One of the larger dilemmas that a property owner will face when preparing to rent their home is what to do about pets. Many homeowners have dogs and cats, but when they transform their home into a rental they have concerns about allowing the prospective renter the same freedom.
All too often there are a series of questions that can swirl in one’s mind. Just a few of the questions we have been asked over the years include:
- Should I allow any pets?
- Should I limit the types of pets?
- If I allow pets, how many would be ok?
- What is the impact to my property if I allow pets?
- Will my insurance be impacted if I allow certain types of pets?
- Can I get a premium if I allow pets?
- Do I limit the prospective renters if I don’t allow pets?
Of course we would be happy to answer all of these questions (and more) but to help you now, let’s tackle a few of the most common ones:
Will my Insurance be impacted if I allow certain types of pets?
While we aren’t insurance agents there is no doubt that your insurance could be impacted by the type of animals that are allowed on a property. There is a reason why many insurance carriers will ask if you have a dog and the weight of that dog when you are getting your insurance. Large dogs and even certain breeds of dogs can have an impact on your insurance. This is most easily seen in condos (HOA’s must carry insurance) where the insurance has limitations on breed and weight of dogs allowed but the same is often true for single family home policies. Keep in mind that not every insurance carrier has limitations, which means before you worry check with your current insurance carrier.
What is the impact to my property if I allow pets?
This is one of those scenarios where it is a more of “it depends”. There are some tenants where after years in a home you wouldn’t even know they had a pet. There are other tenants where it is obvious that the pet enjoyed a bit too much freedom within the home. Pets can encourage a renter to stay longer (it can be difficult to find pet friendly properties) and on the other side, pets are one of the leading causes of damage to a property.
Pets are certainly one of the most common questions that we are asked about by both property owners and tenants. One way we help our property owners is through the use of the FIDO score where we ask 30 questions of our prospective tenants to find out more about their pet. Call us today at (562) 888-0247 or simply fill out our
property evaluation form
to find out more about how we can help with your property.
