Category Property

You might think of landlord insurance as being simply home insurance that has an added element or two within it. This is essentially correct, although there is more to landlord insurance than that. Read on to find out more. 

When Is Landlord Insurance Necessary? 

There are a number of times when this special insurance is necessary and even compulsory. These include:

• When your mortgage company requires it (buy to let lenders often make it a mandatory condition of the mortgage)
• When it is part of the tenancy agreement 

It’s not a legal obligation to have landlord insurance, and it is your choice in the end, but if you want peace of mind, and if you want to have a mortgage without any issues, it is something you’re certainly going to want to consider. 

What To Think About When Getting Specialist Insurance 

Before you purchase landlord insurance there are some important points to consider. Think them all through carefully before making a decision, because there are many different insurance providers, each one different to the next (or at least, that’s how it seems – the end product might be very similar). 

The first thing to think about is that it is a different entity to home insurance, meaning that if you have home insurance on the property already and then choose to rent it out, you’ll need to cancel that insurance and get specific rental insurance to cover you. 

If you have an HMO you’ll need specific HMO landlord insurance as this will be specifically tailored to your needs. Even if you run an Airbnb, this insurance will work for you. You might even be able to insure multiple properties on one policy, so if you have a portfolio, or you’re planning to have one, this is something to bear in mind. 

If you think that specialist insurance isn’t necessary, that is, as we’ve said, your choice. However, it is worth remembering that around 9% of tenants in the private sector do land in arrears at some point, and evicting a tenant takes an average of 42 weeks. Can you afford not to have landlord insurance? 

Plus there is more than ‘just’ the tenant to think about. You’ll need to consider the location of the property too. Is there a higher crime rate in the area? Is there a risk of flooding? Insurance cover can be a reassurance, just in case, although do be aware that you might pay more for your landlord insurance due to these factors. 

Insurance And Your Property Inventory 

A good, detailed property inventory, just like the ones Looksy Inventories provides in Sevenoaks and beyond, can be extremely useful when claiming on your landlord insurance. It will show just what the property was like before the tenant moved in, and once they leave, of course, but if there is significant damage from flooding, fire, or a crime, the inventory can be used to prove that damage and show the extent of it. 

In every case, the inventory from Looksy can speed up the insurance claim and make it a much smoother process. Find out more by looking around our site for prices and examples, and contacting us for more advice and to book your inventory, check-in, or check-out today. 

Buying your first rental property so that you can be a landlord is something that works for a wide variety of people. It’s a neat way to make an additional income, and it’s even better if you have a portfolio of properties

It sounds like a dream.

But of course, if it was that easy everyone would be doing it, and there are plenty of challenges to consider and obstacles you’ll need to overcome to do it successfully.

The very first hurdle to get over is finding the right property to rent out. Just because you would live in it, or it’s in a popular location, or the house next door rents out for a nice amount of money, that doesn’t mean the property you have your eye on will work out. Here are some useful tips for buying your first rental property so you have an idea of what to look out for.

Research The Location Of Your Rental Property

Location, location, location, as they say, and as Channel 4 likes to remind us on a daily basis (you’ve got to love a bit of Phil and Kirsty), and it’s true. Location is the single most important factor you’ll need to consider (after budget, of course, but that goes without saying) when you’re buying a rental property.

However, the surface isn’t enough; you’ll need to scratch well below it and find out as much as possible about not just the town or village, but the road itself. Don’t think that, just because you won’t personally be living in the property, any additional building works that are slated to start, or any neighbour disputes, or any problems with the local schools, and so on, are not your issue. They very much are because savvy tenants are going to be doing this research and finding something untoward is going to put them off signing on the dotted line. They don’t want the hassle, and neither do you.

You Will Need Landlord Insurance

Once you’ve found the right house for the right price in the right location and you’re marketing it at the right rental money, you’re still not home and dry; you need to get landlord insurance.

Most of the time, thankfully, the tenants you have in your property will take care of it; it’s their home, after all, even if it is your house. But sometimes, they just won’t. They’ll make mess, they’ll cause damage, and they’ll stop paying rent. Landlord insurance will cover all of this and more, ensuring that even the most difficult of tenants are only going to be a headache, not a blinding migraine.

