Cover for French Property Owners

Having the right insurance policy is essential – be it unoccupied property insurance, buy to let, or one of the various other insurance products available. The issue of having the right policy will be on the minds of many French holiday home owners, returning to France following the winter.

As anyone who has left their property empty for a long period will know, the moment when you enter your flat or house after an absence can be a tense affair. Yet, with temperatures in France having dropped to -17 during the winter, for some property owners, the tension won’t end there. Cracked radiators and boilers – not to mention pipes – can cause a great deal of damage, and witnessing it after a long time away can be an unpleasant experience.

For those who need to make a claim on their insurance, there can sometimes be some nasty surprises – particularly if they don’t pay out. Many repudiations arise because a given property has been left empty for too long a period.

It’s yet another reason to ensure terms and conditions are read thoroughly before a policy is taken out. Pay particular attention to the periods of time that your property can remain vacant for, so you know exactly where you stand as regards your cover.

What is landlord portfolio insurance?

For property owners who have only recently become landlords, there are a number of notions and terms that may not be familiar. One of those terms might be landlord portfolio insurance.

In basic terms, insurance policies sold under this – or other similar terms – relate to insurance that covers a number of properties owned by a single individual, company or other entity. While such policies differ to some degree – depending on the company providing the insurance – they usually offer advantages such as discounted premiums, and the possibility of having a range of different property types and tenant types covered under a single insurance product.

Clearly, this can make organising insurance much easier to accomplish. As well as facilitiating what can be a stressful job, this policy type can save landlords money, and that most precious commodity, time.

To receive a quote for landlord portfolio insurance from click4Quote.com insurance, or to find out more about how the policy type works, call 08450 89 90 91 Monday to Friday between 9am to 5.30pm. You can also fax your portfolio details over to 08450 89 90 92. If your insurance policies are not quite up for renewal, contact us with your details and we will provide you with a quote closer to the renewal date.

Energy Performance Certificates to change

Energy performance Certificates have been around for some time now and most people realise that they are needed as part of the house marketing process. Changes to the EPC are being introduced in April 2012 to make the certificates easier to understand and also to make them part of the government’s “Green Deal”. The Green Deal will offer interest free finance so that people can make energy efficiency improvements to their homes and the EPC will identify those areas that will qualify for the scheme. Typical works will include loft and cavity wall insulation.

Landlord insurance clients should note that it will be the occupier who will be responsible for repaying the loan. If a tenant obtains a Green Deal loan he or she will be responsible for the repayments and these will be added to the utility bill. Businesses as well as individuals can apply for funding.
If you are interested in finding out more about the Green Deal there is quite a bit of information on the web. The Department of Energy and Climate Change is a good place to start.

The other change to the EPC is that the main information will now be shown on the front page so it will be easier to understand.

Will a change in student demographics change the student accommodation market?

Students. They’ve long been a stable source of income for all manner of landlords, but has the government’s changes to how university education is financed change the type of student landlords are used to?

It is a difficult question to answer. The argument might be that a good deal of accommodation has been targeted towards the more hard-up section of student society. But since the financial pressures of going to university have increased (namely because each student will be lumbered by upwards of £27,000 of debt by the time they’ve finished), does that mean more middle class students will be attending?

Equally, will the gap left by any poorer students be filled with wealthier overseas students? One could argue that overseas and middle class tenants will be expecting a higher standard of accommodation than that which largely exists in the UK’s university towns.

Unfortunately, such an abandonment of lower-quality accommodation by tenants is not covered by the average buy to let insurance policy.

The other side of the argument might be that students will be keeping an even greater watch on spending throughout their educational careers, meaning cheaper accommodation will still be popular.

Time will tell if students will develop more accommodation expensive tastes.

New Buy scheme aims to help house buyers

Various mortgage lenders are now part of the Newbuy scheme that offers mortgages of up to 95% on new houses. The scheme aims to help buyers who find it impossible to save the large deposit now required by many lenders.. It should also increase the number of new houses being built because developers will be more confident that mortgage offers will be made to prospective purchasers.

The scheme only applies to new build property in England and the builder must be part of the Newbuy scheme. The price needs to be no more than £500,000 and the property must be a main home. Landlord insurance clients will find that it cannot be used to finance properties that will be let out. If you are a UK citizen or have indefinite leaven to remain in the UK you might find that the Newbuy scheme could help you buy a house with a deposit of between 5 and 10%.

The Government and some house builders have agreed to cover a limited amount of losses if borrowers default and the home is sold for less than the mortgage. This means that lenders are more willing to advance loans representing a larger percentage of the houses value.

Anyone thinking about taking out a mortgage should take proper advice and needs to understand that if their home is repossessed they will be responsible for the shortfall between the sale proceeds and the mortgage debt. This is the case with all mortgages but of course if the loan is a very high percentage of the value a small fall in house prices could put the owner into negative equity.

A Gift from the Tax Inspector: Office & Travel Costs

When it comes to owning a property, there are some costs that cannot be avoided. Basic maintenance costs would of course be counted among these, and among those coming highly recommended would be insurance – such as landlords, unoccupied or holiday home insurance policies, among others. But there is one cost that has often been compared to shuffling off this mortal coil – and that’s tax.

