GLIGA Blog: Michigan

We're Looking for Bloggers to Write About Mortgages, Loans, and Rates, Real Estate, and creative investing! We want the traditional funding updates as well as new and creative ways to fund and find real estate.

If you are a lender, real estate agent, or mortgage blogger and are interested leveraging our website and content to bring more attention to your product, service, or website, please get in touch with us! We would like to build a place for search engines to point to so consumers and investors can get access to great information. One blogger can create a good blog, many bloggers can create a powerful, content rich blog that points all over the Internet to websites including yours. By unionizing our voices we can build a blog worth reading that becomes more search friendly and points to your website which gives you more prominence. Please let me know if you are interested.

Visit our blog at http://blog.mylandlordinsurance.com. If you have a blog we would love to add content to yours too! Content rules on the Internet.

Plagiarized from my blog at http://blog.mylandlordinsurance.com. I have abbreviated the post here. For the full blog please visit my.., well.., blog. Thanks.

Different types of homes require different types of insurance. How the home is built will determine what type of insurance you can buy, how much it will cost, and what it will cover in the event of a loss.

A site built home is a house that has been built where it stands. The house is built on site from the foundation to the roof. This is the most common type of home people think of when they think of a house. A traditionally built home will usually appreciate in value over time.

The manufactured home is built differently from a traditionally built home. A manufactured home or mobile home as it used to be known is built in a factory. The house is built with a permanent steel chassis which is why they are commonly known as mobile homes because they are more easily moved from place to place. A mobile home also usually has a title like a vehicle rather than a deed like a home. The home has to conform with federal HUD guidelines but usually doesn't have to conform to local building codes. Manufactured homes tend to decrease in value over time.

A modular home also known as a prefabricated home or prefab is a hybrid of a site built home and a manufactured home. It is built in a factory like a mobile home but it does not have a permant chassis. The home is brought to the building site on a flatbed truck. The home also has to meet all federal HUD, local, and state guidelines for a traditional built home. Modular homes when built well increase in value similar to a traditional built home.

When it comes to insurance, many companies do not write manufactured homes. They are built on a chassis which means they are mobile, they do not have to conform to local building codes, and they decrease in value over time. There are a few companies that specialize in manufactored homes and can be very comparable in rate to a traditionally built home. You should look for a company that provides coverage for fire, wind, hail, vandalism, water, and liability. Also find out how much the insurance company will pay if you lose your home completely.

Many companies that will write a traditional site built home will also write a modular home. Since they conform to all local codes and appreciate in value, they are have a similar risk profile to a stick home. Some companies may not write a home if it was built in a factory so check with your agent to be sure you will be covered in the event of a loss.

The most difficult to insure is a manufactured home that is rented to another person. It can be very hard to find a company that will write a landlord policy on a mobile home. We can write all of these homes and we would be happy to try and write your business if you give us a chance.

Reprinted from http://blog.mylandlordinsurance.com.

There are a lot of investors looking at Detroit as a great place to buy cheap real estate. The thinking is if you can purchase a home with renovations included for $35,000, you can quickly turn a profit. Most homes in Detroit are brick, beautiful, 2 stories, and usually over 2,000 sqft. As a section 8 property the going rental rate is between $1000-$1400 a month. That is roughly $12,000 a year. In three short years the property would be paid and any future rental income would be 100% profit with the property having a resale value of about 50,000 if rented with a good tenant. Sounds great.

There's few problems with this plan:

(Summarized)

Insurance and Taxes

27% of homes are vacant

Lack of employment opportunities

Solution:

Rebuild City from Center. Consolidate public resources and reduce supply by demolishing vacant homes.

To get a more detailed description please read our blog. http://blog.mylandlordinsurance.com

General practice professionals are necessary in life. They are usually the least expensive person for what you need. They have a general understanding and can handle simple transactions. A specialist is usually more expensive but has the expertise and product to possibly save you money. A specialist can find circumstances that will either reduce your costs upfront or save you money on the back end. Specialists usually charge more for their service but save you money in the product you are buying.

We specialize in invstment properties. We write vacant homes, homes while being rehabbed, rental homes, apartment buildings and strip malls. We love to insure ugly homes and pretty ones. If its a investment property specialist you need, go to our blog and see what we have to say. Our blog is at http://blog.mylandlordinsurance.com.

If you are looking for a landlord insurance policy or are thinking about trying another agent to insure your investment home, here is a list of possible discounts you may want to make sure you are getting.

Claims Free Discount

Multi Policy Discount

Good Credit or Financial Responsibility Score

Year of Home

Safety Devices and Equipment

Tenant Screening Discount

Association Membership and Property Management Discount

For a detailed explanation of these discounts or other information that is useful to landlords please go to our blog  http://blog.mylandlordinsurance.com

For the third time this year, Congress failed to fund the Flood Insurance and COBRA subsidies programs beyond their last temporary extension, and both programs have expired as of 12:01 am, June 1st. Congress is scheduled to return from its Memorial Day recess on June 7, and hopefully will work on a retroactive extension at that time.
 
