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:
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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. |
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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. |
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| 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. . |
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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. |
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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...