But our friends at Her Majesty’s Customs and Revenue could well be alleviating some pressure from us over the upcoming tax year. There are two notable ones which may well be of interest if you own a property.

1. Home and office costs – From the 6th of April, UK landlords will be able to claim a total of £208 towards costs associated with running a home office for their business. What’s more, this can be achieved without any comment from the tax inspector. The allowance has increased by £150 to £208 a year, equating to £4 per week.

2. Mileage rates – from the 6th of April, these will increase from 40p per mile to 45p per mile for the initial 10,000 business miles, then 25p per mile for any additional mileage. An extra 5p per mile can also be claimed for any additional passengers who are in the vehicle for the business trip.

Rates remain the same for motorcycles and bicycles: 24p per mile for motorbikes and 20p for bikes.

Together, these two little giveaways from HMRC are not to be sniffed at. If we become aware of any more helpful tax changes along these lines, we’ll highlight them in this blog.

Cannabis farm threat to buy to let landlords

One of the best bits of advice you can give anyone starting out in the letting business is to keep a very careful eye on your properties. Even if you have employed a reputable agent it is worth keeping tabs on what is going on to be sure that your tenants are looking after the house properly.

One of the worst abuses that tenants might be committing is running a cannabis farm. Apparently, the drugs gangs believe they are less likely to be found out if they divide their operations between several locations rather than concentrate them at one industrial scale establishment. Some rental properties make ideal cannabis farms, especially if they are in locations where the neighbours are unlikely to work out what is going on. Property buy to let insurance clients need to be sure that appropriate checks are made on any potential tenants and that someone visits regularly.

In a recent case a landlord inspected his property after a humming noise was reported and he found a cannabis farm being tended by an illegal immigrant from Vietnam. The drugs gangs are said to bring people into the country illegally and then force them to work in the cannabis farms to pay off the debt for their transport. A typical farm in a suburban house might contain two to three hundred plants, being looked after by a couple of people.

Carpets that Attract Tenants and are Easily Cleaned

A good quality landlords building insurance policy might provide you with a lot of peace of mind, but there are some things that it can’t help you with. One of those is choosing fixtures and fittings that will help make your property attractive to tenants – and within this very wide area, choosing an appropriate carpet. This can be a very time-consuming decision.

For a landlord, there are three things a carpet must be: attractive to the largest number of people possible, durable and easy to clean. Of course, cost comes into it to a degree, but as many landlords have found, cutting corners on carpets can lead to far more expensive costs in the future, such as early onset wear and tear – and fading.

Magnolia, the landlord’s favourite. Used on walls and as a carpet colour choice right across the UK – and probably the developed world. But is it right for your property? True, magnolia tends to be an innocuous colour selection, but it does tend to show the dirt rather well. If you do choose a magnolia or light-coloured carpet, ensure it is of good quality and can be cleaned easily.

Alternatively, you may choose a more dirt-concealing shade, though the dirt will eventually be apparent here too.

If easily-cleaned, inoffensively coloured carpets aren’t your thing, then you can opt for the equally confusing world of tiles and wood flooring, the subject for a later blog.

Accreditation scheme for student homes

If you are interested in the student accommodation business you should take a look at an accreditation scheme launched last year. The scheme aims to establish benchmark standards in student accommodation to provide reassurance to students and their parents. The people behind it are UNIPOL and AFS. UNIPOL is a charity working nationally to improve standards in student housing and AFS runs a search engine for student homes. A code of practice combines landlord training with verification visits. Some of our landlord insurance clients might be thinking of entering this market and others are already in it.

People have mixed views about being a student landlord- letting houses to young people is not every landlord’s cup of tea. If you have any personal experience why not let us know?

The scheme is voluntary and aims to set standards that are easily understood by people using the AFS website to look for accommodation. If you are thinking about buy to let investments in university towns it could be worth checking it out.

For more information visit www.unipol.org.uk/afsunipolcode

“Spring Bounce” Sees Property Prices Rise in London

The so-called “spring bounce” has had a notable affect on London property prices, with some reports suggesting it is close to a record rise. The average house price is now £449,252, a little lower than last October’s £450,210. While economic conditions are tough, such news may seem rather odd. But some sectors in some parts of the world enjoy a kind of immunity to the economic pressures experienced by most of the population: the London property market is one of those places.
The continued stability of London property prices is likely to be down to a number of different issues, including the fact that certain cash-rich sectors – where demand outstrips supply – pushes the average price up. In addition to this, estate agents are often given new selling instructions as spring approaches – which generally involve achieving a more ambitious selling price.
Another important factor that affects the spring rise – or at least the continued stability of London property prices – is that of the foreign investor. As well as commercial property investments, London is seen as a very attractive place to live, work and potentially bring up a family. With new money coming from Russia, China and India, among others, this is likely to be an increasingly important factor.

If you’ve recently purchased a new property in London, ensure it is comprehensively covered with property insurance from Click4Quote.com.

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