LetSafe one of the UK premiere providers of tenant referencing, tenant checks , buy to let insurance and property rental services wish all our readers a very happy christmas and a very prosperous new year.

Wishing a merry christmas to you all

LetSafe providers of landlords insurance, lettings insurance to a growing number of UK letting agents and landlords in the UK buy to let market wish all our clients a very merry festive season.

Looking forward into 2009 LetSafe envision another fantastic year of growth as we continue to strive to deliver a portfolio of products and services that bring cost benefits to an ever growing portfolio of client landlords and letting agents who use LetSafe for their tenant referencing, tenant checks and their tenant vetting services. In addition we plan to roll out further additions to our extensive catalogue of landlord insurance products in 2009.

As we drive forward to being placed as the UK's number one provider for property rental insurance and property management services we will be keeping a close eye on the feedback we receive from our clients and aim to continue to be synonymous with the best possible service available to letting agents and landlords.

We hope that all our clients new, old and prospective have a great festive season. We sincerely hope that you are looking forward to a prosperous new year and that LetSafe will be a part of the overall picture that helps you as a landlord or letting agent continue your own success stories.

Regards, The LetSafe team.

www.letsafe.net

Letting agents the competition heats up

As always the property market and specifically the buy to let market are hot topics of conversation at LetSafe. Despite the economy being in it's current state of ill health there are winners out there. Certainly in the current climate landlords and letting agents seem to be winners. On the downside since the housing market (as far as people buying properties as homes rather than buy to let investment is concerned) has slowed down considerably estate agents have found it difficult to maintain a healthy business.

We have noticed an ever increasing number of estate agents creating letting arms within their organisations or converting completely to letting agents. This has caused a supply and demand stricture when it comes to available homes for letting stock as more and more letting agents find their ability to attract landlords on to their books and thus increase their portfolio of properties they have available to prospective tenants for rent. This dynamic has created an environment where the increase in competition from letting agents and converters to letting agent status for the finite amount of house has never been more fierce.

A greater number of property management and letting companies are being creative when it comes to luring landlords to their umbrella with offers of free rent guarantee, cheap landlord insurance and a variety of schemes and plans designed to offer the client landlord as much profit on their rent per calendar month as possible. Naturally this is good news for the landlord, however for letting agents who are attempting to increase their portfolio of properties it becomes a difficult proposition as their profits decrease.

Luckily for some letting agents they have the support of organisations such as ourselves at LetSafe who offer a wide variety of services aimed at providing them with many options to create an attractive proposition for landlords. While rent guarantee or rent insurance as it is also known is sure to be at the fore front of most landlords minds there are also many other services that should not go un-noticed. Services such as our landlord emergency repair cover is a very competitive way to lure landlords into the fold in seasonal times most often associated with very expensive disasters such as broken boilers. With a portfolio of products designed to be modular (you can take them individually) LetSafe offer letting agents many ways to create a proposal to prospective and existing landlords that will be sure to attract new business and create an environment where existing client landlords are retained, thus leading to expansion rather than the spectre of increased churn.

LetSafe will be constantly looking to roll out new services to market and with an extensive range of property management insurance, letting agent services and insurance for landlords we are best placed to make sure that letting agents maintain profits and have access to a range of products and services so they can be creative with the way they create new opportunities for themselves.

Buy to Let Guide

At LetSafe we are trusted by some of the nations largest landlords and letting agents to bring you excellent products and services aimed at the property management, buy to let and lettings markets. As part of our quest to ensure that we offer the best service possible we look for important news from the internet relating to the landlord and letting agent market in the uk as well as keeping a keen eye on the overall dynamics of the property management market.

The Buy to Let Guide was published on the 24th November and the annual report asserts the need for a strong, robust, private rental sector as being a prime element of the housing market overall. The report is in two formats and the results are expected to encourage sensible investment into the rental sector. This also reflects the view taken in the recent Rugg Report, which also stressed the need to encourage and nurture small portfolio owners and individual private landlords.

The report is available through various outlets and the guide (also published electronically) is readily available through ARLA registered letting agents, mortgage brokers and mortgage lenders.

