Purchasing washers and dryers can be a little difficult for people who are residing in small houses, condominium or apartment units. First of all, home equipment including washers and dryers are too large for modest living areas to allow for. The next difficulty is that lots of apartments and condos are not set up with the appropriate connectors for laundry equipment. There are even houses which are so little, there isn’t really adequate room for a gas line or an exhaust vent that a dryer would need.

Due to this requirement by small houses, condominium and apartment owners, companies have created specially designed washers and dryers to squeeze into limited spaces in little houses, apartments or condominium units. These specially created washers and dryers use up hardly any space, so much so that they could be stashed beneath shelves, garage and also small basements. An additional great thing about these new washers and dryers is that you’ll find some models that do away with the requirement for exhaust vents so as to release damp air when drying out clothes.

The three kinds of compact washer and dryers evaluated here are the stackable, combo and portable washer dryers. Washers and dryers that are stackable are just about full sized models except that they have a vertical style, which uses up little space. The combo is a relatively new entrant into a market, that is essentially a two-in-one or a washer and dryer merged into just one unit. The smallest of the three types is the portable washer dryer.

Stackable washers and dryers occupy smaller spaces since the two home equipment can be put atop each other. Stackable washers and dryers are particularly preferred since you would only have to take up a single space to work with both home equipment. The downside to making use of stackables is that dryers need to be put high above the floor which makes it a little hard to access and utilize.

Next on the list is the washer dryer combo which appears to be just one unit about 27 inches wide. You can do both washing and drying inside a solo compartment when working with the combination unit. This means that for fifty percent of the space of the traditional washer and dryer, you’ve got a machine that does both features. Just about all combo units use condensation drying which requires much less energy compared to vented heating units.

Lastly, the portable washer and dryer is the smallest washing appliance on the market. First, portable washer and dryers are very much smaller than stackable or combo washer and dryers. Portable washers and dryers come in two editions. The first is powered by electricity just like a typical unit, whilst the other is operated by hand. Among the compact washer and dryer models, the portables have the littlest laundry capacity.

Homeowners and Condo owners have one thing similar: The shared areas of their property such as building structures, shared utilities, common service or entertainment area, common hallways and driveways, etc. These commonly owned properties are subjected to property and liability losses for which insurance is very important for protection. As a result and other reasons, condominium and homeowners associations are formed to render services in connection with these common areas. Included in these services are risk management and insurance services.

While every unit owner is legally liable for the property and liability losses that may take place inside their units, condo and home associations are answerable for servicing the common areas and for obtaining insurance policies for the benefit of all participating members. For that reason, condo associations obtain a master policy and schedule each unit owner as a loss payee and additional insured on the master policy, each owner with the same percentage of their ownership in relation to the total. Unit owners pay monthly assessment fees to cover managerial and operational bills of the association including premiums for the condominium master insurance policy. Depending on the size of the association, a professional management company may be appointed to run the association’s actions, or some selected members of the association board of directors may handle these daily tasks.

Things Affecting Insurance Rates For Condo Associations

The principal factor that affects the price of property and casualty insurance rates is the description of the buildings associated with the association with regards to the number of units and the construction material used, and history of plumbing/ heating/ electrical updates are critically important in determining the insurance rates for the association’s master policy.

Scale of services retained and managed by the association: Associations that own, operate or maintain businesses such as grocery store, sporting and recreation facilities and actions such as swimming pools, gymnastic facilities, pleasure places and parks, etc. are more susceptible to lawsuit than smaller condo associations that do not have similar scope of operations. Whenever these services/ facilities are offered, insurance carriers will want to get more details about the security furnished to protect members and guests from injuries and harm. In larger associations, more risky routines may be offered, such as boat rentals, baseball parks, and even diving. These activities and facilities can get to much higher risk levels when associations get involved in administering airport facilities, horse trail, bike trail, and stables that may be managed or maintained by the association, and for which the association will be in charge.

Other Coverages That May Be Required By Condo Associations

Workers compensation is a coverage that is required if the association hires people to handle the activities of the association. Depending on the size and scope of the routines assumed by the association workers compensation coverage can range from clerical exposure to too much higher risks such as maintenance people or vehicle operators.

Auto liability is also necessary in the event that the association owns their own commercial vehicles such as service/ maintenance vehicles, snow plowing autos, etc.

Umbrella, or excess liability insurance is vital for all condominium associations, especially for medium to larger size condo association where losses resulted from legal actions against condo association can be sizable. Umbrella will at the same time raise the liability limits on all underlining general liability, auto liability, workers compensation to much higher limits (ie $1 or even $4 million, each occurrence).