Ep. 201 Eamon Anderson: Alternative Security Deposit Solution for Commercial Businesses

Invest Florida - A Real Estate Podcast

Today we talk with Eamon Anderson, director of strategy and underwriting at TheGuarantors agency, about an alternative security deposit solution for commercial businesses that helps both the landlord and the tenant. Their solution is basically an insurance version of the commercial security deposit that protects the tenant and landlord for the term of the lease from potential loss of rent payments. From a landlord's perspective, it's as good if not better than the incumbent's solutions to cover the risk of missed rent or high upfront tenant improvement (TI) cost. They're getting a surety bond that works just like a letter of credit and it's backed by investment grade credit, payable on-demand. And from any of the landlord's lender's perspective, it works just like a letter of credit. From a tenant's perspective it's a lot cheaper option because it's unsecured. All tenants have to do is pay an annual insurance premium, typically an average of 5% of the security deposit per year, and they never have to put up the full amount of the deposit in cash. The tenant can then reinvest the money they're not giving to the landlord.