The guide examines the rental market as it stands in today's credit crunch environment and examines factors such as investment in Buy to Let, the tightening of lending criteria and how to find the right mortgage to suit individual circumstances. The guide also also examines the market place, external influences and the changing demands for rental property as well as giving updates to property investors on legal obligations, tenancy agreements, insurance cover, tax and the mandatory requirements of tenancy deposit protection.

Head of Operations for ARLA Ian Potter said, "In troubled times like these, the health of the private rented sector is vital. This new edition of the very successful ARLA/CML annual guide to investment in the sector will help to keep current investors up-to-date and encourage new and long term investment in a part of the property market that will continue to grow. People need to be housed regardless of the kind of tenure they take. This Guide should be required reading for everyone with an interest in the rental market as it is important to understand current market conditions as well as the complexities of being a landlord today."

Most of us working as buy to let professionals, letting agents and property managers are aware that the consensus is that the Buy to Let industry is well placed to weather the storm of the conditions created by the credit crunch, despite the general tightening of mortgage criteria.

For those letting agents and private landlords who need and demand the very best services and products to protect their property investment make http://www.letsafe.net/ your first port of call. LetSafe provide buy to let professionals accross the uk with some of the best landlord insurance products and services available, all backed by our friendly and knowledgable staff at our UK based call centre. World Class service and excellence come as standard at LetSafe.

Landlords Read This

We always like to try to provide good articles that we find from the internet. Our latest pulled from the world wide web of letting agent news and landlord advice comes direct from ARLA. LetSafe recognise ARLA as one of the leading authorities and portals for landlord advice in the uk buy to let market.

ARLA are currently telling property management professionals through their site that amateur landlords need to exercise caution. This warning comes from ARLA's Ian Potter
Ian Potter as he gives us his thoughts relating to the RICS Residential Lettings Survey for 2008 quarter three.

Ian Potter said, "The rental market is clearly very robust in certain parts of the country but this trend is far from being uniform and, in fact, it could not even be said that it is a standard trend across certain cities. In London, for example, there is a huge discrepancy in the strength of rentals from area-to-area.

Many landlords have entered the lettings market in the last year without perhaps planning to do so and have taken this step out of necessity rather than desire. I would urge these amateur landlords to exercise caution and to research as much as possible as it is a position of no little responsibility. It is imperative that they seek out a regulated agent who is in a position to give them strong and independent advice, and who can protect funds that are being held on their behalf under client money protection schemes".

LetSafe pride themselves on offering landlords, letting agents and property management professionals with the best buy to let insurance products and services available. To find out more visit one of the UK's premiere providers of services and products to Landlords and Letting agents, www.letsafe.net

Landlords dont risk deep regret

As the credit crunch continues to bite in some letting agents are reporting that Landlords are holding back on taking out critical insurance cover for their buy to let properties.

The vast majority of property management professionals will always strongly recommend that landlords have property management insurance in place as well as quality tenant referencing.

Both will give the landlord the best opportunity to ensure that their prospective tenants can not only afford the rent being asked by the landlord but also that in the vent that the worst happens such as the tenants being made redundant that the landlord has insurance such as rent guarantee and rent insurance in place.

In these times of economic difficulty the temptation for landlords will be to try to shave off costs in an attempt to maximise their rental yield. This is clearly a false economy potentially leading to the landlord seeing major financial difficulties associated with having no property management insurance products in place to negate the impact of these possibilities.


At LetSafe we specialise in delivering products and services that allow Landlords to remove high levels of uncertainty when considering letting property. While our clients rank amongst the largest property management professionals and letting agents in the UK we are also protecting an ever increasing number of private landlords.

Find out for yourself why LetSafe has rapidly become the provider of choice for some many letting agents, property management professionals and landlords in the UK.

Visit us today http://www.letsafe.net/

Legal Protection News

It is expected that the OFT will demand greater legal protection for those who choose to sell their homes and then rent them from the new buyer.

As the credit crunch put more homeowners under pressure – many rogue operators offered to buy homes at a massive discount, charge large valuation fees and provide few long-term guarantees that people could remain in their homes.

Ahead of the OFT decision, the National Landlords Association (NLA) launched a voluntary code of practice – following consultation with the mortgage and housing industries and charities.

