Have Rental Properties? Protect Yourself with Landlord Insurance Before It’s Too Late!
You are driving home from work. A cold pint awaits you in the fridge. Suddenly, you look out over the bonnet and see black clouds of smoke. It is on your street! A pit forms in your gut the nearer you get. As you pull up, you see your beautiful duplex ablaze.
The fire chief explains that your upstairs renter knocked his barbecue off the balcony, and the whole place went up. You know you have insurance for yourself, but the upstairs was uninsured since it was a separate dwelling with its own entrance. It cost you thirty thousand pounds to remodel and furnish it, too.
This situation befalls many landlords. They not only have to deal with fires but also floods, drunken tenants, unruly pets, defective bathroom and kitchen fixtures, and almost anything else you can imagine. In the United Kingdom, there are many different options available for landlords to insure not only themselves but also their properties.
Landlord Insurance - Get it Before You Need It!
First, landlords should purchase Total Landlord Insurance - I recommend you check these guys out: http://www.totallandlordinsurance.co.uk/. This protects buildings and their contents from destruction.
So, if your renter’s thirteen-year-old mad scientist blows up the flat, you have peace of mind. Each policy is different, and the level of coverage determines the cost. Landlords should seriously discuss all options with their insurance agents.
Second, landlords should purchase Total Landlord Emergency Cover insurance. This will cover the cost of repairs to any and all units in a property. It will also cover repairs to any large fixtures such as water heaters, furnaces, and transformers. It even covers vermin infestation. Rest assured, you will not be running a Roach Motel!
Third, landlords should purchase Total Rent Guarantee insurance. With today’s lousy economy, this can secure your income. For example, Joe the renter gets sacked and cannot afford the rent any longer. Rather than settle up, Joe departs for places unknown. You, the landlord, are left holding the bag. Now, not only are you out the 500 quid rent, you must also spend money tracking Joe down to collect. With rent guarantee insurance, those tracking costs are covered. Even the rent itself is covered, within limits.
If you are a landlord, make sure you insure your properties completely. The expense is well worth the time and trouble if a disaster occurs. It also pays to make sure your renters are who they say they are. Total Tenant Referencing provides background checks and identity verification for a reasonable fee. If you avail yourself of this service, you can prevent the Hannibal Lecter wannabe from moving in to your downstairs flat.
Bad tenants are such a pain. Have you looked into landlord tenant agreement? You really have to make sure you for a rental credit report.