Category Archives: Rent Guarantee Insurance

How to Avoid Property Voids

 
It’s a New Year which means new resolutions, new goals and big plans for the year to come. For many people the New Year will continue the same as the last but for others there may be some hurdles to jump over.
Many people enter January with a tight budget after the festive season which can result in late or missed payments which, from a landlords prospective could mean late rent, unpaid rent or tenants looking to downsize to cut costs.
Our team at Property Quote Direct […]

Top tips for tenant screening and reference checks

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 […]

Should Tenants be able to ‘Rent for Life’? private rental

As more and more people are relying on the private rental sector regulators have been campaigning for tenants to have better rights so that they can build a home and a life. The fact that tenants can be given six or twelve months’ notice to vacate their properties at any given time means that they often struggle to plan for the future, which is why a think tank has recently claimed that they should be allowed to ‘rent for life’. But what does this mean […]

How to Deal with Rent Arrears?

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 […]

Naming and Shaming Tenants

For some landlords it can be difficult to determine whether your prospective tenants are of good character and reliable when it comes to rent payment. Checking references is the more obvious solution to this predicament but you need to trust that the person and the information they are giving you is honest. Not only this, but a tenants previous good behaviour is not a guarantee that it will continue. With many people finding it difficult to secure a long term job, the property market has […]

London and Dubai, a tale of two cities

Who has the supply and who has the demand for property
The fickle nature of investing in the buy-to-let market is amply demonstrated by the different situation landlords in the UK and Dubai are experiencing at the present moment.
Landlords in the UK express their confidence in the market with each passing survey. Rental yields on average are going up and void periods are going down. In and around London it seems as though many residential landlords are falling over themselves in the rush to purchase landlord […]

Renting is becoming a popular choice

For generations people have aspired to be a home owner. However, in the current climate evidence shows it may be a better idea to rent. In the past there was an expression of horror when anyone admitted to renting a property as though a swear word had been uttered.
To get on the first rung of the property ladder today, requires a minimum deposit of something in the region of £20,000 and unless a young couple can rely on their parents for help, it will be […]

Low interest rates here to stay?

With the latest predictions of low interest rates being with us for years to come, landlords will be wondering what exactly the future holds for the residential letting sector.
Ernst and Young, a leading UK economist group and sole sponsors of the Independent Treasury Economic Model (ITEM) club, are predicting the current Bank Rate of 0.5% will be staying with us until 2014.  The prediction is based on the present government holding firm on its commitment to spending cuts of around £40 billion and the loss […]

Getting a fridge freezer for your rental property

A quick way to add value to your property
As any landlord will know, there is always a thin line to tread between profit and fitting a rental property out well enough to attract the type of clientele you are looking for. Always be on the look out for a good deal, whether it be cheap landlord insurance that fits your needs or replacing white goods that not only look good but do the job.
The old fridge freezer in one of my properties died quite suddenly […]

Best Practices for Landlords Obtaining Tenant References

Before you let your property to new tenants, it’s in your best interest to obtain tenant references for your them. This will help you to avoid any potential risks – e.g. tenants who have defaulted on the rent before, or damaged properties which they have lived in previously.
Additionally, some Landlord Insurance policies may be rendered void if you let to certain types of tenants –  as such, obtaining thorough, accurate references from your tenants is essential, as if you do not, it may affect your ability to claim on your insurance […]