In the case of flood insurance, the expiration means that there can be no new policies or renewals until an extension is passed. However, companies have been directed to pay all claims for policies in force. For a more detailed explanation of how flood funding works and what the insurance companies responsibilities are when it comes to writing flood insurance, visit our blog at http://blog.mylandlordinsurance.com

Many tenants and landlords may be confused as to who covers what or how and what they can collect if either party suffers a loss. Right now you are probably saying, "What the heck are you talking about?!?" Insurance like real estate is a very complex and misunderstood industry.  Most people who are renting their home from someone else my have little or no experience with insurance or may have never needed to make a claim so they are unaware as to what is covered by a  landlords insurance policy or a renters insurance policy.
 
Both parties should have their own insurance policy to protect their own interests. Having an insurance policy is like having an attorney on retainer and someone to pay for the damages if you are found to be at fault. The insurance policy will defend your rights, and pay to repair what you lost. Hopefully we can put together some information that can be helpful to the tenant and the landlord when thinking about what insurance to buy. For more detailed information on coverages like loss of use or loss of rents, please visit our blog at http://blog.mylandlordinsurance.com to read our complete post.

Our agency is pretty active on the Internet. We post on blogs and sites like this one to hopefully contribute to the website or blog while also building our brand.  The problem started when we got the big idea to automate our social marketing with Facebook and Twitter. My biggest concern was being active enough to increase the amount of followers or fans so we could spread our message and make people aware of our products and services. We know landlords and investors struggle with finding an agent to insure them and we want them to know we are here.

We started by hiring an ex insurance agent who told us he was the insurance specialist of social marketing. He realized that many agents either did not want or didn'thave the time to build a successful social marketing campaign. And he also realized if someone was going to do it for them, they would have to have a basic understanding of insurance concepts and be able to access various resources.  Lets face it, its called Social Marketing for a reason, and the technicality of insurance doesn't make it any more social. And if you are not on there on the website all the time interacting with people the results will be poor at best.

So we signed up with the social marketing guru and watched as my followers list was blowing up my email. 10-20 a day. We felt pretty good until we went to our twitter page. When we looked at the people we were now following, these people were fowl. It appeared to us that he was following anyone in the Detroit area so they would follow us. Sort of a quid pro quo I guess. A short time later we get an email from Twitter saying our account was shut down due to aggressive following behavior. I'm thinking, "Maybe they are confusing us with the people we are following?" But no, they are still active! We are the aggressive ones because it is considered spamming to follow too many people too quickly. I thought it was strange that was even a rule, but they make the rules, I just have to follow them. No pun intended, OK, it was intended. Haha.

So we went back and looked at our activity and noticed not only was he aggressively increasing the amount of people we were following, he was posting links to websites and articles to other website and blogs. We don't mind being a directory or insurance resource, but we want to focus on educating people about our agency and the products and services we can offer. Not what the rest of the Internet is doing.

Needless to say, if you hire a social marketer, be careful. Social marketing is probably best left to you or someone in your organization who cares about you and your company. Our new plan of attack is to give twitter and facebook access to all company members so everyone can post and create activity and interact with the community we build through social marketing. That's our story and we're sticking to it.

The Home  Insurance Specialists

www.mylandlordinsurance.com

I recently received a comment/question sent to my email by a future customer who had read one of my blog posts on active rain. I wanted to post it here so others could get some insight into issues that need to be addressed when buying properties especially in urban areas. I asked the client to watch the posting for information that may be helpful to her.

Carla writes,

"Hello Mr. Stevens,
 
I saw your comments on Activerain.com. Here's a scenario for you, I would like to purchase this home at **** St. Detroit, MI 48224 - it has extensive fire damage. This is okay, as I would like to be able to renovate the home (upgraded wiring, plumbing....) the problem is I live on the west coast. I do plan to occupy the property once it is rehab'd.
 
The problem I have with most RE agents, they don't really want to give the information I need to make an informed decision, so I have repeatedly walked away from buying. I never get the answers to the following questions, 1) total cost to purchase property, such as special assessments through code violations if any, back taxes, what the actual taxes are, closing costs, title ins.... 2) where exactly the property is located, example, Indian Village...., 3) if the home is tagged for demolition, 4) if I purchase home that needs extensive repairs, since I am out of state, do I have to start rehabilitation of home as soon as title is transferred to me - or can I wait to start rehab, is there a time limit before code violations/citations are issued to me as new owner.
 
My question to you, is how much would it cost to insure this home during and after rehab? ***I would like to be present when rehab is being done.
 
Any and all help you could give is appreciated.
 
Thanks,
Carla"

My response,

"You have some great questions and it it good to see someone
approaching real estate in Detroit with some foresight and maturity.
Most investors see the sale price and they do not think about the
additional costs and hidden costs that come with a home needing rehab.

 Is it OK if I re-post your question on active rain so others can be
made aware of potential problems when purchasing any real estate?

Finally, the answer to your question. How much are you buying the home
for and how much will you be spending on rehab?  It sounds like a
contractor is doing the work, or are you doing the work?