David Salusbury, NLA chairman, said he was committed to removing cowboys from the entire private-rented sector.

"Sale and rent back is not appropriate in all situations. However, for some families who can no longer afford the costs of home ownership, ethical sale and rent back should certainly be explored," he said."We are under no illusions that some property investors have seen the chance to make a quick buck. However, we firmly believe gambling with people’s homes is unacceptable.

"Changes to the sale and rent back market must begin now."

SHIP (Safe Home Income Plans) – which provides a code of conduct for the equity release industry – is calling on homeowners not to be confused by between sale and rent bank and equity release.
Andrea Rozario, director general of SHIP, said: "Whilst we acknowledge that there may be some ethical sale and rent back companies, we are concerned about the number of providers who are making misleading claims in their advertising.

"We recommend that consumers always take qualified financial advice before making any financial decisions which will ensure they are aware of all of their options."

For more information on property management, renting homes services for landlords and letting agents and a comprehensive view on property management insurance products then visit one of the UK's most trusted providers to landlords, letting agents and property management professionals at http://www.letsafe.net/

Despite the recent economic down turn latest figures show Buy-to-let borrowing rose in September





The latest statistics show that despite the nationalisation of one of the industries largest buy to let lenders, Bradford & Bingley, there was a significant increase in the number of existing and new landlords taking out buy-to-let mortgages in September 2008.



The figures provided by the Spicerhaart Financial Services monthly mortgage survey showed a 58 per cent increase in borrowers opting for a buy to let mortgage in September, this is the biggest rise in over 12 months.



The rise in buy to let borrowing indicated that buy to let property investors remain confident about the prospects of buy to let property investment despite economic turbulence and the withdrawal by some lenders of buy to let mortgages.





Steve Cox, operations director of Spicerhaart Financial Services, said: “There has been a lot of speculation about buy to let running its course and with the demise of Britain’s biggest buy to let borrower, Bradford & Bingley, these views were further exacerbated. However, it is clear that borrowers do not share these views, with experienced landlords seeing this as a prime opportunity to buy properties at a reduced price.



Since July, we have seen a steady increase in the number of new buy to let mortgages being taken out as investors look to take advantage of lower property prices, the continued demand for rented properties and increasing income yields. Buy to let continues to offer good opportunities for investors and the current state of the money markets has resulted in many people believing that properties could well be a safer option than shares or even saving deposits. With house prices already falling by 15 per cent, now is an ideal time to buy an investment property – although investors should be viewing these as long term investments. Investors who buy now will be in a good position once the market improves and demand returns.”



Mr Cox went on to say that despite 85 per cent of buy to let products being removed from the many markets in the past year, that there were still plenty of buy to let mortgage products available to buy to let property investors who hold good-sized deposits, and were looking to buy in established markets.



This shows us that buy to let property investment remains a solid investment for landlords and is likely to remain a strong market in these uncertain times. Most property management professionals would urge landlords and letting agents to make sure they cover themselves with property management insurance. Products that are of note in the property management insurance field include, rent guarantee, rent insurance, landlords buildings insurance, landlords contents insurance and combined buildings and contents insurance for landlords. Most reputable property management insurance providers will be able to provide landlords and letting agents with these products and services but if the landlord or letting agent is seeking a provider of property management insurance then they should turn to the one of the nations leading providers of property management insurance, http://www.letsafe.net/



At LetSafe we provide the UK Property Management Industry with some of the most trusted property management insurance products and property management services available all backed up by our reputation as a leading service provider to the nations growing number of letting agents and property management professionals.



Visit us today and experience the difference for yourself at http://www.letsafe.net/

Good customer service is just a step away

At http://www.letsafe.net/ we are constantly listening to what our clients have to say regarding our property management insurance services and products and the way we do business.

One of the regular items of feedback we have received lately is very positive and concerns our property management insurance products and the way we support the property management industry as a whole through offering great service with carefully placed products designed to assist landlords and letting agents in providing innovative solutions for all landlord and letting agent services and needs.

For those yet to switch their letting business over to http://www.letsafe.net/ we have recently updated our information and media pack. Our property management information pack should be read by anyone thinking of converting their estate agency business into a letting agent business, existing letting agents and landlords.

