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Home insurance
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Our home in Florida was being renovated before being listed. So, first, insurances screw you over in Florida because of hurricanes etc.
But then, we are now required to pay a vacant home insurance, which amounts to basically 1% of the price of the home ($400 per month).
Is this standard? Even if the house is listed for sale, with regular visits, and utilities on?

All my encounters with insurers have been extremely unpleasant. They are good at taking your money and making their shareholders happy.
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Re: Home insurance [Francois] [ In reply to ]
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Francois wrote:
Our home in Florida was being renovated before being listed. So, first, insurances screw you over in Florida because of hurricanes etc.
But then, we are now required to pay a vacant home insurance, which amounts to basically 1% of the price of the home ($400 per month).
Is this standard? Even if the house is listed for sale, with regular visits, and utilities on?

All my encounters with insurers have been extremely unpleasant. They are good at taking your money and making their shareholders happy.

Who is requiring you to get the insurance? The insurance company? The bank? The government?
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Re: Home insurance [Francois] [ In reply to ]
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We don't have shareholders, but for some reason we are still obsessed with making a profit. :)

You aren't getting screwed on hurricanes, you just need to buy the right insurance. Homeowners doesn't cover floods. If your house blows down before it floods we'll still cover your loss. If it floods before it blows down we don't. But Florida is such a risky market due to hurricanes that many insurers, including us, have pulled out completely.

As far as needing vacant home insurance it all depends on the terms of your policy. A lot say that if it is unoccupied for more than 30 days they won't cover losses. Vacant homes just carry more risks. Fires go unreported until they break through the roof. Burglaries aren't noticed. They are a magnet for vandalism. People will come steal all the copper out of your house, etc.

But I didn't realize they were THAT expensive, that is a bite in the ass.

I'm beginning to think that we are much more fucked than I thought.
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Re: Home insurance [j p o] [ In reply to ]
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Our home is 60mi inland, in Gainesville. By the time it gets to GNV, it's downgraded to storm nearly all the time.
Sorry, but the 'named storm' policy is a total rip off.

Hurricane hits the coast, get downgraded to a tropical storm, but because it was 'named' you get hurricane deductible anyway.
That's a rip off.
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Re: Home insurance [DJRed] [ In reply to ]
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DJRed wrote:
Francois wrote:
Our home in Florida was being renovated before being listed. So, first, insurances screw you over in Florida because of hurricanes etc.
But then, we are now required to pay a vacant home insurance, which amounts to basically 1% of the price of the home ($400 per month).
Is this standard? Even if the house is listed for sale, with regular visits, and utilities on?

All my encounters with insurers have been extremely unpleasant. They are good at taking your money and making their shareholders happy.

Who is requiring you to get the insurance? The insurance company? The bank? The government?

My question too. Is this required, or is it something that has been recommended?

In CA, earthquake insurance is option, flood insurance is optional, but at the end of the day, unless you have a mortgage that requires it, insurance is essentially optional.
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Re: Home insurance [Francois] [ In reply to ]
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Francois wrote:
Our home is 60mi inland, in Gainesville. By the time it gets to GNV, it's downgraded to storm nearly all the time.
Sorry, but the 'named storm' policy is a total rip off.

Hurricane hits the coast, get downgraded to a tropical storm, but because it was 'named' you get hurricane deductible anyway.
That's a rip off.

Really? Hmmmm. Katy, Tx is 60 miles inland. Think Hurricane Harvey and the billions of dollars of damage it did there.
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Re: Home insurance [Harbinger] [ In reply to ]
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We had a similar cost when selling a home. Our insurance company wouldn’t even underwrite the policy so we had to go to a specific company. A vacant home is more likely to get robbed,burned down, vandalism, construction accident injuries etc.
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Re: Home insurance [Harbinger] [ In reply to ]
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Not the same geography and topography. Gainesville gets very little.
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Re: Home insurance [Francois] [ In reply to ]
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Francois wrote:
Our home in Florida was being renovated before being listed. So, first, insurances screw you over in Florida because of hurricanes etc.
But then, we are now required to pay a vacant home insurance, which amounts to basically 1% of the price of the home ($400 per month).
Is this standard? Even if the house is listed for sale, with regular visits, and utilities on?

All my encounters with insurers have been extremely unpleasant. They are good at taking your money and making their shareholders happy.

Standard homeowners policy will have exclusions for vacant properties and is not supposed to be written for a home that they know will be vacant. Most homeowners policies have a provision in them that excludes coverage for glass breakage and vandalism if the home was vacant for more than a certain time period.

All that said, there are many different companies and options for vacant dwelling policies. Find yourself an independent agent in Florida and ask them to shop around for you. I can't speak to Florida as I am in the PacNW, but $400 per month for a vacant dwelling policy would be really high around here.
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Re: Home insurance [A-A-Ron] [ In reply to ]
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We had a home in Texas that was empty for a few months. Insurance increased by about 25pct. This time it’s increased by 300pct. Seems like a hefty jump.
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Re: Home insurance [Francois] [ In reply to ]
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Francois wrote:
We had a home in Texas that was empty for a few months. Insurance increased by about 25pct. This time it’s increased by 300pct. Seems like a hefty jump.

All depends on the company and the program. Some companies don't want to do vacant dwellings but will if you don't mind paying crazy premiums. Other companies won't do them at all and will just cancel or non-renew the policy. Finally there are some companies that want vacant dwellings and won't charge ridiculous rates. You need someone to shop it for you.
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Re: Home insurance [Litemike] [ In reply to ]
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Litemike wrote:
We had a similar cost when selling a home. Our insurance company wouldn’t even underwrite the policy so we had to go to a specific company. A vacant home is more likely to get robbed,burned down, vandalism, construction accident injuries etc.


I used to work for a mortgage lender and recall one time a transaction had to be delayed because the day before the closing (during the final walkthrough) it was discovered somebody broke into the home and stole all the brand new appliances in the garage. Arizona property (iirc) and things like the brand new water heater and such were installed in the garage (unlike the midwest homes where it gets cold and that stuff is inside the home).
Last edited by: loxx0050: Mar 11, 19 12:54
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Re: Home insurance [Francois] [ In reply to ]
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A few years ago, I bought a new house and didn't sell the previous house for a few months. The premium for the vacant house went up significantly. In addition to the increased premium, I recall certain damages wouldn't be covered while the house was vacant.

Fortunately for me, my sister-in-law kicked my meathead brother out and he needed a place to stay. His living in the house reduced my premium.
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Re: Home insurance [Go Pound Sand] [ In reply to ]
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Does he want to move to Florida? ;)
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