Category Archives: Insurance Guides

Legal for Landlords: know your rights

Posted on 3rd June 2013

Legal for Landlords: know your rights
Landlords often fail to protect their legal rights properly. Many see housing law as being there mainly to protect tenants. It should be used to protect landlords too.
The law can be complex. And when you have a long to-do list to deal with, it’s easy to push understanding the law to the bottom of it. We’ve covered landlords’ legal responsibilities recently. Now we’ve put together this list of the basics to help landlords know their rights.

A Landlord’s Guide to Saving

Posted on 31st May 2013

A Landlord’s Guide to Saving – The other week it was reported that landlords need to make sure they have a contingency plan when it comes to their business, especially as the rental market is constantly changing. Even though it’s relatively easy to make a profit now, there is always the chance that something could go wrong, which is why it is so important to have some extra cash that can help. So here is our guide to saving and how it can be done […]

Being an accidental landlord

Posted on 29th May 2013

Being an accidental landlord – Not every landlord wants to be a landlord. According to figures from Rightmove, around 30% of landlords are so-called ‘accidental landlords’.
These are people who have been forced into letting out a property they bought to live in. Usually, they need to move, but find they can’t sell. They may be in negative equity, or simply finding it difficult to achieve a decent price for their home in a slow market. House prices are recovering from the 2008 crash, but the […]

Can you ensure guaranteed rent every month?

Posted on 18th March 2013

One of the biggest concerns for most landlords is that they will not be able to fill their property with paying tenants every month. Guaranteed rent services can be an attractive option, especially for those who have had difficulty letting their properties in the past, or who have had to deal with non-payers. But can they really be cost-effective, or are they more likely to cost landlords money than to help them?

How to Deal with Rent Arrears?

Posted on 26th September 2012

It is every landlord’s nightmare: a previously reliable tenant fails to pay their rent on time. This can leave landlords struggling to meet their mortgage repayments, and causes a huge amount of stress. Most landlords will have to deal with arrears at some stage, with around 9% of rent unpaid or late.
Rising rents are good news for landlords who want to grow their business, but combined with relatively high unemployment and growth in inflation outstripping growth in wages, they can mean that tenants struggle to […]

Tapping Pensions For Deposits

Posted on 24th September 2012

 
There’s been a lot of hot air this week: Yes, you guessed it, its Party conference season. Politicians have taken the week off to engage in their respective annual conferences and as per usual, there have been some crackers. Yesterday, Nick Clegg announced at the Liberal Democrat conference in Brighton of his audacious strategy to give the young a rung on the property ladder.
Rising costs
With the soaring price of property deposits and the average age of first-time-buyers rising to 35, Clegg has advocated releasing parent […]

Growth in student rent declines

Posted on 21st September 2012

 
The annual growth rate in student rent has slowed down, making many landlords and potential property investors consider whether the student market will continue to be as lucrative as it is. As the number of students enrolling at university drops due to the rise in tuition fees, the student housing market stands at an unknown with no-one really knowing how it will end up. What is for certain is that the numbers are showing it is in decline, something for landlords to keep in mind.
Why […]

Changing face of UK landlords

Posted on 22nd November 2011

The current propensity for properties going to buyers with an interest in landlord insurance seems set to continue as lenders continue to recognise buy-to-let investors as the safest bet in terms of mortgage risk.
New breed enters the market
As young couples continue to struggle to raise a deposit that will enable them to purchase a property, residential landlords are finding more and better deals available to them all the time, including property insurance. The current financial flux of low interest rates, lack of lending from the […]

Course fees may have negative impact on landlords in University Cities

Posted on 14th April 2011

Course fees may have negative impact on landlords in University Cities
As landlords across the UK with student property insurance, prepare to make necessary repairs to their properties as the students go back to their family homes, many will be wondering what impact the hike in student fees will have on their business.
High levels of students, high profits for landlords
The soaring student population over the last few years has been of great benefit to private landlords in many university cities. Most universities now have many more […]

Live in landlords experiencing boom

Posted on 24th March 2011

 
How much profit can you make from your spare room?
It appears that 2011 may well be the year of the “live-in landlord”. Figures supplied by a leading online letting agent suggest that the current austerity measures and the effect of them on job cuts is leading more and more people to look for a room rather than a house.
2010 a vintage year
spareroom.co.uk a website designed for those looking for flats or house shares say that 2010 proved to be a bumper year for live-in landlords […]