Our property management information pack includes information that is essential for all property management professionals be they letting agent or landlord working in the buy to let industry, experienced and unexperienced alike.

At http://www.letsafe.net/ we focus on our core aims of providing the property management professional with the best property management insurance products available in the buy to let market today and we pride ourselves on high quality tenant checks and tenant referencing.

We feel that by doing everything we can to offer a fast, reliable tenant checks and tenant referencing we offer property management professionals, letting agents, and landlords with the service they need to do what they do best. At http://www.letsafe.net/ we believe that this means the property management professional and letting agent spending time growing their business without the need to spend extended amounts of time chasing their property management insurance and letting agent services provider.

When it comes to customer service we pride ourselves on being world class. From our UK based call centre our customer service team ensure that you will not be hounded with calls that are irrelevant or simply rapport building.

Our teams are never targeted with the amount of customer service calls they have to make. Why has this proved so succesfull? Simple, when you get a call from LetSafe it is a call that matters to you and our clients who rank amongst the largest letting agents, property management companies and landlords in the country agree.

Visit http://www.letsafe.net/ today and discover for yourself why our way of doing business is the right way for you.

Reproduced from the arla website with comments by the Editor at www.letsafe.net one of the UK's most respected and recognised providers of property management services and property management insurance.


ARLA, the Association of Residential Letting Agents, has welcomed the provisions to stimulate the Private Rented Sector contained in the Rugg Review presented to the government yesterday. The report also contains proposals for licensing, redress and tackling the problems caused by bad landlords and agents.

"The Private Rented Sector has been well served by the small landlord. Without this backbone, the sector would never have been revitalised and the housing market would be having even more problems," commented Ian Potter, ARLA's Head of Operations. "Professor Rugg's comments are very welcome. Stimulating the sector will do much to help us through the difficult times ahead, and at very little cost to the exchequer."

Agreeing with the Professor Rugg's call for licensing, ARLA pointed out that the Association has been calling for the licensing of all letting agents for more than a decade and is pleased that this demand has now been backed up. The Association also pointed out that, together with other professional bodies in the property sector, it already operates independent redress systems which have the interests of the consumer in mind.

"The coupling of light touch regulation of landlords, the licensing of agents and the need to encourage small scale landlords into the market, as called for in the Rugg Review, will, hopefully, bring about a sea change in government assistance for the Private Rented Sector with changes in the fiscal regime for landlords and an acknowledgement that REITS cannot satisfy the needs of the residential rental market," added Ian Potter

Editors comments:

At www.letsafe.net we feel that this report marks an important way forward for the property management industry. As a key provider of landlord and letting agent services in the UK LetSafe are commited to providing the property managent industry with the best possible advice backed up by products and services that remain competitive and provide property professionals with the assurance they need when looking for or sourcing providers to bring them property management insurance products as well as tenant referencing that provides swift turn around times with extensive returns of information to allow the letting agent and landlord to make informed choices regarding who they are letting property to.

Any move to understand and support the property management industry will always be welcomed warmly by the team at LetSafe. We beleive that as the property management market remains one of growth and is certainly robust in these times of economic uncertainty that more support from central government should be directed toward the buy to let market and the volume of landlords, letting agents and property management companies that work within it.

Letting property

If you are a Landlord and you are letting property or a letting agent letting a house or engaged in the residential letting market then you will know that letting properties can give you sleepless nights.

Landlords letting a flat or letting a house are subject to many rules and regulations relating to property management. Most eventualities can be catered for by using LetSafe and their landlord insurance services which specialises in cheap landlord insurance and insurance for landlords generally. Buildings insurance for landlords often comes under the heading of property management insurance which is the generic heading for LetSafe's portfolio of landlord insurance products and landlord insurance services.

Property Management Insurance from LetSafe can come in many varieties including Rent Insurance, Rent Guarantee, eviction insurance, legal insurance, landlord emergency cover, emergency assistance for landlords and a whole host of other property management insurance product types.