It Will Cost More Than You Think

If you think that the monthly mortgage payments are the only cost you’ll need to consider, think again. We’ve already mentioned landlords’ insurance, but there are still more potential costs that a rental property might incur, and it’s vital you have money put aside to cover them.

As a landlord, you are responsible for the maintenance of the property, and if something needs to be done – a plumber is required, there’s a problem with the roof, a fence blows down, and countless other things – you need to be able to pay for it. Your tenant isn’t going to be impressed if they have to fork out themselves.

So you’ve inherited a house and now you don’t know what to do with it. There are three different options open to most people – they can either sell it, rent it out and become ‘accidental landlords’, or move into it themselves. Depending on the location and the potential tax issues, this last point just might not be suitable, and most people opt for either renting it or selling it. But which is the better option? Which one is going to help you the most?

The truth is, there isn’t a right or wrong in this situation. There is no definitive path to take. The choice you make is going to be entirely dependent on your own situation, your finances, your needs, your thoughts. But to help you to get to a point where you can make an informed decision, Looksy Inventories has listed out a few of the pros and cons of both selling and renting – this might help you if you’ve come to an impasse.

Renting It Out: Pros

• Security

If your house is empty and you put it on the market, it can – not always, granted, but sometimes – become something of a magnet for burglars and squatters. If someone is living in the property, this is much less of a problem, and it is therefore kept more secure.

• Money

If you have tenants in the property then you will be making money (let’s assume there is no mortgage left and you’ve not had to take it over for now – that’s a different kettle of fish and something that can cause a lot of problems, so it’s best to get advice from a mortgage expert if that is your situation). The rent you get each month can go towards the upkeep of the property, but it can also be seen as extra income for you. Bonus time. Plus, if the property is empty between tenants you won’t still have a mortgage to cover so as long as you treat your rental income as additional to and not instead of your day job, you won’t have to worry about it.

• You Can Still Sell

Even if you choose to rent the property out to begin with, if you don’t like the experience of being a landlord you can still sell later on, once the tenancy agreement is up, for example. If you’ve sold, that’s it – no second chances.

Renting It Out: Cons

• Trusted Tenants?

If the property you have inherited is a place you know and perhaps even love, maybe somewhere you have happy memories of childhood, you might be reluctant to let someone else move in. If you’re going to be constantly worried that your tenant isn’t taking care of the property in the way you’d like, it’s just going to cause more stress than anything else.

• Cost

It’s true, if you have inherited a house you’ll be getting a monthly rental income for the property, but there will be outgoings too. Insurance, regular maintenance, a letting agent if you go down the fully managed route, repairs (sometimes urgent ones), and so on all need to be factored into the cost. How much money are you really going to make? Is it going to be worth it?

• Legislation

If you decide to become a landlord, even if it’s not something you ever considered before, there are in excess of 150 pieces of legislation to abide by. Happy reading!

Selling It: Pros

• Money

Of course, the biggest ‘pro’ when it comes to selling the property is that you’ll get a good few thousand – probable a few hundreds of thousand – in your pocket after all the fees have been paid. The property will be someone else’s to enjoy, and you’ll have an inheritance you can really put to good use.

• Memories

Again, if you have inherited a house and the property is something sentimental to you, you will be able to remember it just as it was, without having to change anything for a tenant, or have a tenant make changes themselves. Even if you give them permission to do it, the property still won’t be how it was anymore, and this can be upsetting.

Selling It: Cons

• It can take an exceptionally long time to sell a property, in some cases over a year. And even when the property is sold, completion can come a long time after exchange, adding even more months to something that has taken an age already. If you’re relying on the money from the property to do something for yourself, you may have to put those plans on hold. If you’re renting the property out, you’ve got money coming in straight away, albeit a smaller amount than you would get in one shot when selling.

• Although you might tell yourself it’s just a house and that you shouldn’t get attached to it, this is what human beings do – we do attach ourselves to places and things, so selling the family home can be utterly heartbreaking, and it often comes with a lot of guilt, even if that guilt doesn’t actually make any sense at all.

As you can see, there is absolutely no right or wrong here when you have inherited a house. It’s the situation that suits you, and the one you feel happiest with. If you do choose to rent out your property, don’t forget that an inventory should be carried out by experts before anyone moves in, to keep both you and the tenant covered.

