlord insurance cover?

Landlord insurance is similar to a traditional homeowners policy, but the latter only applies to owner-occupied residences. Landlord insurance expands coverage when the home is being used for commercial or business purposes. It covers the structure of your home from certain kinds of damage and protects you from liability claims. Landlord insurance also sometimes goes a step further, providing income protection should your property ever become temporarily uninhabitable.

Is there only one type of rental property policy?

Typically there are a few different categories of rental dwelling policies that offer varying degrees of coverage. Less expensive coverage tends to be less comprehensive, but will probably protect against things like vandalism and some theft. You may instead opt for coverage that includes elemental damage from fire and some weather events as well as other perils that aren’t explicitly excluded.

How much does a landlord insurance policy cost?

Since there’s more risk associated with covering a rental property, this option typically costs 10 to 25 percent more than a regular homeowners policy. Whichever coverage you choose, remember that your policy won’t cover a renter’s belongings. For that they’ll need to purchase their own renter’s insurance policy. Need some clarification? Reach out today. We work with the best insurance agents in the business. If you are thinking of selling, buying or investing call 661.220.5506 to get going with GATELY!

ARE YOU READY? Prepare for the Next Natural Disaster with These 7 Tips

Collapsed parking structure after earthquake

With the recent hurricanes hitting the east coast it’s easy to feel for them. They at least had days to prepare. Here on the west coast disaster can strike out of the blue and even on a holiday like the Northridge earthquake.

Any time there’s a natural disaster, emergency preparedness is all anyone can think about. But soon after the news coverage fades away, it’s back to the same old grind, with little brain power paid to wildfires, hurricanes, tornadoes and their ilk.

The truth is that natural disasters happen when they will and waiting until the last minute to be ready for one is a dangerous practice. Instead of that, you can be truly well-prepared for the next emergency situation.

Emergency Preparedness Is Quick and Painless

When done outside of an actual disaster, emergency preparedness can be easy as pie. People often assume they need to have complicated battlements in place just in case of an invading force, but the truth is that a little awareness can go a long way. Be ready for the next big thing with these tips.

#1. Understand your local disasters. Even if you’ve lived in the same area all your life, there’s probably something you could learn about local disasters and their patterns. For example, you may know that a tornado means duck and cover in the hallway, but do you know if you should evacuate your home when an EF3 tornado is coming your way? Ready.gov has a library of information on emergency preparedness, including how to manage many different types of natural disasters.

#2. Understand your insurance coverages. Insurance is never sexy, but it’s necessary. If you haven’t gone over your coverages in a while, today is the day. Call your insurance agent and set up an appointment to review everything in your portfolio. Ask the important questions, like “Is my car covered if my tree falls on it?” and “Will my house be repaired if there’s a flood?”

#3. Know who to contact before, during and after the event. Long before trouble pokes its head up, get a list of phone numbers together. These should be organized neatly and put in a place that’s easy to get to in case you have to grab them on the go. Numbers for a pet sitter, your child’s school, your spouse’s workplace and so on so help connect you with your loved ones before a predictable disaster.

Keep contact information for your mortgage servicer, your insurance agent and your favorite general contractor or handyman in the same place for after the disaster has ended. Out of area family may also be good resources for bigger disasters like wildfires and hurricanes.

#4. Have an emergency plan that includes your pets. You need an emergency plan that the whole family knows. It should include what type of disaster you’re preparing for, the steps you should take, what items need to be involved and how pets and small children will be handled. Obviously, you can’t plan for every outcome, but if you include the most common natural disasters for your area, it’s a good place to start.

#5. Practice your disaster plans monthly. No matter how well you may think you know your disaster plans, in the moment you may well freeze or forget something. That’s why practice is so important when it comes to preparing for these incidents. Determine how much time you have to get to safety, then time yourself with the goal of cutting the time down without missing anything on the list.