LetSafe are also recognised for the high quality they offer with regard to their tenant referencing and tenant checks. With a current resolution time on their tenant referencing and tenant checks of 2 working days (98%) they are recognised within the property management industry and buy to let industry as a whole as being one of the market leaders. In most situations a good tenant referencing service and good tenant checks provide a level of surety to the landlord and property management professional. However things can still go wrong. In these instances having rent insurance, rent guarantee as well as eviction insurance for repossession and any disputes between landlord and tenant can be a god send. legal Insurance and fixed fee eviction services are also different types of property management insurance that are available through LetSafe as a provider of landlord insurance services to the property management market.

LetSafe not only provide a massive range of property management insurance to the property management industry but we also pride ourselves on cheap landlord insurance without compromising on landlord insurance cover. insurance for Landlords is critically important in these economically tight times.

Letting Property and having Property Management Insurance in place for property management professionals is crucial as a landlord and landlords should do their best to ensure that they have safe guarded themselves with landlord insurance for most eventualities. Property Management has never been a cheap exercise but with LetSafe's cheap landlord insurance the sting can be taken out and the landlord can still maintain good yield results while making sure their landlord insurance is in place.

For all your Property Management Insurance needs be you landlord or letting agent visit www.letsafe.net today

Landlords you deserve a good nights sleep

Most landlords will agree that one of the biggest headaches for a landlord can be felt when items in the rental property go wrong or break down. Traditionally insurance cover for items such as the gas boiler breakdown, plumbing and drainage problems, vermin control, home security, lost keys, broken toilet units, and problems with main heating systems as well as in these climate changing times roofing damage can be costly.

These are the type of incidents where the landlord or letting agent is hounded by their tenants as their tenants want the problem with the rental property fixed by the landlord or letting agent and fixed fast. The landlord is obligated to provide these remedies as soon as possible and in some cases where they do not have landlord emergency cover in place it can be a very expensive headache for the landlord.

LetSafe (a provider of landlord services and letting agent services) now offer landlords a landlord emergency cover product that can provide: Landlord insurance cover for boiler breakdown, landlord insurance cover for roofing damage, landlord insurance cover for plumbing and drainage, landlord insurance cover for vermin control, Landlord insurance cover for Home Security, insurance cover for landlords for broken toilet units, landlord insurance cover for lost keys, landlord insurance cover for roof damage.

LetSafe are well trusted and well regarded throughout the letting agent industry as a key provider of landlord insurance services and products as well as letting agent services and products. Their landlord insurance products are competitively priced and offer the landlord insurance that can cover most eventualities that the landlord is likely to need landlord insurance for. Most letting agents are aware of the high quality of cover available from LetSafe landlord insurance services and LetSafe are recognised as a market leader in the field of landlord insurance and letting agent services.

For most landlords who obtain landlord insurance through LetSafe as a key provider to the buy to let market of landlord insurance products they find they can sleep easily at night knowing that with LetSafe's landlord insurance services and LetSafe's new landlord emergency insurance cover that they have premium landlord insurance cover form LetSafe guarding them against landlord emergencies.

In addition to the wide scope of cover available from LetSafe Landlord Insurance services LetSafe also offer the landlord rent insurance through their widely used rent guarantee insurance product. Aimed specifically at landlords LetSafe provide landlord insurance which covers landlords for loss of rent and legal expenses associated with disputes between themselves and their tenants. This rent insurance also known as rent guarantee is recognised by many as the premiere rent insurance product and LetSafe's rent Guarantee is a popular member of LetSafe Landlord Insurance Services and landlord insurance products.

The entire range of landlord insurance products at LetSafe can be found on their website at www.letsafe.net and if you are a landlord looking for landlord insurance then this is the place to go for competitive landlord insurance provided by a trusted buy to let industry leader.

The range of LetSafe landlord insurance services is diverse and is geared up to cater for most landlord insurance needs and landlord insurance requirements. Examples of LetSafe's landlord insurance include:

Landlord emergency insurance, landlords buildings and contents insurance, Landlord contents insurance, Landlord buildings insurance, Landlord rent insurance, rent guarantee, Emergency breakdown cover for landlords, and legal insurance for landlords to name a few landlord insurance products from LetSafe Landlord Insurance Services.

