Latest update

Haven't been able to keep this as up to date as I would have liked as I have been busy sorting out our new buy to let properties.

As readers of my blog will know I have been looking at expanding our lettings portfolio and have also been working at being a property management professional by renting out my home and also my friends home while she is away on her round the world trip. I manage the letting on my home myself which has been a great experience and a whole new learning curve which although has been diffuclt at times has also been a liberating experience. I have got to grips with the whole letting property industry. Like all things in life the most valuable thing I would say to you if you need advice is to get advice from experts where you can. I found LetSafe a priceless source of knowledge on all aspects of property management, buy to let, and information on property management insurance and lettings.

A quick note on my friend Susan the last time I updated my blog she was on her way to see the northern lights. She is now on her way to the north pole on a ship to see the sites and then she is going to Russia for a bit. Looking forward to seeing the pictures and hearing the latest. I will probably see her on chat tonight so I will let her know how it is going on the lettings front.

I have been lucky enough to have a nice nest egg earned in my corporate life which has enabled me to expand my property portfolio to 6 houses now. My boyfriend and I have no further plans to expand the property portfolio at the moment. We are going to rest for a bit as we get the property management insurance sorted out with LetSafe and when we receive the tenant checks and tenant references back from LetSafe (we will of course be requiring they pass for rent guarantee and rent insurance) then we can get the properties let with the peace of mind that comes with property management insurance from a leading provider of letting insurance products to letting agents and landlords.

We have bought carefully making sure that we have sought homes out in decent areas close to amenities and travel networks so we can attract good quality applicants from a wider area. This will hopefully make sure that when the tenancy agreements expire that if we need to find new tenants then the houses shouldn't remain vacant for long. We are initially going for 6 month tenancy agreements which we hope will be renewed by the existing tenants rather than having to remarket them.

We also have our EPC's in place (energy performance certificates) which were required by law from October 1st 2008. We used LetSafe fixed fee energy performance certificates for our properties which were very competitively priced and the service was quick and hassle free just what you want from any provider of property management services.

We havent arranged our landlord emergency services cover as yet but this can be done a little nearer the time. LetSafe provide the landlord emergency service, we have looked into it and we will be going with their plan.

I will let you know how things go on an ongoing basis but my updates will be a bit random as it will be when I can get back on here and find the time to update my blog.

Thanks for reading this and I hope it helps you in some way.

Property Management Insurance

Hi all a quick blog today as I had a spare moment and thought I would put down on virtual paper my latest thoughts.

I was pleased to hear that my traveling friend is now in Alaska on her way to look at the aurora borealis which sounds absolutely lovely. I have been letting her house out on her behalf as most followers of my blog will know. I was speaking to a friend of mine the other day who owns a large portfolio of property which he rents (large to me anyway at 50 homes) we were discussing my irritation at the general term landlord over a coffee and he told me that he always uses the term property management professional. I liked the sound of that, property management has a nice ring to it and is better than resigning myself to being called a landlord when I am a landlady.

I have recently bought up a new property and have property management insurance in place which I arranged with LetSafe a good provider of property management insurance and a property management insurance provider I can trust as I have dealt with them in the early days and they guided me through the whole property management field with care and lots of free landlord advice.

My property management insurance portfolio include rent insurance, buildings insurance, contents insurance and landlord emergency cover. There are a great many property management insurance products available from LetSafe and I would encourage you to make sure that as a property management professional if you are residential letting yourself or doing your residential letting through a landlord that you visit a good quality property management insurance provider like LetSafe which you can do by simply typing www.letsafe.net into your browser.

I am waiting to hear if the traveller has seen the sights and will post up some photos of it if she manages to send some through.

Different types of landlord insurance

I havent been on in a while as My boyfriend and I have been busy buying some rental property as we are expanding our rental property portfolio.

I have been busy getting all my landlord insurance products in place, all the usual ones like rent guarantee, rent insurance, landlords building insurance, landlords contents insurance, and my latest favourite landlord emergency cover which gives landlord insurance for boiler breakdown, landlord insurance for lost keys, landlord insurance for vermin control, landlord insurance for heating systems and more.