#6. Keep a stock of supplies. Even if you feel a little silly doing it, keep an emergency supply cabinet stocked. You don’t need several months’ worth of food and water, but enough to get you by for a couple of weeks will be absolutely valuable. Check expiration dates frequently, rotating out food that’s about to go bad and replacing it with food that has plenty of life left in it. While you’re at it, don’t forget to stock some lumber and fasteners. That way, you won’t have to fight the crowds at the home improvement stores in days following a natural disaster.

#7. Have an emergency fund. Even if you just put $10 a month into it, keeping an emergency fund in cash can help you make it through any disaster, even if credit card readers are down. Since epic disasters don’t occur every day, you have time to save, but you need to start as soon as possible to have plenty put away for that extra rainy day.

Recovering From a Natural Disaster is Hard, but it doesn’t have to be as bad.

It feels like things will never be the same after a natural disaster, but you’ll get by with a little help from your friends and Gately Properies. When you’ve got so much to clean up, it’s nice to know you have home pros that you can trust to do the job right.

Call our office for contractor recommendations and so much more. Call 661.220.5506 and get Going with GATELY! Your friend in the Real Estate Business.

When you’re buying a home, consider the cost of homeowner’s insurance.

You may pay less for insurance if you buy a house close to a fire hydrant or in a community that has a professional rather than a volunteer fire department. It may also be cheaper if your home’s electrical, heating and plumbing systems are less than 10 years old. If you live in an earthquake-prone area, look for a wooden frame house because it is more likely to withstand this type of disaster.

Choosing wisely could cut your premiums by 5% to 15%.

Get A Clue

Check the CLUE (Comprehensive Loss Underwriting Exchange) report of the home you are thinking of buying. These reports contain the insurance-claim history of the property and can help you judge some of the problems the house may have. Remember that flood insurance and earthquake damage are not covered by a standard homeowner’s policy.

If you buy a house in a flood-prone area, you’ll have to pay for a flood insurance policy that costs an average of $400 a year. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) provides useful information on flood insurance on its Web site at www.fema.gov/nfip.

A separate earthquake policy is available from most insurance companies. The cost of the coverage will depend on the likelihood of earthquakes in your area.

If you have questions about insurance for any of your possessions, be sure to ask your agent or company representative when you’re shopping around for a policy. For example, if you run a business out of your home, be sure to discuss coverage for that business.

Most homeowners’ policies cover business equipment in the home, but only up to $2,500, and they offer no business liability coverage. Although you want to lower your homeowner’s insurance cost, you also want to make certain you have all the coverage you need.

Is it time to update your homeowners insurance?

When’s the last time you thought about your homeowners insurance? Was it last year, when you saw your escrow statement? Maybe it was years ago when you first bought your home. If so, it’s probably time to reassess your policy. As protection for you, your belongings and your loved ones, it’s important that your insurance adjusts as your home does.

Here’s when you should review your coverage.

Update, add to or renovate the property: Any time you increase the value of your home, you should update your homeowners insurance. If you don’t, your policy might not cover the full cost to repair or rebuild your property should something disastrous happen.
Rent a room or host on Airbnb: You’ll want to let your insurer know if you take in a tenant or allow short-term rentals on your property. Renting out your space can make you liable for all sorts of damages; proper insurance is key to protecting both you and your financial investment.

Buy something expensive or receive an inheritance: Did a loved one leave you her wedding ring or pearl necklace? Did you buy an expensive armoire? You’ll want to up your coverage or add a rider to protect those high-value items in case of theft or damage.
Home values go up: If the market’s hot and local property values are rising, there’s a chance housing materials are getting more expensive, too. Increasing your coverage slightly can protect you in the event you need to repair or rebuild the home in the current market.

If you have an escrow account and you’ve made changes to your insurance, be sure to get in touch. Whether you change insurers or your premium goes up or down, your escrow dispersal will likely need adjusting as well. More questions? Call our office and speak with one of our Real Estate Professionals. Call 661.220.5506 and get going with GATELY!

