To ensure that we are unified in our efforts to address any joint risk, we ask Landlords to list us as “Additional Insured” on their Landlord policies. “Additional Insured” is not the same as “Additional Interest.” “Additional Interest” simply means we are notified of cancellations, renewals and policy changes, it does not extend any coverage.
Mars Hill Realty has proven risk-reducing processes, but it’s also important that we carry proper insurance. At minimum, we carry workers compensation, employment practices liability, commercial general liability, business auto coverage and errors and omissions.
As part of our overall risk management strategy, property owners are required to add “Mars Hill Realty Group, INC” as “Additional Insured” on their landlord policy to protect us from claims that may arise when managing their home. Although we have no financial interest in the property, we take on a lot of the risk and liability. If litigation were to take place, having the owner’s policy cover both the owner and Mars Hill would help to structure a unified defense that could reduce the total legal expense. Since the owner is ultimately responsible for these expenses, it would mitigate overspending by giving the owner more control.
When a Landlord is reviewing coverage, they might as well inquire about other benefits such as “Loss Rent Protection” and make sure their coverage is adequate. We have put together a list of companies and contacts that can help below.
TEXAS
Safeco – Evans, Ewan and Brady (Spanish speaking available) – 512-869-1511, MelanieA@eebins.com
State Farm – Todd Hargrove – 512-863-2587, Todd@Toddhargroveinsurance.com
Farmers Insurance – Rob Hilton (Spanish/French speaking available) – 512-864-1719, rhilton@farmersagent.com
VA/MD/DC
Travelers – Brock Norton (Marie White) – 571-723-4473; Marie@BrockNorton.com
State Farm – Jim Chen (Spanish/Chinese speaking available) – 410-766-4484; jimchenagent@gmail.com
Farmers Insurance – John Weis (Spanish/Korean speaking available); 703-475-4333; jweis@farmersagent.com
Central Insurance – Danaher-Skews and Associates (Sharon Brown) – 703-969-6286; Sbrown@danaher-skews.com
The first is the old-fashioned way. You email or call up the phone number for every home you are interested in and set an appointment with those respective owners/listing agents. Since you are setting the appointments and talking directly to the owner/listing agent, you may feel like you have more control of the process. However, what you may not realize, is that the owner/listing agent has no duty to represent your best interest in the transaction. Furthermore, calling multiple properties and dealing with multiple owners/listing agents is cumbersome and a waste of time. It’s very unlikely that you’ll be able to get 4-5 different people to meet you on your busy timetable and you’ll end up making multiple trips on multiple days just to see the properties you’re interested in.
The second way is to get representation. Having a real estate professional represent you enables you to schedule property showings in a much more efficient manner since they have access to the home via a secure keycard. You have a much higher likelihood of grouping your property showings of up to 3-5 homes in a 1 hour period. Furthermore, if you work with me specifically, you get a Master Certified Negotiation Expert to go to bat for you and you get my market insight to help you determine if the price you pay is a fair amount.