Most of the eventualities that LetSafe Landlord Insurance services cover the landlord for are not avoided by fantastic tenant referencing or by carefully inspecting the quality of your tenants by checking tenants thoroughly. Most tenant checks cant give the landlord insurance for flood for example. However where rent insurance or rent guarantee is concerned tenant check and tenant referencing for landlords is absolutely critical.

The vast majority of rent insurance and rent guarantee products available to the UK Buy to Let market form letting agent providers and landlord service providers will require high quality tenant referencing and tenant checks to be carried out. It is extremely rare that tenant credit checks on their own are acceptable to any organisation that offers rent insurance and rent guarantee and in most cases rent insurance and rent guarantee is only available to landlords who have decided to take out rent insurance or rent guarantee with good quality full tenant referencing and tenant checks being in place or conducted through the rent insurance and rent guarantee provider.

LetSafe do everything they can to ensure their landlord services and letting agent services are extensive enough to give the landlord the best chance at having tenants that will conduct the duration of the tenancy agreement as intended. Even when tenants are put under the microscope of tenant checks and tenant referencing, the worst can still happen as life often throws us curve balls. When the landlord or tenant faces the unexpected the landlord insurance products such as rent insurance and rent guarantee from LetSafe Landlord Insurance Services are a welcome umbrella of landlord insurance cover that is just one of the comprehensive insurance for landlords available from LetSafe insurance for landlords.

If you need landlord insurance then simply visit LetSafe today at www.letsafe.net

Low prices make happy landlords

Regeneration areas in major city centres have suffered a slump in property prices.

Research carried out for the BBC showed that the Birmingham canal area and Deansgate in Manchester were among the worst affected.

Buy to let landlord Murray McGregor said that he would have difficulty selling flats in the current economic climate.

Although bad news for the owner occupier market this current downturn in housing prices can be the green light for many buy to let proffessionals to expand their portfolio of rental property.

A great many landlords who made hay during the property boom of the late nineties and early to mid years of the first decade in the new millenium have situated themselves with solid funds and are in the enviable position of being able to buy properties at cut down prices. Bricks and mortar have always been a good investment and the long term rental property proffessional who has managed to grow funds are in prime position to take advantage of low property prices to increase their rental property portfolio.

Landlords and Letting agents are sure to continue to thrive as more and more tenants come on to the market and keep the rental property market bouyant.

One thing is for sure LetSafe will allways offer competitive landlord help, landlord advice and letting agent products and services to the UK Letting Agent and UK Landlord sector.

Visit us today for all your landlord needs and letting agent needs. www.letsafe.net

Buy to Let stays strong

Its official

BUY TO LET RENTAL PROPERTY BOOMS OVER LAST DECADE

In the last decade buy-to-let property has taken the UK property market by storm. According to the Council of Mortgage Lenders, Buy to Let now represents approximately 10% of the UK residential housing market having grown from virtually nothing since 1997.

Statistics show that by the end of 2006, there were 850,000 buy-to-let mortgages outstanding, worth £94.8 billion, from only 28,700 less than ten years ago, nearly a 30 fold increase.

As a whole the UK rental property market has seen a massive boom over the last ten years despite periods within this time frame that have seen property prices in a large majority of the UK increasing by up to 200%. Low interest rates during this time frame have obviously played been key in pushing the property market to its highs.

Although in the current time Interest rates remain low compared to the mid 90's were interest rates in excess of 14% were recorded, (we have seen interest rates on mortgage borrowing as low as 6% in 1997), mortgage availability has diminished as globally, financial institutions bear the pain of the sub prime lending collapse which we have all come to know as the credit crunch. However, a percentage of mid sized property portfolios were purchased before the high house prices and they continue to offer the landlord good return on investment.

The property rental market in the UK was aided by the Labour Governments move to remove restrictions to the Assured Shorthold Tenancy agreement (AST) in the early days of the Labour government. Making letting property easier and signalling to the market that the Labour Government was not going to bring back the rent controls abandoned by the Tories.

The UK still has one of the smallest private rented sectors amongst the world’s industrialised nations, with the US having 32% of the residential market in rented housing and Germany a staggering 48%.

