What is Renter’s Insurance and Why Do You Need It?

What is renter’s insurance?

Renter’s insurance covers damage to or loss of your personal property. Whether you rent from a homeowner, a property manager, or a university (as a student living in a dorm), consider purchasing renter’s insurance.

Why do I need renter’s insurance?

Landlords insure the physical apartment building or home against damage from occurrences like fire, hail, and vandalism. However, their insurance policy does not cover your belongings, so don't expect the landlord to owe you payment should anything happen. Another reason to get renter’s insurance is to protect you against any accidents caused by other tenants.

Renter’s insurance can also protect against liability lawsuits or medical bills of guests injured in your apartment, that the landlord’s policy would not cover.

Some landlords will require you to purchase renter’s insurance. If so, this would be stipulated in your lease or lease riders.

What kinds of loss of or damage to property does renter’s insurance cover?

Coverage can vary depending on your insurance company and policy. In addition to cost, this can help you choose from where you want to get rental insurance. For example, some of the better-known places do not cover damage from floods, unless you pay an extra charge. If you live in an area prone to floods, it makes better sense to search for options where flood protection is included.

How does renter’s insurance work when you need to replace your property?

There are two kinds of payouts: actual cash value and replacement cost coverage. Actual cash value pays an amount equal to the current cost to replace your items minus the depreciated value. On the other hand, replacement cost coverage pays you the amount it would cost to replace your lost or damaged property. You only get the money if you replace the items. There is also usually a limit on how much money you receive, and the premiums tend to be higher.

The deductible is the amount you pay for the lost or damaged goods, before the insurance company would begin paying. Typically, the higher the deductible, the less your policy will cost.

I have a roommate? Do we each get our own policy?

It depends on the policy. Some insurance companies offer one policy that covers multiple people. Others require each person to get a separate policy. Check with your insurance agent to insure you have proper coverage.

Are there any discounts available?

Some insurance providers offer discounts to people who already have or have had insurance with the company. Check to see if your motor insurance provider has such discounts, and you may be able to save some money by bundling the insurances together.

Where do I obtain a renter’s insurance policy?

If you do not have an insurance company already, there are several websites like netquote.com or insureme.com that provide quotes from several different companies at the same time. Most major insurance companies will provide quotes online or over the phone. Be sure to do some research into the reputation of the insurance firm you select. Finally, asking for referrals from friends and family can also be helpful when trying to find a reliable insurance company.

Community Clothes Closet

In these times of need the staff at Bell-Anderson has opened a clothing closet for anyone, free of charge.

We have boy’s and girl’s clothing, with sizes starting at 12 month’s to 4T and some youth sizes, as well as women’s clothes size Large to 22. We are hoping to get men’s clothing as well in the near future.

Anyone that is in need of clothing, please contact your property manager or e-mail info@bell-anderson.net to make an appointment. Please do not hesitate to contact us. Your appointment will be kept confidential.

If you have some clothing that you would like to donate, please contact our office at info@bell-anderson.net. Any donations of gently used clothes, shoes or coats would be greatly appreciated.

The Role of the Attorney for the Community Association

Adapted from: Community Associations: A Guide to Successful Management
Co-Authored by: Vickie Gaskill, CPM®, MPM®

The community association may want to consider the services of an attorney, preferably one whose expertise is in real estate law and/or community associations. Oftentimes the Board of Directors will shy away from hiring a legal representative because of the costs involved, but there are far too many issues that can come up. Also, there are very few associations who have attorneys on their membership roles. Even when they do, the attourney members either don’t have the proficiency in the field or they aren’t able to give their services pro bono (for free). Remember, the members of the association are going to hold the board accountable if they fail to work with a legal specialist at a time when decisions stand a chance to jeopardize their own personal homes. Associations have been sued and their members' homes have been liened in order to pay off the rewards from large lawsuits.

Before the community looks for an attorney, they first must identify what it is they need an attorney for. What issues do they have that may require legal assistance? Following are a few of the type of services that may require the assistance of an attorney:

· Original Construction of the CC&R’s, Bylaws, Articles of Incorporation (Governing Documents)
· Interpretation and enforcement of the Governing Documents
· Assistance with the collection of past due assessments including placing liens and following up on foreclosure actions
· Represent the community association in litigation brought forth by members of the association or other third parties
· Provide guidance towards proper operations and helping the Board of Directors to understand their roles and responsibilities
· Assistance in the rewrite and/or amending of the governing documents
Occasionally attend meetings that have the potential of “spinning out of control” (oftentimes this is because of a very heated issue that may be on the agenda for the meeting)

Once the Board has gone through this exercise, there are a number of places that they can look for their legal specialist. Local and state bar associations list their members online and in the yellow pages, but be sure and look for those that specialize in community associations. http://www.lawyers.com/ is a great place to find attorneys in your community’s geographical area. Many attorneys in the community association field belong to trade associations representing the same (i.e. http://www.caionline.org/, http://www.irem.org/. etc.) Generally speaking, the attorneys in these trade association are very active in their respective organizations, oftentimes sharing invaluable informationwith their fellow members, at little or no cost. Boards need to do their homework when going through the selection process for their legal representative.

