GLIGA Blog

Get a specialist when you need one.

Donald Stevens (MyLandordInsurance.com) — Tue, 22 Jun 2010 10:47:59 -0400

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.

Donald Stevens

Are There Any Discounts on a Landlord Insurance Policy?

Donald Stevens (MyLandordInsurance.com) — Mon, 21 Jun 2010 21:33:06 -0400

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

Donald Stevens

Flood Insurance Expires - Again!

Donald Stevens (MyLandordInsurance.com) — Sat, 19 Jun 2010 09:50:52 -0400

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

Donald Stevens

Tenant VS. Landlord

Donald Stevens (MyLandordInsurance.com) — Mon, 14 Jun 2010 17:12:45 -0400

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.

Donald Stevens

www.mylandlordinsurance.com

What Not To Do With Twitter, Seriously.

Donald Stevens (MyLandordInsurance.com) — Wed, 02 Jun 2010 08:43:27 -0400

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

Donald Stevens

Great Insight From A Future Detroit Homeowner

Donald Stevens (MyLandordInsurance.com) — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 17:07:16 -0400

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.

Donald Stevens

A Comment From A Future Client Of Mine On Loss Vegas Fraud

Donald Stevens (MyLandordInsurance.com) — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 18:35:43 -0400

Sorry about that play on words in the title. I do know how to spell most words. Here is an email I received from a client I am working with on some insurance issues.

"Hello Mr. Stevens,

Here's a link that you can click to show how they are trying to cope with the foreclosures in Las Vegas www.lasvegassun.com/news/2009/oct/15/nevada-bucks-nationwide-downward-foreclosure-trend/
**also view the comments.

I lived there 2 years ago. I know first hand that some of the new homes weren't selling and the developers rented the homes out - this was on the news. Apparently, this is what they are doing now to curb the destruction of these properties. Here on the west coast, the people of foreclosures (I'm not sure if I should say victims) they are also flooding the homes, pulling copper wire, removing cabinets, toilets, holes in the walls, removing lighting fixtures.....In fact, there were scams where people would rent out million dollar homes for $1,000 a month.

I now see why the prices are slow to come down here, they are not releasing all of the homes. There's also rumor that it has something to do with new legislation that maybe there will be some kind of RTC to take these properties, or something to do with getting more TARP money. BTW, one of the properties for condos, I think it's Flamingo Palms, the homeowner assoc DOESN'T own the land. These condos once sold $100K+, now some are as low as $10k but the homeowner dues are $400+ monthly for legal fees.

Thanks,
Carla"

Anyone have any thoughts on this?

Donald Stevens

Detroit Michigan; The best and worst place to invest in real estate.

Donald Stevens (MyLandordInsurance.com) — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 12:22:57 -0400

At Great Lakes Insurance Group Agency we write vacant, rehab, and tenant insurance in the city of Detroit as well as all over Michigan. If anyone needs insurance help, let me know. I would be happy to help any way I can. We felt this blog post was intertesting so we reposted it here.

The Home Insurance Specialists

www.getgliga.com

Via Maximillion Richman (Richman Publishing LLC):

Detroit, Mi hate it or love it. Its heavily segregated, a vast majority of the residents have poor credit, the city is plagued with crime, the local government is too corrupt, the school system needs improvement, blight has invaded neighborhoods, and etc. I could go on and on, but the city is still highly profitable for real estate investors.

By my estimates 70% of the cities residents prefer to rent oppose to owning. I have met landlords who have told me tenants have paid off their mortgages from living in their properties so long. Detroit does have several nicer areas to live. Sherwood Forest, Rosedale Park, & Palmer Woods to name a few.

The city has the potential to recover, but with all the racism in the Metro Detroit area many large companies do not want to do business here.

Detroit is a very large city but it lacks the necessary industries to make it thrive. I have friends who live right next door to Detroit in Windsor, On. When they cross over to visit me they frequently complain how we have to drive so far to get to places. Its sad to say Detroit only has 2 major restaurant chain sit down restaurants, and there both on the edge of the city near the water front of the Detroit River.

There are no Fridays, Ruby Tuesdays, Chilis, Paneras, Max & Ermas, Red Robbins, outback steak houses, & etc in the city You have to drive into the suburbs to visit them.

Detroit also lacks major shopping mails, major food chain grocery stores, fitness centers, 7-11, Tim Horton's, The Detroit Pistons don't even play in the city, and so on and so forth. Until these issues are addressed the cities growth will stand still. Despite the fact we have 3 hotels with casinos, new stadiums, and development occurring downtown. The traffic comes from the suburbs, and promptly leaves as soon as the show is over. Detroit has become a transient city.

Even though the city has more than 3 strikes against it. For some reason people like living in Detroit. Many have moved, but several hundred thousand have stayed behind. The most damming part of investing in Detroit, Mi is too many real estate investors are in Detroit. All investors want a good quality section 8 tenant, but there are only so many vouchers out there. The city now has a ton of nice rehabbed homes, but a smaller pool of high quality tenants to choose from. You really have to know marketing in Detroit if you want to survive. Because if you run out of cash, you run out of luck....

