Thursday, November 14, 2013

Your Rental Suite And Renters Insurance

By Christian Fenell


These days, people often pay part of their mortgage by renting a part of their home. In fact, many people are buying homes that have independent suites in them or they are building suites into their homes so that they can have a renter to help pay the mortgage.

The legality of having a suite built into a single-family dwelling is the most common problem with suites. Make sure that you're allowed to have a legal suite in your home, by checking out the local bylaws before you build a suite into your current home. Just because a home has a suite built into it doesn't mean that it's been legally done; check the house's zoning to confirm whether a suite is legal or not.

A home with a suite in it will need proper additional insurance; your insurance provider can tell you if you have proper coverage. Your mortgage lender will also likely need to be informed that you have a suite for rent in your home as well.

Renter's Insurance

Many renters wrongly assume that you, as the landlord, are responsible for their belongings in the event of a catastrophic event. In fact, their furniture, electronics, clothes, or other personal items are not covered; only the property itself is.

Renter's insurance protects tenants' belongings from these type of events, including theft. This type of insurance can cover them for any liability if someone gets injured in their suite, as well as protect them from all these things.

Renters insurance should be insisted upon by you. The landlord's rental agreement sometimes has this as a condition. Your tenants should be required to have this insurance for a couple of reasons. In case your tenants need to step out while repairs are being made to their home, the insurance company will provide them with money for hotel accommodations. Also, the medical bills will be covered by the insurance if one of your tenants gets seriously injured while inside his home/condo/apartment.

Start looking for a renter after your suite is in place and you have adequate insurance. Put up an advertisement for renters iin the event that you don't know anyone personally who wants to rent it. You will need to make sure that you do background checks in this case though; if they're living in your basement, you want to make sure that a renter is going to fit in with your lifestyle.

Last, but not least, find out the legalities of being a landlord. Even if a family member is your tenant, your legal rights and responsibilities should be understood by you; many times when there is a problem between a tenant and a landlord it is due to a misunderstanding about the legal rules that both parties have to follow. Otherwise, renting out a a room or a suite in your home can be a very good means of providing some reasonably priced accommodation and helping you make your mortgage payments.




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