Rental Property

It’s the Chelsea Flower Show this week, and although this year – for obvious (coronavirus) reasons the event is actually a virtual one, it’s still a feast for the eyes and we encourage everyone to take a look online to see the beautiful and innovative displays (check out the link here: https://www.rhs.org.uk/shows-events/virtual-chelsea).

All this talk of gardens and plants and beautiful things got us thinking at Looksy about how to manage garden maintenance in a rental property. There are a number of things to consider when you delve deep down into the subject, and we’ve put together just a few ideas for you here.

The key, as with any kind of tenant/landlord interaction, is understanding. A neglected garden is going to make any property look bad, and the kerb appeal will quickly disappear, but having some rules in place and knowing exactly what the tenant can and can’t do is crucial.

Low Maintenance

Before your tenants move in, you should assess the garden of your rental property and think about ways to make it more low maintenance. If it’s a small garden, this can mean installing a patio (and removing some of the lawn to do it), replacing grass with Astroturf, and putting up fences instead of hedges. This kind of garden will take very little effort to keep looking nice, and the tenant can add their own take using planting boxes and urns if they want to. Otherwise it’s a quick mow and a sweep up and it will look as good as ever.

Are They Gardeners?

If the garden of the rental property is one that is going to need a lot of looking after, and you don’t want to change it or don’t want to spend money making it easier to deal with, you’ll need to speak to the potential tenants before they sign anything. Make sure they are aware of what you need them to do with the garden and how you expect it to look – keen gardeners will be happy to get involved, and those who might not want to carry out these tasks can walk away before they sign up to something they don’t think will fit with their lifestyle.

Hire A Gardener

Something that some landlords are happy to do is hire a gardener. The price can be included in the rent, and it means that the outside spaces will always look attractive and the tenant won’t have to worry about doing any of the work if they don’t want to. Again, this is something that you should make the tenant aware of before they agree to the rent; most will be pleased to find there is an added benefit, even if it means they are paying out more each month.

Use The Tenancy Agreement

If you are worried that your property might start to look neglected because the tenant isn’t doing any work in the garden, and to stop any confusion about who is responsible for what, use your tenancy agreement.

If the ‘rules’ are written out in your tenancy agreement, there can be no arguments, and it makes life a lot easier for everyone involved. This is why having a tenancy agreement is so important, not just for garden maintenance but for every aspect of the tenancy.

Get An Inventory Done

Having a good, thorough inventory carried out at the beginning of the tenancy, and ensuring there is a professional check-in and check-out service, means that the exact condition of the exterior of the house will be recorded. If there are any disputes, the inventory is one of – perhaps the most – important documents you’ll have. Using the report, you’ll be able to show what the garden looked like before anyone moved in, and what it looked like at the end of the tenancy.

If the tenant has left it in a bad state of repair and their tenancy agreement states that they must maintain the garden, the proof is right there in the inventory report.

Get in touch today to book your inventory and give yourself complete peace of mind in the process.

As a landlord, even if you aren’t aware of the new EPC rules, you will know that your rental property must have an up to date EPC in place before you can rent it out. These reports don’t cost a huge amount, and you can often get them organised through your lettings agent if you are using one. Once done, they last for 10 years, so as far as investments go, it’s not a bad one. Plus, as mentioned earlier, it’s absolutely essential and you can’t rent out your property without one.

You’ll receive a report regarding your property, and that result will have two columns. The first, ranging from A (excellent) to G (terrible) is the energy efficiency of your property at the time of the report. The second column, which will also range from A to G, is where your property could be if you carried out the necessary work to make it more energy efficient.

In the past, the result of the EPC didn’t particularly matter. It would be in place for the tenant to see, enabling them to make an informed decision about taking on the property and paying the heating bills – the worse the EPC the more expensive the place would be to run. But that’s all it meant.

Now things are different because of the new EPC rules.

New EPC Rules: The Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards

In April 2019, the government introduced the Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards (MEES). When this was introduced, it meant that all rental properties had to have an EPC rating of at least E. Anything that was an F or a G could therefore not be rented out until the necessary work had been done to bring it up to at least an E (and ideally higher). Landlords who continue to rent out the property without making any changes will face a fine of up to £5,000.

