Does anyone know how many times more a vacant house is likely to be vandalized than one that is occupied? More concerned about the cost of insurance with this question…
Thanks
KT
Depends on a lot of different factors…
Neighborhood #1 … Bad area = HUGE potetial for vandalism.
I always have a cheap used car that I park at my houses while I’m renovating. I move it around everyday and leave it there overnight. I also set timers on interior lights.
Another GREAT tip. Get an old TV and place a timer on it to go on at dusk and stay on until about 11pm. That Blue light flickering in the windows says SOMEONE’S HOME!!! Make sure you have some curtains up in that living room to block the view in a little.
You are definitely paying more for insurance on a vacant home.
Ken,
In my experience, insurance on a vacant rental is about double.
Mike
Guys, thanks for trying, but I think we’ve missed the question. I too think that the insurance, when one can get it is about double. But what I was looking for was to try to figure out how many more times a vacant home would be vandalized over one that is not vacant.
Yes, I know the hood matters, but I was looking more for a national kind of number…
Thanks again,
KT
If you want practical advice on how to handle a vacant house, the members here are a great resource. If all you want is statistics, maybe you should call the insurance company and ask them that question. They keep track of info like that because its their business. REI’s are more interested in making money via problem solving than tracking stats. Besides , I think Propertymanager answered your main concern about the cost of insurance.
Oh, I’m Sorry, here’s your answer (and a few other “stats” I like to keep handy)
13.63345 times more likely to be vandalized
8.124 times more likely to have a water heater leak
9.376 times more likely to need a furnace
99.987 times more likely that this question is a waste of my time
100 times more likely to have your A/C unit vandalized for the copper. :banghead
That was 2K for 30 bucks worth of copper for the crackhead.
I know who buys the crackhead’s copper in the area, so I went down there and sold them some live ammo, I showed them!!
Don’t believe me??
http://www.nbc17.com/midatlantic/ncn/news.apx.-content-articles-NCN-2008-02-12-0011.html
lol - that’s a little more than just beating a dishwasher and screaming at the top of your lungs isn’t it?
Guys, I do appreciate the info…This question actually came up durng the negotiation of a sale…I was dealing with an engineer. He was trying calculate when he could take possession of a property and whether it was worth it for him to move quicker than he wanted. I don’t think it was a waste of time, or I wouldn’t have asked it. Hey, I’m getting some good information off the board and was just hoping someone could provide a quick answer.
Thanks to those who took it seriously,
Ken Tate (a.k.a. Mr. Real Estat)
Sorry Ken,
I owe you an apology.
As soon as you said an ENGINEER wanted that information that question made COMPLETE SENSE. Engineers want to know stats on EVERYTHING.
My mistake.
Fdjake,
Fogetaboutit…Easy mistake to make…Not sure I wouldn’t have taken it the same way…Hey, let’s make some money…LOL
Ken Tate,
(a.k.a. Mr. Real Estate)