I have came across too many articles, and press releases ill advising investors about Detroit. They give you the impression that every rental property you buy will yield up to $1000.00 in rent. That is not a realistic estimate. If many Detroit residents could afford that, they would have moved long ago with the others. Check out the demographics of the city by visiting http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Detroit there you can see what kind of income residents have.

By far the biggest drawback to owning rental property in Detroit are the taxes. Detroit has one of the highest millage rates in the nation. I am currently disputing an S.E.V(state equalized value) because the city raised the taxes so high it doubled the amount of the mortgage payments. I took the battle to the states tax tribunal, because Detroit rarely rectifies the problem. So once you factor in P.I.T.I. (principal,interest,taxes,and insurance) you may end up showing negative cash flow. And after you buy the property the taxes will go up again. Do the math before you make the offer on the property. The deal may not be as sweet as you thought.

Another major hurdle you have to overcome in investing in Detroit real estate is shrinkage. So many investors spend a lot of money rehabbing a house, and soon as the contractor leaves for the day the house is broken into. These burglars work very fast. They will steal every new window installed,kitchen cabinets,sinks,toilet,copper pipes,furnace, hot water tank,bathroom sink,vanity,security doors, and anything else bolted down. And they can accomplish this in a few hours.

Your material ends up on the black market, in someone else's garage sale, or in a hole in the wall mom and pop hardware store.The stolen material is then resold to a contractor, and for the most part they know its stolen goods. You may even end up buying back some of your own material if you don't pay close attention.

The neighborhood where your investment property is located is watching everything. Most of the time a neighbor has a hook up with someone, and lets them know about the vacant house full of treasures. Some of these thieves are crack addicts and will break in, and even try to steal the bathtub. One was so stupid, and petty they stole a vinyl downspout off one of my rental properties. This problem occurs all over the city. Even in some of the better neighborhoods.

http://www.maximillionrichman.com

Donald Stevens

Why Is It So Hard To Insure A Vacant Home?

Donald Stevens (MyLandordInsurance.com) — Sun, 07 Jun 2009 20:44:03 -0400

Why is it so hard to insure a vacant home?

The biggest reason is that when a home is vacant a very small problem can become a very large problem. Take for example a leaky sink. I had insured an apartment building and when the tenant moved out they did not turn off the plumbing completely on the second floor when they removed the appliances. The dripping was so slow it was almost unnoticeable but brought the ceiling down on the first floor and destroyed some cabinets. If no one is actively working on the property an a daily basis, a home can really accumulate some damage.

Another problem is vandalism or theft. A property left alone is prone to attract the wrong element expecially in a more urban area like detroit. We have cases in Detroit where other investors steal cabinets, plumbing, and other building materials for their own property. It's a horrible thing. Also when copper was a hot comodity many homes were being stripped for salvage. We also had a home insured that was used for a dog fighting arena because someone knew the property had been vacated.

Many companies are not equipped or have the underwriters to properly rate and write insurance on vacant properties. There are companies that specialize in vacant home insurance and are offered by some agents. The hard part is finding the agent who knows the product and writes for the company.

We have chosen to specialize in insuring homes, landlords, and investors properties. We insure vacant properties even while being rehabbed.

For advise or a quote please visit our website at http://www.getgliga.com or call us at 888-438-4544 and ask for Don

The Home Insurance Specialists.

Donald Stevens

Making Money In A Down Economy?

Donald Stevens (MyLandordInsurance.com) — Sat, 18 Jul 2009 16:24:52 -0400

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

Donald Stevens

What Is Covered On A Landlord Insurance Policy?

Donald Stevens (MyLandordInsurance.com) — Sun, 07 Jun 2009 21:19:45 -0400

What Are Some Coverages Perils On A Landlord Insurance Policy?

Some basic coverages are fire, wind, hail, lightning, explosion, emergency repair after loss, debris removal, fire department charges, damage from a vehicle or aircraft, and emergency removal of personal property.

Some additional coverages you should consider when purchasing a landlord insurance policy:

Vandalism and Malicious Mischief are coverages when some one vandalizes or intentionally damages your property. A good example would be a disgruntled tenant "remodeling" your home while moving out.

Loss of Rents are coverages that provide a monthly rental payment to the landlord from the insurance company while the property is being repaired. The damage would have to be severe enough that it would be unlivable for the tenant. It is a nice coverage when you are not able to collect rent from the tenant because that can't live in the home. FYI, tenants can also get a loss of use coverage from a renters policy to pay living expenses for them while the property is being repaired.

ACV (Actual Cash Value) verses Replacement Cost are two very important options when purchasing a landlord insurance policy. ACV is a policy that will pay the homes current market value when there is a total loss. Replacement cost will pay for the home to be completely rebuilt after a total loss. Replacement cost policies are usually more expensive. ACV policies are usually a required coverage on a vacant property.

Personal Property is a coverage for landlord property such as a stove, washer, dryer, and any other property owned by the landlord at the property.

For quotes on landlord or vacant property insurance please go to http://www.getgliga.com or call us at 888-438-4544.

The Home Insurance Specialists

Donald Stevens