I know this is a webmaster forum, but I also know there are some legit atty that come trhough from time to time, so here is the question. I own property, someone wants to rent from me (lease/buy) If guest/tenant/child were to get injured/killed, am I liable? yes I know, you can sue anybody, but there is just cause for a lawsuit, then there is shooting in the dark hoping to get something.... so let me give you an example... Lets say the renter does lease/buy/own, then sometime down the road, there is an electrical short, house burns down, child dies, you see where i am going with this, i hate to be cynical about this, but I have to protect my own also for something that I did not cause... What do you guys think?
I am not an attorney and can only speak about U.S. issues. But I have been a renter and a rentee and also a seller and a buyer of homes. As a renter, you absolutely need to be sure that you have proper liability insurance and that your property meets all building code and other legal requirements before you rent it out to someone. In your lease, you need to put in disclaimers of liability, etc. As a seller, you need to insist that the buyer have a professional home inspection and also sell the property "as is." As you say, there is nothing that you can do that will absolutely prevent someone from suing you, but these are the prudent steps to take.
absolutely, every keyword you mentioned such as "as-is" has already been noted... you cant stop someone from suing you, but it can be limited on where it goes if you take all the right steps, and I had already considered the property insur, and the property does have insur for a typical owner, and I had already made a note to call the insur, and verify property ins between owner/renter/lease/buy... When my notation list is finished, then the final step will be to confer with the real estate atty, and then put it all into legal contract form...at that time, then he will be able to tell me if I can include stuff like "no fault liability" somethings you just can put in contract if it is not allowed by law, and if it turns out this is one of them, then I will not even rent; I will just put it up on the market, and move on. I am actually doing them a favor by renting/leasing...If it was not a friend of a friend, the property would have already been on the market.... Thanks
I have heard of people being sued up and beyond of having insurance... Just because you have insurance does not prevent being sued... look into it....
You've heard or you know? I own a few rental properties and have LLC's set up to prevent my ass from getting sued. look into it....
If I were doing multiple rentals, then obvious worth the effort. I think I will just avoid liability altogether, and put it on the market... I wanted the lump sum check anyhow.... Look it up....
If you change your mind, and you probably shouldn't, there are specialist property investment forums. Not only do you need US specific advice you need state specific advice. That said, being involved in property investment has made a huge, positive, difference to my family's standard of living.
I call have call into real estate atty. If they give me something positive then I have no issues. But if I have to wake each morning wondering if I am going to be liable or worse yet sued for something out of my control, then it is not worth it... until I hear good news, then the property will just sit.... just not going to risk everything just to get $300/mo then have something go wrong, and loose everything.... If i sell it for lump sum, then I can say my standard of living will have improved, but for $300/mo not so much.... the rent is more then that, by the time I pay agent fee, property insurance, then my cut is around $300/mo assuming rent is paid on time with no issues... Extra money is always good providing there is very low to zero risk....
I have handled commercial liability claims before, but never for MN, therefore I wouldn't want to say anything definitive, but from a general standpoint DaveP nailed it - get covered! Yes, you could be sued, but that is where insurance comes in. In regards to cost, (again.. generally speaking) you would only pay your deductible vs. being uninsured & having to pay for all expenses. So, really this comes down to what you're willing to pay: premium+deductible for $XXXX or five-to-six figures. Moral of the story: C.Y.A.! No Legal Advice Intended: This post includes information about legal issues and legal developments. Such materials are for informational purposes only and may not reflect the most current legal developments. These informational materials are not intended, and should not be taken, as legal advice on any particular set of facts or circumstances. You should contact an attorney for advice on specific legal problems.
Bear in mind that I am in Australia. My partner rents out a unit. One thing we do is all repairs are done by tradesmen. Even something simply like changing the power point, we pay a licensed electrician, this way, if anything ever happens, we are not liable. (ie, we will sue the electrician if someone dies and they are responsible). We have insurance, as well, we rent it out through an agency. The fees you lose are huge, but they are supposed to provide some layer of protection as from our experience, they will help to make sure that you have insurance, that you have the correct type of insurance. We have had tenants do over $15k damage (it was rented to indians, walls were turned black, brand new carpet was set on fire... doors smashed off the kitchen, furniture stolen, very appalling to see how they live), and renting through an agency did help with processing the insurance claims, and handling the repairs. One thing we found out the hard way (in australia, and was private property, and not being rented but owner occupied) was having someone injured (some dumbass kid ran through a glass door), and we found out that the house insurance didnt cover injuries inside, as for some retarded reason only contents insurance covered that. Every insurance has fine print (might cover an injury inside the home, but not on the front yard, and vica-versa), and if you rent your place out through an agency, they will likely recommend to you, not the cheapest insurer, but the right one that best suits landlords.