Category Archives: Property Insurance

Is your property winter ready?

Posted on 10th December 2018

 
As a landlord, it is your responsibility to make sure that your properties and tenants are winter ready. Keeping on top of essential maintenance is vital and keeps tenants happy.
Prepare

Communicate – Talk to your tenants. Ask if there are any issues that they are concerned by. Make sure that all emergency contacts are up to date.
Set up and emergency plan – A ring binder in for every binder full of emergency telephone numbers, helpful advice, where the stopcock/fusebox/gas and electricity meters are. All useful to […]

My Tenants Experienced a Burglary Just Before Christmas, Are They Covered?

Posted on 30th November 2017

“I’ve just been informed by my tenants that they have been burgled; the back door has been severely damaged and all of their Christmas present have been stolen. I need to know what is covered by my Insurance so that these damages can be repaired and hopefully my tenants can receive some compensation for the contents that have been stolen.”
The Crime that Spikes Around Christmas & Why
It is not uncommon for there to be a spike in the number of break-ins around this time of […]

Top tips for tenant screening and reference checks

Posted on 2nd August 2017

Let’s try and get your tenant selection right the first time
A property is one of the most valuable assets a person will own in their lifetime and therefore in an ideal world this asset will have minimal risk and therefore minimal damage or value depreciation.
Lets talk through the dos and don’ts when it comes to finding the right tenants to occupy your properties.
Do you have an ideal tenant in mind?
I’m sure we would all like some tenants who have a regular income, don’t smoke, don’t […]

Landlord Advice: Changing the Face of Landlords

Posted on 18th March 2015

Landlord Advice – There are numerous landlord services and advice lines out there designed to help landlords struggling with their businesses, however even if your business is doing well you can still face common problems. These days, one of the biggest problems landlords face is that there are numerous negative stereotypes surrounding them, meaning they are often ignored or even subjected to abuse.

Tenant Tips: Protecting Properties at Christmas

Posted on 17th December 2014

Protecting Properties – Here at PropertyQuoteDirect we regularly provide advice for landlords on how they can help their tenants stay safe. Christmas can often be a stressful time for landlords as not only are tenants more likely to be burgled but if anything happens to their properties they will want you to fix it as soon as possible so they can carry on enjoying the festivities. However, with a bit of research and some clever tips both you and your tenants should be able to […]

Should the State be responsible for Building new Properties?

Posted on 3rd December 2014

Should the State be responsible for Building new Properties?
Today the Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne will potentially address the public for the last time to announce his Autumn Statement. However, even though the Chancellor has yet to officially announce his plans as well as the current condition of the UK economy there have already been rumours concerning his statement. This has prompted other MPs to voice their opinions on how the UK can improve, with Danny Alexander – Chief Secretary to the Treasury – […]

The new Refurbish-to-Let trend sweeping the UK

Posted on 9th October 2014

This week it was announced that if the Bank of England’s new proposals go forward landlords may soon have to come up with forty per cent deposits in order to be given buy to let mortgages. Landlords are already struggling to expand their property portfolios due to the rising cost of property and if the Bank of England’s plans go ahead they could make matters worse.
This is why so many landlords are taking part in a new trend: ‘refurbish-to-let’. The idea is pretty simple: buy […]

How can Landlords help Tenants save money?

Posted on 29th August 2014

How can Landlords help Tenants save money?
The above question may strike some landlords as a bit strange, as generally it is not their job to help tenants save money. However, as the property and private rental markets are currently so unstable, working with your tenants could actually help improve your business and secure your income. At the end of the day, if your tenant falls into rent arrears then you are going to take a cut to your earnings and may even have to start […]

How can landlords help young people find homes?

Posted on 1st August 2014

A recent report published by the housing charity Shelter has shown that nearly half of all twenty to thirty four year olds are still living with their parents as they cannot afford to get onto the housing ladder. To make matters worse, this demographic is also struggling to afford current rent prices, meaning that we are seeing a generation of young people unable to leave home. As a landlord, you may think that this doesn’t affect you, however helping young people find homes can be […]

3 Reasons Rogue Landlords are back in the News

Posted on 20th June 2014

Rogue landlords are generally in the news as they are causing a number of issues in the private rental sector. However, this week we have seen even more reports than usual on rogue landlords as political leaders are discussing what changes they would implement if they came into power after the General Election. Here, PropertyQuoteDirect looks at the reasons why rogue landlords have been back in the news this week and what this means for the private rental sector: