I got through my Friday the 13th closing with no problems, so I'm now the happy owner of a new four-unit property in the Montrose section of Houston. 

A last hitch was getting the place insured, and to my surprise I found a dearth of companies willing to quote me a rate.  Here in a nutshell are my experiences.  Note that insurer rules and policies vary from state to state, but here's what I ran into trying to get a policy for a fourplex in Houston:

	Nationwide:  was willing to make me a quote for a policy, but required me to switch the insurance policy for my primary residence to Nationwide as a prerequisite.  I'm happy with my current insurer (USAA) so this was a non-starter.  No quote.
	Allstate:  The "good hands" people.  Refused to insure any property with galvanized plumbing.  This property has been thoroughly rennovated, including much of the plumbing - but the building was built in the '30s, which essentially insures that there is still some of the stuff around.  No quote.
	State Farm:  Agent informed me that they consider a four-unit multi-family residence to be an apartment - meaning: commercial.  The agent referred me to a relative of his who got me a quote from a small carrier which was prohibatively expensive. .
	USAA:  I've used USAA before and have generally been hapy with them.  But unfortunately there is a limited number of non-owner occupied properties that they're willing to invest for any individual, and I'm already maxed out.  No quote.
	Farmers:  Gave me a fast on-the-spot quote over the phone at a good rate. ***see update, below

So the winner: Farmers. I'm a new customer.   ****  Update:  See below

Lesson:  I waited too late in the game to take care of this so I caused myself some unnecessary stress.  Do yourself a favor; start early and give yourself some slack time. 

**** April 18th Update - Farmers: run for your life.  I'm in the middle of a post-closing horror story that I'll write about soon (when I have time).  But consider this an official revocation of the blue ribbon that I'd awarded Farmers.  Stay tuned...