My Real Estate Tips

Some of you may know that I live on a small ranch in East Texas.  Something happened last year that reminded me of the importance of having good insurance on your Real Estate. 

I have mostly cattle rancher neighbors and until last year owned a small dog, Lucky.  Lucky was our official porch guard and coyote lookout.  I found her early one cold rainy foggy morning while driving into town for coffee.  She was mostly white and I spotted her movement making her way out of a black plastic trash bag.  She was a tiny puppy then and had been discarded along side of the road by someone.  It happens a lot in the country, people leave their unwanted pets far from home out in the country thinking that they won’t find their way back.  Not some of the human race’s proudest moments.  Anyway, Lucky came home with me to live at the ranch house. 

Once she was grown, during the days (and since I live way out of town) I would leave Lucky outside.  She would explore in the fields and woods near the house.  At night she liked to stay on the porch as long as the weather was good and bark at any night creatures (we have many coyotes, wild pigs, bobcats and so forth)who came near the house.  I like to think she was protecting my two cats, Leo and Mr. Black. 

One day I was off doing some real estate work and when I came home the county sheriff was waiting for me on the porch.  Lucky was laying nearby as I asked what the problem was.  It turns out it was calving season and a newborn calf belonging to my neighbor had been killed or perhaps stillborn and partially eaten by an animal.  Lucky had been spotted in the vicinity of the cows and calves on my neighbor’s land, in fact, my neighbor took a picture of Lucky leaving the area and heading towards my place.  He called the sheriff and filed a complaint that my dog Lucky had killed and partially eaten the calf.

Now I really don’t think Lucky had anything to do with the calf being killed, but was drawn to the area by the scent and was indeed there at the scene of the crime.  The report went on file at the sherif’fs department and my neighbor wrote me a letter asking me to reimburse him for the cost of the cow. 

Okay, that’s the story, and though I didn’t think Lucky was responsible, I did own the dog and did let her wander about while I was gone.  I remembered I had home owners insurance with some liability coverage and called my insurance agent.  He suggested I file a claim and I did.  The insurance company contacted my neighbor and they settled the claim without it having to go to court. 

I’ve told this story to illustrate that unexpected things happen in our lives and we must protect ourselves against them.  I’m sure I had no idea that my act of kindness in bringing Lucky home that rainy morning would lead to an eventual altercation with a neighbor and the sheriff.  If you are going to own real estate of any kind MAKE SURE you have liability insurance coverage on that property.  Things happen, often quite unexpectedly, and it’s much easier to deal with a small expense up front than deal with what could be catastrophic costs of potential liability issues against you later.  No, the claim against Lucky and I wasn’t large, but if it had been a person injured or killed, I would have ended up in court for years.  Play it safe, be insured.

And don’t forget to spend 30 minutes or so with your agent each year to make sure your coverage is up to date.  If you don’t have replacement value coverage on you buildings and belongings I recommend you get it, it’s money well spent.  Don’t forget to raise the value on your property policies when real estate starts to appreciate again.  Doing all this now can save you thousands in dollars and heartaches later.

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