Initially, these changes only affected new tenancies or tenancy renewals. However, what is important to note, and something that might catch a number of landlords out, is that as of April 2020, all existing tenancies will also be subject to the new MEES rules. So even if you’re just partway through a tenancy, as of 1^st April 2020 and the new EPC rules, if the EPC on your property is less than E, that tenancy effectively becomes void. Work will need to be done in order to ensure that your EPC is at least an E. If this can’t be done (perhaps because the property can only reach a certain level of energy efficiency due to its construction) then your tenants will need to move out, and you will need to stop renting the property. It sounds harsh, but these are the new rules and they need to be abided by.

Exemptions

Right now, there is an exemption in place called the ‘no cost to the landlord’ exemption. This means that if the landlord cannot afford to pay for the improvements needed to upgrade the energy efficiency of their rental property and they can’t access funding (which might come from their local council or the Green Deal) they won’t have to pay to get the work done. Take note, as of 1^st April 2020, that exemption will no longer be in place. All landlords will be liable for any improvements up to a cap of £3,500. Anything over that amount can be funded through other means, but the first £3,500 has to come from the landlord.

Winter is a tricky time for property maintenance; the cold weather, the rain, potentially even the snow all combine to create issues. Add this together with the fact that there are limited numbers of tradespeople available and that all properties are going to be suffering from the same problems, and you can see how your tenants might have cause to complain. It makes sense, therefore, to protect your property as much as possible to prevent (or at least reduce) the possibility of these issues occurring. Here are some ideas to put in place before the cold snap really hits.

Winter Roofs and Guttering

Roofs can have serious problems during the winter. High winds can loosen or even completely dislodge tiles, and that means that the rain can get inside, causing damp, leaks, and mould. A blocked gutter can have similar results. Water damage is expensive to fix and can cause a lot of damage, which is why it makes a lot of sense to prevent it where possible.

Gutters should be cleared at the start of the winter season. This will remove any build up of leaves that have fallen. Do this job before the worst of the weather comes and you can save yourself (and your tenants) a lot of misery.

Check your roof on a periodic basis as well. Repairing a few tiles that are missing when you realise they are gone is a much more cost effective plan than allowing the roof to stay damaged and for water ingress to cause damage and make living conditions difficult for your tenant.

The Garden

In most cases, the garden will be the responsibility of your tenant, but if the property is empty then this is something you will need to take into consideration – garden maintenance needs to be on your list of things to do, especially during the winter.

Take broken fence posts, for example. It’s best to fix these and ensure any fences are stable and properly secured before the weather becomes wintery and windy – losing a fence is a harder thing to deal with and could cause problems with neighbours than fixing a fence that is a little bit wobbly but still in place.

Check the trees on your property as well. Overhanging branches can be dangerous; if a branch fell and damaged the property, a car, or – worst of all – hurt someone, then you would be liable for the cost of making things right.

Pipes

Pipes can be a serious problem during winter. When water freezes within the pipe it expands and can crack the pipe or even cause it to burst. Again, you could have massive water damage within the property, but you could also leave your tenant with no water. Neither of these scenarios will put you in a good light as a landlord.

Check that the pipes are well insulated and make sure there are no cracks in them. You should also have the boiler serviced regularly, and when the property is empty ensure the heating is on all the time, at a low temperature. When a new tenant moves in, walk through the house with them and show them where the stopcock is just in case of an emergency – their quick action should a pipe burst could save you a lot of money but if they are searching for the stopcock because you haven’t informed them where it is, precious time could be wasted.

Chimneys

If your property has a working fireplace then a professional chimney sweep should be engaged to clean the chimney before any new tenant wants to use the fire. This will remove any build up of debris and reduce the risk of a fire hazard. If your property is occupied then it is the tenant’s responsibility to do this, but to ensure that it happens (and that you are covered) it should be written into the tenancy agreement.

An Inventory Service

Investing in a professional inventory report can help you to ensure your property is properly maintained during the winter period. You will immediately be able to see just what work is required, and you’ll know that you left the property in a fit state to be occupied, just in case of any disputes.

Contact us today to find out more and to book your inventory report.