Its a realy good landlord insurance and I intend to use it each time I rent a property to tenants. For those renting property to tenants as a landlord it is a wise move to get your landlord insurance in place. All insurance be it landlord insurance or tenants insurance or indeed buy to let insurance for any purpose is always there to provide for the worst happening. In most cases landlord insurance is not somehting you will need to claim on but in those times when the worst happened and there is a landlord emergency then you will be very happy that you had landlord insurance in place. Most tenants will benefit from good tenants insurance also and most can get tenants contents insurance to provide them with the same peace of mind that landlord insurance gives to the landlord.

There are a few companies out there that offer landlord insurance and landlord emergency cover but in my opinion if you want to ensure that your landlord insurance offers good cover at a competitive price as well as backed by a company recognised as an industry leader in providing letting agents and landlords with a great set of landlord insurance products then I would recommend visiting LetSafe.

LetSafe are providers of landlord insurance to many letting agents and private landlords alike and their landlord insurance products cover a wide variety of landlord needs when it comes to landlord insurance. They offer rent insurance, rent guarantee, landlords building insurance, landlords contents insurance (or both combined as landlords buildings and contents insurance) and the also offer landlord insurance to provide against landlord emergencies. In short LetSafe offer landlord insurance and landlord protection against a massive range of landlord emergencies that UK Landlords may face. LetSafe's landlord insurance is one of their range of landlord help and landlord advice services that have been created with the landlord in mind and to make sure that the private landlord, letting agent and tenant are provided with buy to let insurance products that are specific to their needs.

I would recommend you visit them today for your landlord insurance or buy to let insurance needs which you can do by simply going to www.letsafe.net, the site encompases a wide variety of subjects from the buy to let field not just landlord insurance although they are recognised as a leading provider of landlord insurance products for the letting agent and landlord industry within the UK.

Make sure you get your tenant checks and tenant referencing in place before letting your property out, that is my last piece of advice today.

Ill check back as soon as I have more time.

Natasha

More houses more income less headache

You'll know from our previous blog that my boyfriend and I are looking at expanding our rental property portfolio. Well further on from that we have managed to get our hands on two lovely 3 bed detached homes in an a well sought after area that is just 5 minutes walk from a main line train station and in the catchment area of a realy good school. We are going to aim our property at professional people with a family.

Why? so we can try to get tenants in our buy to let investment that are not only working but that are likely to stay put for some time.





We will be marketing the buy to let properties from the 3rd week in October which means that we will need an energy performance certificate (EPC) in place as per the government legislation which you can read all about on LetSafe's website which caters for landlords and letting agents.





here is the link for ease:





http://www.letsafe.net/default.asp?contentID=725





or click here:





EPC Energy Performance Certificates





We will of course be returning to LetSafe for our rent guarantee, tenant checks and tenant referencing as well as our landlord insurance. This time round we will also be taking out landlord emergency cover on all the properties to make sure that our tenants wont have to call us at god awfull o'clock to sort out any problems with the rental property that we have bought to let.





Once we have got the rent guarantee, landlord emergency cover, tenant checks and tenant referencing in place as well as ensuring that our tenants are aware that they will need tenants insurance then we will be happy enough to look at getting perhaps another two or three properties on board and do the same again.

Dont worry I will keep you updated here and share the trials and tribulations we face so other landlords can learn from my experiences.

If you do get stuck visit www.letsafe.net for some good free landlord advice and some great ideas on how to manage your buy to let portfolio.

Looking to get a bigger portfolio

I have been looking around at online letting agent and landlord websites over the weekend and some of the more trusted websites say that this could well be the right time for landlords to invest in property and expand their buy to let property portfolios.

As those of you who have been following my blog know I am looking after 2 homes that are on the buy to let market. This doesnt make me a property mogul by any means but it has given me a taste for it and I have also managed to get fairly up to speed on what is needed to be a successful buy to let landlord and landlady.