Stuart Law, Managing Director of property investment specialist Assetz commented on the performance of rental property versus the stock market during the Blair era:“Property has massively outperformed the stock market over the Blair years, generating huge returns for UK investors. With no gearing, property is up 186% from 1994 to end of 2006, while the stock market (FTSE 100) is up just 103% over the same period.“If property was purchased with a 15% deposit, then the results are stunning. Property has returned 1241% capital growth - 12.4 times your money as profit, while shares are up just 103% - twice your money.“Looking forward, I would expect ungeared property to roughly equal the stock market, but with less volatility. Over the next ten years the stock market is likely to be up around 115% (8% per annum), whereas ungeared property will be around the same in the region of 8% per annum. “However, geared buy to let investment is set to massively outperform equities again, but we are likely to see greater fluctuations in the short term. Geared buy-to-let property bought today with a 15% deposit and 85% loan would return 7.7 times the original cash deposit investment as profit (773% profit) on the basis of 8% growth per annum."

Mr Law continued:

“Property would only have to rise by 1.6% a year over the next 10 years to produce the same returns as equities before costs – something most investors think is very likely, given the supply and demand imbalance of housing in the UK today and for the foreseeable future.”“Property investment with large borrowings carries greater short term risk than just buying equities with no borrowings. However, in the long term investors are comfortable that in prime locations in the UK, there is a limit on new development and therefore there is only one way for prices to go over the next ten to 20 years. ”As long as investors take this long term view and do not over-extend themselves, they should do very well in years to come.”

Despite the current economic downturn landlords will find themselves with good portfolios of investment property which traditionally over time will see their initial investments returned. Letting agents are sure to see competition for landlord's buy to let rental properties increase as less mortgages are made available and more prospective tenants come on to the market looking for a rental property to dwell in. Landlords who have procured a decent portfolio of rental properties are sure to be well placed to ride out the economic storm providing they have bought wisely and can maintain good return yields on their investment property and have secured their income from their buy to let property with decent landlord insurance such as rent insurance (also known as rent guarantee) and other landlord products and services designed to maximise their return while ensuring any eventualities that would traditionally cause large financial impacts are covered.

For all your landlord services, landlord help and landlord advice visit http://www.letsafe.net/ today

Survival of the fittest?

The damaging effects of the credit crunch on the buy-to-let market were finally brought clearly into focus as the landlord sector's reputed third-largest lender, Paragon, revealed it had been forced to draw up provisional plans for an emergency rights issue.

Its story is a very similar one to the tale of Northern Rock. Like the Newcastle-based bank, Paragon's business model relies on being able to raise money in the credit markets. Hence, as it has become harder to get its hands on capital through the traditional routes in recent months, it has been cornered into considering other options. Unlike Northern Rock, however, Paragon does not have a savings book – and will not be granted the luxury of a Government bail-out – leaving it more exposed as the credit crunch has dragged on.

Yesterday's news of a potential right's issue confirmed investors' worst fears, promptly wiping 39 per cent off the share price and leaving the stock worth around a quarter of the value it held when the credit crisis began in August.

But do the financial woes of one of Britain's largest buy-to-let lenders mean that the party is finally over for private landlords?

Certainly it is becoming much harder for landlords to get their hands on new loans. With the sector's third-largest player, Paragon, and fourth-largest, Northern Rock, having taken a big step back from the market, there is far less capacity available in the buy-to-let arena. The lenders that are left are tightening their criteria.

It's certainly not surprising that organisations such as Paragon who need to obtain finance to support a mortgage book are going to have serious problems. However the problems faced by Paragon shouldn't be seen as a negative for the entire landlord industry and buy-to-let market. Over the recent months, there have been very good gains that investor landlords have been able to look at as an on paper profit, if not to actually realise one that translates directly into their landlord investor bank statements. For those landlords already in the market, they may find that the uplift will not be as dramatic but the balance between rent and the cost of borrowing will improve a bit.

Perhaps this is why LetSafe's Rent Insurance and Rent Guarantee product remains so popular with UK landlords.

Find out more at http://www.letsafe.net/

The latest letting news.

At LetSafe we always strive to bring you the latest letting news to make sure you are kept up to date with the latest developments in the buy to let market and how changes in the UK rental property market may impact you as a letting agent or landlord.



