paulry

I strongly agree with that. Also check very very carefully the insurance "fine print" and make sure also that insurance declarations that you agree to cannot be twisted in any way to mean that you failed to declare anything. If in doubt, phone/email them to declare it and get confirmation in writing from them that you have done so. I say this because a few weeks back my tenants burnt out the kitchen and the insurers spent nearly three weeks attempting to intepret the declaration to mean that I didn't declare a certain building attribute therefore making the insurance null and void-able. Fortunately I managed to build a strong case against that, forcing them to agree to rightly sort the kitchen out and bear the costs in full. It's still hard work with them even now but we're getting there bit by bit. Make sure that you get permission from your lender to rent because the insurance will wriggle out of their part of the bargain if you dont. Also take contents insurance because otherwise carpets, etc are not covered - as I have discovered to my cost with fire damage caused to my dining room carpet. If you have a biggish insurance claim look into engaging the services of your own loss adjustor because the one engaged by the insurers will try and rip you off wherever they can.

Besides Paddyo's good suggestions also arrange Rentguard insurance. It only costs about 100 squid but covers the rent and deals with the tenant's eviction should they stop paying. Also important to check the fine print just so that you know where you are with them, but money well spent IMHO.

Best also to settle for nothing less than a full management letting service.

It's worth renting out, just make sure you're well-covered, that's all.

Good luck!

paulry

Just a thought on the subject of boiler/plumbing insurance, etc: I've recently received notification for my Home Care renewal from British Gas. My standard 3 bed house was quoted for £35 per month - including the gas safety certificate renewal (another essential item to have in the event of an insurance claim). Anyone know of better deals?

Turban Explorer

Are you sure the gas safety certificate is included? They tried to charge me extra for that so I binned them. British Gas didn't turn up several times and when they did nothing seemed to be covered - very disappointed with them. There seemed to be a definite correlation between 'oh, we can't get those parts any more to mend 'x' but we have on special 'y' at our cheap deal of ....' Then I looked on the internet and you could get the parts.

paulry

The notification arrived yesterday so I have the paperwork in front of me now. It's HomeCare 400 and clearly states Completion of the Landlord Gas Safety Record. Thanks for prompting me to check because if I don't do anything they auto-renew the policy in two weeks time.

That's another newish insurance development I've noticed these last couple of years is if you don't tell them otherwise then they renew automatically and they then charge you a whopping amount to cancel afterwards. "Budget" hit me with that last year. Of course it might suit some people but I rarely stay with the same insurer for more than a year or two because of their stealthy premium hikes.

Turban Explorer

Absolutely - same with all these baaaastards - they make dosh out of inertia!

paulry

Ah a new addition

That is a good point too. I got a letter from them a few months ago saying that my boiler might now present them with difficulties in providing spare parts. Maybe they're setting the scene that you've mentioned above? I'm super suspicious of insurance companies and the like now...

Turban Explorer

[QUOTE=paulry;9589196] I'd go as far to say that British Gas are so certain so condemn your boiler to death for their own benefits it's boiler 'assurance' not insurance!

paulry

So that's another thing for the todo list: shop around for a better boiler, etc maintenance contract.

Finding the time to look for a job seems to be an impossible luxury these days

Turban Explorer

I know the feeling - after the gym, the pool, lunch with a glass of wine and an afternoon nano nap there's not enough hours in the day.

paulry

I wish!

...S'pose I'd better get on with the mind-numbing Selection Criteria and re-working (AKA: dumb down) my CV to better match the job I'm applying for. It has to be emailed by 5pm today

BTW, just checked my current British Gas contract. They've hiked it up by 7.8% - and that's even after "giving" me a suspicious looking "boiler and breakdown discount"! ...The cheeky barstools!

Cape Blue

Grrrrr