American Apartment Owner Association “Rent Insurance” Program Catches On

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The Insurent® Lease Guaranty Program has made its way on to ten major NYC rental websites. The program has helped thousands of renters who can’t otherwise qualify.

The program is underwritten and issued by Argonaut Insurance Company, an A-rated property and casualty insurance company. Instead of looking for an individual guarantor or co-signer, or having to pay a significantly larger security deposit or prepaid rent, a renter may pay a fee to utilize the Insurent Lease Guaranty to satisfy the landlord’s financial and credit requirements.

The program was created to assist landlords, condo/co-op owners, renters and brokers in closing residential leases. Its role as the “institutional mommy and daddy” allows leases to quickly and easily close to the benefit of all parties that otherwise would not close without Insurent.

According to a statement from the company, owners win because they don’t have any risk. Renters win because Insurent’s criteria into their program is easier than many landlords’, with many tenants qualifying for an apartment within 24 hours of applying.

This month, NYC rental review site Rentenna.com integrated a new search feature based on whether a landlord accepts the Insurent Lease Guaranty. 

“We at Rentenna support the Insurent Guarantor Program because there is no other service like it in the New York City area and it is desperately needed,” says a company spokesperson. “The strict criteria that landlords impose on renters such as making 40-45x their monthly rent is ludicrous and what they ask of your potential guarantor (usually a parent/sibling) is more paperwork than adopting a child. For a fee less than a broker, they will act as your institutional guarantor. Owners win because they don’t have any risk. If you default, Insurent pays. You win because Insurent’s criteria into their program is A LOT easier than a landlords and you can quickly get your dream apartment within 24 hours of applying.”

Insurent has quickly become a vital part of the NYC rental vernacular as it is the only guarantor service in the U.S., and is now accepted by over 150,000 apartments in NYC.

The guarantor service helps foreigners, students, young professionals, retirees, and wealthy individuals qualify for their NYC apartment rental. Insurent.com is now incorporated into Streeteasy.com, Rentenna.com, Urbanedgeny.com, Urbansherpa.com, Brickunderground.com, HowToRentinNYC.com, Trulia.com, RDNY.com, Calibernyc.com, and Rent.com.

The Insurent Lease Guaranty Program has been featured in the New York Times, The Real Deal, The New York Real Estate Journal, Real Estate Weekly, and Multi-Housing News.

With AAOA, landlords have resources at their fingertips. Check out our Landlord Forms page.

American Apartment Owners Association offers discounts on products and services for landlords related to your rental housing investment, including rental forms, tenant debt collection, tenant background checks, insurance and financing. Find out more at www.joinaaoa.org.

EXAMINER.COM: "Keys to Being a Successful Residential Rental Broker ...Insurent!"

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After only three years in the business, few young residential rental brokers master the ability to quickly  get their clients the apartment they want and close a large numbers of leases  in a challenging rental market.  Some young brokers fail, and many others underachieve. 

Joseph Haddad, now SVP of Caliber Associates, is the exceptional young residential broker as he has closed over 200 deals in the last 3 years, after only starting in the business with Caliber Associates in late 2008.

Joseph attributes his success to a number of key factors: “First you have to work with a quality firm, like Caliber Associates, that provides excellent technology, thorough training, and strong support and coverage on deals, if necessary.”

Joseph also believes that it is essential to have the best possible relationship with your clients that inspires their trust to work closely with you. “I have to be constantly honest and very responsive, but also direct and straightforward with my clients. I have also found that I have to very positive about all the options and confirm that we will find them the apartment they want. When we face an obstacle, like getting approved by the landlord, it is important to quickly present all the alternative solutions.”

After only three years in the business, few young residential rental brokers master the ability to quickly  get their clients the apartment they want and close a large numbers of leases  in a challenging rental market.  Some young brokers fail, and many others underachieve. 

Joseph Haddad, now SVP of Caliber Associates, is the exceptional young residential broker as he has closed over 200 deals in the last 3 years, after only starting in the business with Caliber Associates in late 2008.

Joseph attributes his success to a number of key factors: “First you have to work with a quality firm, like Caliber Associates, that provides excellent technology, thorough training, and strong support and coverage on deals, if necessary.”

Joseph also believes that it is essential to have the best possible relationship with your clients that inspires their trust to work closely with you. “I have to be constantly honest and very responsive, but also direct and straightforward with my clients. I have also found that I have to very positive about all the options and confirm that we will find them the apartment they want. When we face an obstacle, like getting approved by the landlord, it is important to quickly present all the alternative solutions.”

“For example, a foreigner, student, self-employed or retired person might need a guarantor or have to put up extra security. We quickly sort out if they have a qualified guarantor (earning 80-85 times the rent) or have the capability and opportunity to put up extra security in the particular building. Many times they do not have a guarantor or the building cannot accept more than one month security or my client does not want to put up months of extra security even if it is acceptable in the building.”

“Other times the renter cannot get the guarantor information fast enough or is unsure about the guarantor’s qualifications; then I usually bring up Insurent as it is an easy process and very fast way to be approved by the building for a reasonable price. Perhaps more importantly, Insurent ensures that I do not lose the deal, and my client gets their first choice apartment. So far this year I have closed 14 deals with Insurent that I probably would have lost. Insurent is one of reasons I have been so successful.”

Joseph has also found that it is important that his client is completely convinced that he is getting the best deal in the desired location. “Even if my client falls in love with the first or second apartment we see, I strongly suggest that we see all the good options and then put in the application, and I try to negotiate some, if possible, on behalf of the client.  When we are finished, the client is convinced he/she has the best deal, and we quickly close. The client knows that I would not let them settle until they see a broad sample of the market for what they want.”

The key to seeing all the options for clients is having the best market knowledge and relationships with building managements. “You must have the best technology and be as current as possible on available and upcoming listings.In addition, it also helps to have strong relationships with building managements who will provide early knowledge about upcoming vacancies if they know you are a superior broker for them. As a result of the early intelligence, I am able to get apartments for some of my clients  before they are widely known to be available.”

Joseph concludes, “By using all my resources and tools, and having great market intelligence regarding availabilities, and having a positive and honest relationship with my client, as well as being effective and quick, I know that I have done the best job possible for my client. I can tell that I have done a great job for my client when they comeback to me again  or if my client refers their friends to me to help get their apartment. So far, my client referrals have grown every year.” Joseph Haddad has an effective strategy to continue to be a very successful broker.