The biggest thing over the last year or so that has had a dramatic effect on the buy to let industry has been the economic climate. In fact it is the one dominating factor that affects most aspects of life in the UK and the world at the moment for the majority of the population.



Buy to let and rental property has long been an oasis in these troubled times and with more banks amalgamating to survive and to try to provide the money markets with a sense of security in once unassailable brands, the landscape with regard to mortgage lending and the ability for landlords to purchase new properties has changed greatly.



More and more landlords and letting agents are seeing an up turn in the number of landlords stipulating that tenants must be able to pass their tenant referencing and tenant checks to enable any rental to come with rent guarantee. It is no wonder that buy to let professionals and rental property landlords see this as a sure way to safe guard themselves against lifes hurdles when thinking about their prospective tenants ability to meet their rental obligations when signing up to a rental agreement.



As the economy slows down we expect to see more landlords demanding rent guarantee otherwise known as rent insurance on their rental properties as the confidence in prospective tenants to maintain their rental payments in such times is at an all time low.



Landlords and letting agents are well aware of the benefits of rent guarantee and at LetSafe we offer a host of products aimed at providing landlords and letting agents client landlords the opportunity to reduce the unease with which they view these factors with less worry and increased confidence.



To find out more about just how LetSafe can help you as a landlord or letting agent guarantee rent from your tenants contact us today:



www.letsafe.net

Tenant Checks Why?

With the economic climate as it is in the UK right now checking tenants and making sure that landlords and letting agents take out good quality tenant checks and tenant referencing has never been as important as it is now.

At LetSafe we take every measure we can to ensure that when you receive a completed tenant check form from us be it a tenant credit check, or full tenant check that we have done everything we can to make sure your tenant check has been completed thoroughly. Our tenant checks and our full tenant referencing service is a comprehensive service giving landlords and letting agents the information they need to rent property with as much assurance as possible that the tenant is of good calibre.

No tenant check or tenant reference can guarantee against the future so it is worth noting that most landlords now require their tenants to pass tenant checks and tenant referencing to the standards required by underwriters of rent guarantee products.

LetSafe complete a vast amount of tenant checks daily and our full tenant reference service has never been more popular with an increasing number of landlords and letting agents opting for the full tenant check and the detail that a full tenant reference gives them. With LetSafe you not only get great service you get a peace of mind that comes with employing the services of one of the buy to let industries most trusted tenant check and tenant reference service providers.

Our tenant referencing is carried out from our UK based call centre and our tenant check and tenant referencing team have a large, extensive volume of experience in the field of tenant checks and full tenant referencing.

Sometimes speed is the issue when landlords and letting agents want their tenant reference and tenant checks back fast to allow the tenant to move into their rental property in a speedy manner. LetSafe are currently returning 98% of their tenant referencing within 2 working days which is one of the best returns in the tenant check and tenant referencing industry as well as the rental property and buy to let industry as a whole.

We take great pride in our tenant referencing and the way we conduct our tenant checks and we constantly strive to deliver a rapid turn around when you send your tenant checks and tenant references to us at LetSafe.

You can review our services by visiting http://www.letsafe.net/ today and reading more by viewing the relevant links on tenant referencing and tenant checks which will give you more in depth information about how we do our tenant checks and tenant referencing.

Our world class service and competitive pricing is what makes LetSafe the landlord and letting agent industry provider of choice when it comes to landlord services, landlord products, letting agent services and letting agent products and general support for the buy to let industry.

See for yourself by hitting the link to http://www.letsafe.net/ and discover why so many landlords and letting agents are changing their suppliers to LetSafe a leading and trusted provider of tenant referencing and tenant checks and buy to let services for the landlord and letting agent industry in the UK

http://www.letsafe.net/ a provider of rent guarantee, landlord insurance, landlord building insurance, landlord contents insurance, landlord emergency cover, fixed fee EPC, energy performance certificates, eviction services, fixed fee eviction services, legal cover for landlords, tenant referencing, tenant checks, tenant credit checks, tenant employment checks, tenant landlord referencing, contents insurance for tenants, buy to let insurance, property rental services, property rental insurance, landlord buildings and contents insurance and more.

visit us to day for all your landlord and letting agent needs at http://www.letsafe.net/