Renter's Insurance - A Good Idea For Park City Property Management
Most, if not all property owners carry insurnace. In fact if you have a mortgage on your property you are usually required to carry a policy to pay off the mortgage in the event of significant damage to the home. But what if the property is not your primary home but a rental property? If you rent your property out you should strongly consider requiring your tenants to purchase renter's insurance. Here are a few reasons why renter's insurnace is a good idea for Park City property management.
For Renters
If you are a tenant you may think insurance isn't necessary; it's not your property right? You might only have some clothes, a little furniture and not much else. But think about the cost of replacing all the things you own at once. A new wardrobe, couches, table and chairs, TV, computer, iPad, smart phone, etc. can add up to a significant cost when purchased new at one time. A loss of all your personal property can completely swamp some people, not to mention loosing your place to live. And this would just be for a single person. Factor in a spouse or children and all their personal belongings and you are looking at a replacement cost of thousands of dollars. Basic renters insurance policies can cover a loss of your personal property at rates around $10/month. This is a small price to pay for the peace of mind you will have knowing that things like a house fire, flood, or other disaster will not wipe out all that you have worked hard to have.
For Landlords
Let me share a story of how a tenant with renter's insurance can benefit a landlord in Park City property management. This tenant was doing their laundry one day and decided to hang some clothes from the sprinkler head in their condo. This was a bad idea. The sprinkler head popped and began spraying all over the condo. The sprinkler line was part of a building-wide system and is charged with water and a sticky, syrup-like chemical that lowers the freezing point. As you can imagine there was quite a mess to clean up. Fortunately the tenant had renter's insurance. A claim was made and the insurance company took care of the damage. The landlord wasn't out any money, the tenant had to cover their deductable and then after that the insurance picked up the cost. When viewed in the aftermath of a situation like this the small monthly cost of renters insurnace is completely worth it, both for tenant and landlord.
A Property Manager's Opinion
Requiring renters insurance is a good idea for several reasons. Not only from a perspective of protecting property and valuables but also in the caliber of tenants in a property. A tenant who values their property and insures is much more likely to value another's property as well. If there are small damage claims a tenant with renter's insurnace is less likely to argue about paying for the charges as they can file a claim with their insurnace. We make all renters sign a form that requires them the purchase renter's insurnace. This protects the tenant, the landlord, and us as property managers. If you are considering getting involved in Utah property management or if you already manage a property in Park City you should strongly consider requiring your tenants to purchase renters insurance.
If you are interested in learning more about property management for Park City, Utah, download our free white page "5 Questions Every Landlord Should Ask Themselves".
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