Create an Insurance Movie Before You Need One

DOCUMENT YOUR POSSESSIONS USING A DIGITAL VIDEO CAMERA

In a fire, earthquake, or other disaster, you could lose your house, cars, computers, other belongings like electronics, TVs, home theater systems, stereos, music, and even treasured family photos. When you attempt to replace those losses, it can be helpful if you can produce some documentation of what you owned—receipts, recent photographs, and when and where you purchased or obtained the more expensive items. Gathering all this information, if it’s even available, is a daunting task when dealing with a major loss.

There is another way to document your belongings. Make a digital movie to supplement photos and receipts of what you own.

Utilizing a digital video camera, you can capture the items you own and edit the movie with digital video editing software such as Movie Maker 2, a free download that comes with Windows XP Service Pack 2. Then, you can copy the edited movie to a CD, which can be used as proof that you own the items you claim. You should make multiple copies and store the CDs somewhere safe — a safe deposit box, a fireproof safe, a trusted friend’s house, or mail a copy to your insurance agent.

Video archiving your assets should become a regular practice. You could update your archive, for example, every autumn when the time changes. And, after the initial creation of the video archive, you need only shoot new acquisitions to add into your edited movie. The process takes little time and doesn’t cost much – particularly when you consider the potential cost of not having a record.

What you need to get started:

Digital video (DV) camera
CD burner
Digital video editing software

GETTING STARTED: CAPTURING THE RAW FOOTAGE

With your DV camera charged, in hand and on “record”, walk around your house and property and film everything you own. Narrate, while filming, as many details about each possession as you can.

Your narrative should include:

Where and how you purchased or obtained it
The date you obtained it
How much you paid for it
The approximate worth now
What it would likely cost to replace it

TRANSFERRING YOUR MOVIE FROM YOUR CAMERA TO YOUR COMPUTER TO A CD OR DVD

Once you have your raw video footage, you’ve only got a few more steps.

Transfer the video from your camera to your computer by following the directions that come with your video editing software. You’ll need some sort of transfer cable that both your computer and camera support—USB, FireWire (also called IEEE 1394), or analog video if you’re using an analog camera. (If your computer does not support the sort of video cable that your camera uses, you can buy a PC card to add this capability.)

Edit your movie. Remember, this is for your insurance agent. They probably aren’t interested in stunning effects, transitions between clips, or any other fancy editing techniques you may have picked up along the way. If you’re in a hurry, you can skip the editing altogether and move on to the next step. However, if you edit the movie, you can save your project, and then simply append new footage that you shoot when you next update the video.

Copy the movie to a CD or a DVD (of the two, CDs are cheaper). You may be able to do this through your video editing software. If not, follow the directions on your CD or DVD burner.

Preview your CD or DVD to ensure that all the video footage you shot is there.

Make a copy of the movie and send it to your insurance agent. Keep several other copies in a safe place, outside of your home. If you own or can borrow a digital video camera, it’s a simple task to document your assets. With luck, you’ll never need that digital inventory, but you’ll appreciate having it if you do suffer a major loss.

What’s the Latest with Mortgage Rates?

March 26, 2024 By Christopher Gately

Recent headlines may leave you wondering what’s next for mortgage rates. Maybe you’d previously heard there were going to be cuts this year that would bring rates down. That refers to the Federal Reserve (the Fed) and what they do to their Fed Funds Rate. While cutting, or lowering, the Fed Funds Rate doesn’t directly […]

What Mortgage Rate Do You Need To Move?

March 12, 2024 By Christopher Gately

If you’ve been thinking about buying a home, mortgage rates are probably top of mind for you. They may even be why you’ve put your plans on hold for now. When rates climbed near 8% last year, some buyers found the numbers just didn’t make sense for their budget anymore. That may be the case […]

Why We Aren’t Headed for a Housing Crash

February 29, 2024 By Christopher Gately

If you’re holding out hope that the housing market is going to crash and bring home prices back down, here’s a look at what the data shows. And spoiler alert: that’s not in the cards. Instead, experts say home prices are going to keep going up. Today’s market is very different than it was before […]