Thanks for the email and I hope to hear from you soon.

Don Stevens"

I felt any feedback we could get could create a record of some great dialog and also help potential buyers become aware of the little things that need to be addressed when buying properties needing rehab.

I am an insurance agent in the Detroit Michigan area.  In March of 2004 I officially started my independent agency GLIGA (Great Lakes Insurance Group Agency) entirely by myself. I had been in the insurance industry since 1998 selling life insurance and decided to try selling home and auto insurance. I sold the very first policy and still sell policies today.

When I started my agency I was also working at Target from 4am-1pm 5 weekdays. I would leave Target and go home to change so I could go into a little office I rented to return voice mail and market myself until 9pm that night.  I hated getting up at 3 am and I still am not crazy about getting up at 8 am but I had to find a way out of the 4am-1pm trap I was caught in. I was glad to have the job but knew my future was limited and I was earning $9 an hour with a wife and four kids and one on the way. My wife couldn't work because the cost of child care for our preschool aged children would have cost more than she could make at any job she could find.

Every day I would go to my little office that cost me $300 a month plus $250 for a phone and try to find customers.  I quickly learned that the fastest way to generate clients was through referral. Not BNI, chambers of commerce, or business after 5 meetings, but through getting to know people who would send me customers because they needed my help.  I knew a couple of Farmers agents and I started with them. They would send me the stuff they couldn't write and I wouldn't go after anything else they had.  That way I would get some business and the agent could protect whatever else the customer had with him.

My checks eventually grew to $2500 a month. Not a killing, but when you are making $360 a week, $1600 a month, that was enough so I could quit Target. Sleeping in until 8 was awesome. I felt like I was on vacation. I actually was coherent and alert upon waking up. It was great.

Now I needed to turn it to high gear. I started recruiting to show new agents how to grow a predictable book of business.  We quickly became an agency that wrote 200-300 policies a week with several agents and staff. Today in 2009 we are licensed in 8 states and soon to be more with multiple agency locations. We continue to grow our agency force, locations, and referral base in Detroit in the worst economy anyone around here can ever remember. We are not just the Big 3 here (Ford, GM, Chrysler), we are the suppliers to the Big 3. So when the Big 3 goes down we all go down.

Over the last year we have focused on our Internet advertising. We generate exclusive leads every day and our conversion rate is high because we are perceived as experts in our field. I target niche products so I don't get drowned out by all of the other insurance websites out there. My website is not great, http://www.getgliga.com, but the marketing is. We spend about $500 a month on advertising and I am now looking for website referrals sources. I try to partner with websites that have products that compliment mine where my product is not represented well. Activerain.com happens to be one of them. I try to contribute to high quality sites hoping that they will enhance my image and visibility on the Internet and eventually lead to future customers.

One site I found to be very helpful in marketing my business was an online local directory. This is a website that targets customers by IP address and pushes the local businesses to the local customer. When someone gos to the website it automatically knows where they are physically and lists the local businesses in the margin. I can target my zipcode 48076 and the zip codes around me so when my community is on Facebook, Twitter, Google, Boomj, I will get a chance to be seen by them. It is easy for them to do business with me because we are in the same town. So when my customers see me they have seen me many times and start to think I am everywhere. It is pretty awesome and I have already seen customers come in the door.

This company charges me about $100 a month to target 10 local zip codes. I get to put in my business details, pictures, video, web link, and coupons on there so a potential customer can get to know us way before they decide to buy from us. I have had customers come in telling me what they wanted before I even had to explain the products because they are educated consumers. The sales cycle is dramatically shortened and I am able to focus more on the relationship with my customer than I do on building trust and credibility.

The last great thing about this program is that I can also sell the ads to other people. Because I am a customer and have actually seen results, I am able to help other people build their business also and get paid to do it.  Google, Yahoo or any other website has never asked me to sell ads for them. I probably wouldn't know how anyway. This is point and click setup is easy for anyone and all I have to do is tell people about my success and it sells itself.

If you are looking to advertise in specific zip codes for a small amount of money on a website that is highly ranked and has a large network of partner sites and referral networks then you should look at this website. If you are looking to make some extra money (40% commission for as long as they are a customer) and help other people market themselves so they can be the last ones standing when this economy gets done shaking out, then you should take a moment to go through it.

To check out how to advertise on the network, go to http://localadlink.net/gliga and click on the One Word on the bottom of the page. To check out how to sell ads go to http://localadlink.net/gliga and click on the One Opportunity also on the bottom of the page. Doing both is what I did. I get the 40% commission on my own ad and I get to tell people like you how to increase your web presence and get paid doing it. If you have any questions you can email me at donstevens@getgliga.com and I will be happy to share.

I am not a marketing guru or life coach, just an insurance agent trying to pay the bills like a lot of people. I believe with real hard work and persistence, we can succeed no matter what stands in our way. If we continue to try and never give up we will make it big, or at least have one heck of a story to tell when its over. Either way it will be a life that was lived. Thanks for your time and interest in my story.

Donald Stevens

The Home Insurance Specialists

http://www.getgliga.com