Romford: Property Insurance Broker: Let Property – the new pension or a money pit?
As well as being a property insurance broker, I’m also a landlord. A lot of people view landlords as being considerably wealthy people which I suppose in many cases is true, but letting property can also be a financial drain when things go wrong.
I rent out a two bedroom house in Cornwall to a young couple. They are really lovely people, cause me no hassle and pay on time. What’s more, the gentleman that lives there is a builder, so when minor things go wrong, he puts them right and rarely bills me.
Unfortunately however, they are moving out in a few days, as the young man in question has lost his job and they need to downsize. I will be sorry to see them go, but will do whatever I can to make the move a smooth one for them.
I’ve been fairly lucky with this property, so far the only real problem has been the boiler packing up a few times, which has cost a lot of money to fix, but I am about to replace it.
It could have been a lot worse though; disaster could strike at the premises, a kitchen fire, a flood, storm damage and so on. This could make the place inhabitable, meaning I can’t rent it out. Or the tenants might have just stopped paying, and I’d have to go down the legal route to evict them, the whole time stumping up for solicitors bills whilst not receiving any rent! Worse still, they could be injured at the property and take me to court for negligence!
Luckily, there are insurance solutions for all of these eventualities, and being an insurance broker, I’ve made sure I have all the appropriate Landlords Insurance cover in force. If you are a landlord, just take five minutes to check what cover you have. If you used to live at the property and just let your household policy run on, it could be that you have no cover at all, certainly none that we landlords need. I am regularly reviewing landlords’ insurances for them. If you aren’t sure what you are looking for, speak to a property insurance broker.
