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Old 01-30-2008, 09:14 PM
 
Location: Greenville, SC
153 posts, read 932,885 times
Reputation: 137

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I have three Collies (11, 8 and 5 years) and I will have to rent a home for approx 6 months, before buying a house.

So far its been impossible to find any landlord willing to rent to me. Most barely allow one small dog let alone three large ones. I'm a dog trainer by profession so when I say my dogs are trained...I'm not fibbing. They're pretty much push button when it comes to commands and have no behavior issues. However, even that doesn't seem to make a difference. I've had landlords hang up on me once I tell them I have dogs, never return my calls or emails, and one laughed at me. Loudly.

I found this insurance for pet owners who rent which basically covers up to $700 worth of damage if anything should happen. Nothing will happen, but apparently no one believes me so I'm wondering if this would make a difference?

Pet Insurance for renters , PetCare Pet Insurance

Landlords, would you consider renting to someone like me if they carried this insurance? If they prepaid for it for however many months they rented from you?

I just don't know what else to do, I'm only contacting private landlords since I'd have a snowball's chance in Hell of getting accepted into an apartment. If I can't find a rental then I can't move since I refuse to give up my dogs.

I'm open to any suggestions. I've thought about lying and saying I only have two dogs but I'm afraid of getting caught and then evicted. I know lying is wrong, but I only considered it because I don't have any other options right now and all I want to do is get out of Michigan. This whole thing is very upsetting.

Anyway, pet insurance for renters, yay or nay?
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Old 01-30-2008, 09:59 PM
 
Location: Maryland
1,667 posts, read 9,354,710 times
Reputation: 1653
As with all insurance, this one looks up for interpretation. The only thing I see that would pertain to you is the damage, which appears to start after 1 year (1-3 year coverage, then 3+ year coverage). I guess they figure most of the damage will be within the first year. Also, $700 coverage is nothing. I'd suggest that you offer a large sum in escrow controlled by a third party (your attorney is best). Have a licensed inspector prior to moving in, and immediately afterward. On the first report, have the inspector document the age of the carpet. No reason to move in 6 months and buy new carpet if it's already 10 years old. Advertise your dilemma, and the escrow offer, in the town's apartment classified. Landlords read this to compare the competition and to find a good tenant/apartment match. I would rent to your dogs, as I'm a dog person. However, I would expect damages because of it. Good luck!
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Old 01-30-2008, 10:05 PM
 
Location: Greenville, SC
153 posts, read 932,885 times
Reputation: 137
I don't have a large sum of money to put in escrow or I would do that.
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Old 01-30-2008, 10:33 PM
 
Location: Oz
2,238 posts, read 9,731,195 times
Reputation: 1398
I would rent to a dog owner too, as long as I had some kind of guarantee that all damages would be covered. My homes mostly have hardwood floors, which if a pet has an accident and it's not immediately taken care of...well, it will literally ruin the floor beyond what even sanding and refinishing can do. Having had to painstakingly remove pieces of flooring because of pet stains, and fit new ones into place, it's really not a fun or cheap job to do. But yes, I'd consider renting to you.
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Old 01-31-2008, 07:44 AM
 
69,368 posts, read 63,839,164 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by RoaminRed View Post
I would rent to a dog owner too, as long as I had some kind of guarantee that all damages would be covered. My homes mostly have hardwood floors, which if a pet has an accident and it's not immediately taken care of...well, it will literally ruin the floor beyond what even sanding and refinishing can do. Having had to painstakingly remove pieces of flooring because of pet stains, and fit new ones into place, it's really not a fun or cheap job to do. But yes, I'd consider renting to you.
I would never rent to a dog owner, but have rented to cat owners.
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Old 01-31-2008, 10:58 AM
 
Location: Greenville, SC
153 posts, read 932,885 times
Reputation: 137
Some cats cause more damage than your average dog.
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Old 01-31-2008, 11:18 AM
 
Location: Seattle, WA
1,368 posts, read 6,488,756 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ESFP View Post
As with all insurance, this one looks up for interpretation. The only thing I see that would pertain to you is the damage, which appears to start after 1 year (1-3 year coverage, then 3+ year coverage). I guess they figure most of the damage will be within the first year. Also, $700 coverage is nothing. I'd suggest that you offer a large sum in escrow controlled by a third party (your attorney is best). Have a licensed inspector prior to moving in, and immediately afterward. On the first report, have the inspector document the age of the carpet. No reason to move in 6 months and buy new carpet if it's already 10 years old. Advertise your dilemma, and the escrow offer, in the town's apartment classified. Landlords read this to compare the competition and to find a good tenant/apartment match. I would rent to your dogs, as I'm a dog person. However, I would expect damages because of it. Good luck!