My boyfriend and I have been looking at properties in and around our area and we are considering buying another 4 properties so we can expand our property rental catalogue and get into the whole buy to let market in more depth. Now more depth in this case means more financial commitment as we dont have enough cash to buy them outright. We have spoken to the bank and have put a good business case forward so we are looking to purchase rental property before christmas.

For those able to this is a good time to buy property as the prices are low, but the rental yields are good.

I have spoken to the lovely people at LetSafe and should this all go ahead I will be placing my business with them and managing the rentals and sourcing tenants myself after learning so much with their help.

So watch this space as more becomes clear I will let you know :o)

Whats going on?

Hi all,


sorry for being so late on getting this weeks blog done but I simply have not had time. So I will get on with it.




First things first Susan has spent the last few days in Disneyland and will be there most of this week and next as she does the whole global tourist attraction bit (lucky girl, wish I was there).





I thought for this blog, I would write a general entry about the financial situation in the UK and share my feelings on it all and how I see it affecting me as a landlady working in the UK buy to let market.

First things firstI think the situation all over the world is pretty much the same right now what with the credit crunch and all. People are finding it harder to get accepted for mortgages and credit generally which seems to mean that they have less money to spend and there are certainly less people moving in the housing market.











This doesnt seem to be the same for landlords. I have been keeping up to date with the views from the buy to let market by subscribing to LetSafe's blog which is very good and keep me informed with whats happening and recent news that relates directly yot me as a buy to let landlady.






I have rent guarantee in place and have made sure that my buy to let properties are well covered through LetSafe so while the economic situation is worrying for all I have some security in the fact that I have used a reputable provider for my buy to let services.

I am currently looking at expanding my portfolio of properties and my boyfriend and I are looking at buying a couple of more properties to rent out. Now that I am getting up to speed with the whole landlady situation I am allot more confident with pushing it forward as a business. My boyfriend has watched with interest and is also interested in the industry as it may provide a decent alternative to a pension fund. When either of us are ready to retire we plan to have a fairly good portfolio of properties we can sell and then have the profits made as a nest egg.

Judging from recent blog entries on LetSafe this is a growing reason for people new to the buy to let market getting into it. Seems to make sense to me. The financial climate seems to be a cyclical one and comes around from time to time regardless of government. However over longer periods of time bricks and mortar remain a good investment.

I would recommend any first time landlords or landladies to visit LetSafe for good information on how to do it properly and to make sure that you are well covered for your buy to let needs.

Emergency Energency.... who do I call?

Hi all,

This will be the last blog from me for a little while although I expect to be back and blogging later next week. In my previous first steps as a landldady blog I have covered some importnant subjects that all landlords and landladies starting out in the buy to let industry should know. I hope the advice I have given and the telling of my experiences in the buy to let market have helped others out there who may be reading my blog. I started this initialy so people could get a good idea of what they should take into consideration when renting out a property for the first time or if they were thinking of becoming a property mogul and buying properties specifically to let. My Situation is a little different in that I have two properties I am renting one is my friends Susan's who is currently in America on her first leg of her worldwide tour. I have used a letting agent to handle her property and I have found the information I have learned invaluable when deciding what to do with my home which I am renting out after moving in with my boyfriend.

I have given a brief summary below of my previous blogs and where underlined they link to LetSafe a realy good provider of landlord services and products. So click on the links if you want to get deeper into any of the subjects or use the menu on the right which will take you to my previous blogs.

Rent Guarantee

Legal Cover

Buildings Insurance

Contents Insurance

Tenant Referencing

Eviction Services

In this blog I will be covering the subject of emergency services. I must stress that this does not mean calling 999 because your pizza has been delivered two slices light. This is all about the cover you can get if something goes wrong in your home. For example if the central heating stops, a wall collapses etc.

There are a few companies out there that offer this type of cover. Some offer cover for specific events, like boiler cover for example. I shopped around and found a policy on the LetSafe web site