Virgin landlords warned not to forget insurance

SOUTHEND, U.K. - Nov. 15, 2013 - PRLog -- With an 80% increase in “virgin landlords” over the past two years* driven by low interest rates and a slow but steady rise in house prices, around 29,000 people became first time property investors in 2012*.

“It is important, however” warns Richard Burgess, Director at Cover4LetProperty – the landlord insurance specialists - “that investors don’t forget the importance of having adequate insurance to protect their property”.

He cites “horror stories” of first time investors who got caught out by:

using residential home insurance to protect their investment, not realising that this is not valid for a Buy to Let (BTL) property;

forgoing insurance in its entirety, breaking the terms of their contract with their mortgage provider (who insist on having adequate buildings insurance in place at the very minimum) and leaving themselves wide open to liability claims (should someone injure themselves on or around their property due to perceived negligence);
thinking that their standard landlords insurance will cover a property that is vacant for more than 30-45 consecutive days – in most cases, it will not, and unoccupied property insurance will be required;
choosing cheap landlords insurance that does not cover issues such as subsidence or malicious damage by tenants as standard (even some experienced investors assume that these elements of cover are standard with all policies – they are not).

Mr. Burgess adds: “It is imperative that new and existing landlords ensure that they have adequate cover for their investment. Otherwise, they face breaching their mortgage terms as well as putting themselves at a potentially huge financial risk.”

Cover4LetProperty recently launched a free Beginners Guide for new landlords (http://www.cover4letproperty.co.uk/beginners-guide) that discusses the above, plus everything a “virgin landlord” needs to know about property investment.

Ends

*The Telegraph newspaper 25.10.13 (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/property/property-club/1040529...)