Ask the Staff!

Do you have any questions relating to property management that you would like the staff of Bell-Anderson to answer? E-mail the front desk at dalexander@bell-anderson.net and your question may make it on our blog if we feel the information would be helpful to our clients and community.

We can answer anything in regards to rental owners, tenants, community associations or their residents, or we will do our best to point you in the right direction!

Hello From Bell-Anderson!

Hello from Bell-Anderson & Associates, a full-service property management company located in Kent, Washington. Whether you are a tenant looking for a single family home, townhome or apartment for rent, an owner with one or more investment properties, business seeking a small commercial space or a condominium or homeowners’ association in need of management, Bell-Anderson offers the service for you.

Our company motto is “Our family serving yours.” Not only does our company operate much like a large family, but we do our best to treat everyone we come in contact with like our family as well. In order to reach out to our owners, tenants, board members and community association residents, we will be posting updates to this blog on a regular basis. Our hope is not only that we can keep you updated with company and personal news but also provide general information relating to everyone involved with property management, as well as legislative and trade association updates: a little of everything if you will.

To get us started, let’s meet the staff of Bell-Anderson!

First off, our fabulous owners Tim and Vickie Gaskill: they bought Bell-Anderson in September of 2002 from Gerry Anderson, who started the company in 1963 with Don Bell, Jr. Vickie Gaskill joined Bell-Anderson in 1986, and worked as the General Manager for the last three years before she bought the company. Vickie has earned four professional property management designations (CPM®, ARM®, MPM®, and RMP®) and serves as an instructor on the national faculty for the Institute of Real Estate Management and the National Association of Residential Property Managers (NARPM®). In 2010, Vickie will become the national President of NARPM®. What an accomplishment! Tim Gaskill works as our all-around handyman and police contact. Together Tim and Vickie foster a sense of family that is enjoyed and appreciated by all of the staff. In their spare time, they like to spend time at the ocean and spoil their three grandchildren.

Vickie Gaskill

Our community associations department is made up of three property managers, two bookkeepers and a few support staff.

Property manager Ken Allen, CPM ®, ARM ®, CMCA®, AMS® has been in the industry since 1978 and is an active member of the Institute of Real Estate Management.

According to Brandon Benavides, another community association manager, “Family, friends, work and sports are my life.” He is our resident baseball expert and coach.

Brandon & Ken

Jenise Doty is the most recent association manager to join the Bell-Anderson family, but has been in the property management industry for over 20 years. She also works selling real estate and loves quilting and gardening.

Stephanie Durham, our condo support person assists all of the property managers. Her real estate career began as a Realtor in Southern California, and in 2006 she earned (and still maintains) her Washington Mortgage Broker’s license.

Stephanie, Jenise & Shannon

Jennifer Collins works as the accounts payable bookkeeper. She received her Human Resources degree from Eastern Washington University. Stefanie Octave, a West Virginia native, recently earned her Washington Salesperson’s license and is our accounts receivable bookkeeper. Together, Jennifer and Stefanie’s bright smiles and April fool’s jokes keep our office laughing.

On the residential rentals side, there are three property managers, a full-time maintenance coordinator and one bookkeeper.

Carrie Fjeld, ARM®, RMP® manages the majority of Bell-Anderson’s apartment communities, as well as single family units. She is busy serving on the convention committee for NARPM’s 2009 national conference, and will co-chair the 2010 convention in Seattle.

Stefanie & Carrie

Dawn Hardley, ARM® began her property management career in commercial management, and now manages single and small multi-family units. She is an avid outdoorswoman, enjoying camping, fly fishing and photography.

Residential manager Kasey Medina recently joined NARPM and is looking forward to working toward her first professional property manager’s designation after having graduated from Central Washington with a Business degree in December of 2008.

Maria Garcia works as our Maintenance Coordinator and all-around smart and helpful person. She has been with Bell-Anderson for 10 years, and usually knows the answer to most of our questions. In her spare time she enjoys basketball and spending time with her family.

Maria & Kasey

Shannon Richardson works as both the Residential and Corporate bookkeeper. She has been with Bell-Anderson for 9 years and loves golfing in her free time.

Last but certainly not least is Debi Alexander, our front desk coordinator. She may be the most familiar person to the majority of our clients, and her hard work and organization keep our front desk running smoothly.

Debi

Well now that you have met the family, we hope you will check back in the future to see what else pops up on our blog. It is a pleasure to serve all of our clients and the community. From our family to yours, have a wonderful day!