COVID 19 Update
RMA wishes all our owners safe sequestering!
Please read our COVID 19 update:
Idaho has had a turn for the best with the COVID-19 spread! Hospitalizations are still on the decline. As of April 24th, 182 new cases were recorded that day bringing the total number to 186,365 with 2,032 deaths. As of April 24th, 997,994 doses of vaccine have been administered to Idaho residents. Idaho has been advanced to Stage 3 Order.
For more information click HERE
For Stage 3 Guidelines Click HERE
For Idaho COVID-19 Vaccine information click HERE
Is My Rental Property Underinsured?
By Steve Bertsch, Boise River Insurance Company
Most homes in the United States are underinsured. Nationwide estimates suggest that approximately two thirds of American homes have too little insurance. Some homes are underinsured by 60% or more. The average home is underinsured by about 20%.
What does being underinsured mean? Being underinsured means you don’t have enough home insurance to protect your home if it’s damaged or destroyed. If you don’t have enough home insurance, then you are personally responsible for paying a significant amount of home repair or replacement costs after a disaster.
Let’s say your rental home and all the possessions inside are worth around $500,000. Your home, however, is underinsured by 25%, which means you have $375,000 of insurance coverage. A fire burns down your home and everything inside it. It’s going to cost $500,000 to rebuild your home and replace all of the possessions inside. Your home insurance covers $375,000 of that cost, while you need to pay the remaining expenses out of pocket. If you don’t have an extra $125,000 of cash available, then this could be a big problem.
I quoted this article from one of my carriers Nationwide Insurance. It brings out a very clear and current issue about the amount of insurance that is needed to be purchased. So how does this happen? Let’s focus on the Boise Housing Market for a moment. Right now, the cost of lumber is up nearly 100% over the same period last year. There are many market reasons that this occurred, but it is true, lumber and materials have skyrocketed. Included in that as well are the availability of tradesmen to do the work. If you can find a plumber, framer, or electrician who has the time or is willing to do the work, he is going to charge top dollar rates. The unfortunate part is if you are not willing to pay their price, they will just go do another job where they are willing to pay the rates. So, the cost of repair or building a new home is up considerably.
Most insurance companies place an automatic 6% inflation factor on your policy but that just isn’t enough at this time. You need to look at your policy and make some determinations about how much coverage you currently have and what you need. I estimate currently your home should have coverage for at least $175 a sq ft to properly cover your property. If you have a 1000 sq ft home you should insure it for at least $175,000. There are many factors that can change that amount and the only good way to know is to have an insurance company run a cost estimator on your rental property.
Steve Bertsch has been a trusted referral partner with RMA for insurance needs. If you would like to contact him, he would be happy to run a cost estimator to give you an idea of what you would need to use for replacement cost on your property. You can contact him at 208-955-8200.
Maintenance Updates
RMA would like to let you know that we are in the beginning stages of scheduling the optional services for 2021.
Optional Services being completed in May are:
- Spring Lawn Clean Up
- Gutters
- Spring HVAC Services
- Sprinklers turned on
The maintenance updates only apply to those of you who have pre-ordered these preventative maintenance services. If you didn’t opt in for a service you read about in this newsletter, and would like to schedule a service, just email MacKenzie at maintenance@rentalsinboise.com to let her know.)
RMA would also like to let you know that if you have a Home Warranty/Builder Warranty, you will be seeing a signable document come into your owner portal for your warranty that must be signed in order for RMA to complete any work with your warranty company on your behalf. That document will be sent out by the end of March to be signed ASAP in April!
Other questions? Please email MacKenzie. maintenance@rentalsinboise.com or call: 208-514-4864
Accounting Updates
Accounting would like to inform you that your 1099’s have been sent out for 2020. You can find your profit and loss statements on your Owner Web Access.
If you ever have questions about your statement, please contact your property managers:
Spencer Henderson, spencer@rentalsinboise.com
Jackie Lusk, jackie@rentalsinboise.com
If you have trouble logging into your client portal, please contact your property managers or Brandy Kerr at RMAinfo@rentalsinboise.com.
Tenant Update
This month’s tenant newsletter suggests for our tenants some COVID safe activity ideas to keep everyone safe as we enter into this nicer weather and want to venture out of the house.
Check out our tenant newsletter this month: https://rentalsinboise.com/property-management-blog/may-2021-tenant-newsletter/