Not from a dog trainer, and none of them are puppies. Not only that, nature's miracle gets just about any odor/stain out of any carpet.

I'd rent to you, with a large pet deposit, if you could prove to me how well trained your dogs are.
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Old 01-31-2008, 12:04 PM
 
Location: Oz
2,238 posts, read 9,731,195 times
Reputation: 1398
Quote:
Originally Posted by Radek View Post
Not from a dog trainer, and none of them are puppies. Not only that, nature's miracle gets just about any odor/stain out of any carpet.

I'd rent to you, with a large pet deposit, if you could prove to me how well trained your dogs are.
The problem with pet stains on carpets is that they soak into the padding beneath. If there's a hardwood floor under that, it's going to leave a black stain in the wood that often cannot be fully sanded out, thus ruining that portion of the floor. It's incredibly difficult to match 100+ year old oak flooring with replacement parts. In the above case, even if the carpet itself is "cleaned" the padding will still need to be replaced, and there could easily be floor damage as well, depending on what the original flooring material is.

Yes, I would (and have) rented to pet owners, as I am a dog lover myself. But I'm well aware of the risks in doing so, and they do have to provide a larger deposit than normal. Plus, I'd have to consider what that amount would be for three dogs, because so far the only dog owner I've rented to had one single dog.

Now, if I had a house where all the flooring was tile or something, then that might be a different story.
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Old 01-31-2008, 12:49 PM
 
Location: Greenville, SC
153 posts, read 932,885 times
Reputation: 137
Quote:
I'd rent to you, with a large pet deposit, if you could prove to me how well trained your dogs are.
How much of a pet deposit do you think is reasonable for my situation? I can afford about $500 extra right now for a pet deposit, after the first months and security deposit, so I'm trying to see if I need to wait a few months and save up a little more.

But I would also be very worried about putting up more than that as I don't know how I'd be sure to get it back after I move out. (even if there's no damage I've heard that some landlords keep the pet deposits anyway)

I'm more than willing to let my future landlord meet my dogs. Heck, I'd even do a training demo for them like I do for potential clients. My problem seems to be getting past the phone call, without being hung up on, lol
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Old 01-31-2008, 12:55 PM
 
Location: Oz
2,238 posts, read 9,731,195 times
Reputation: 1398
Quote:
Originally Posted by CoffeeAddict View Post
How much of a pet deposit do you think is reasonable for my situation? I can afford about $500 extra right now for a pet deposit, after the first months and security deposit, so I'm trying to see if I need to wait a few months and save up a little more.

But I would also be very worried about putting up more than that as I don't know how I'd be sure to get it back after I move out. (even if there's no damage I've heard that some landlords keep the pet deposits anyway)

I'm more than willing to let my future landlord meet my dogs. Heck, I'd even do a training demo for them like I do for potential clients. My problem seems to be getting past the phone call, without being hung up on, lol
That's the tough part all right. I wouldn't immediately hang up on you, but I would very likely want to see how well-behaved your dogs are (oh all right, I admit...I'd just want to pet the pooches). For me, the fact that you'd be willing to carry pet damage insurance, plus be willing to pay a pet deposit -- those are all points that speak well about your responsibility as a pet owner. I would certainly not refuse you simply because of the animals.

Have you checked out this link? Renting With Pets: The Online Resource for Rental Managers and Pet Owners | The Humane Society of the United States (http://www.hsus.org/pets/pet_care/renting_with_pets_the_online_resource_for_rental_m anagers_and_pet_owners/ - broken link)
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