LetSafe (UK) Ltd

2008-12-24T03:06:00.000-08:00

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

2008-12-18T06:18:00.000-08:00

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

2008-12-03T05:28:00.000-08:00

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

2008-11-26T08:52:00.000-08:00

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

2008-11-20T03:32:00.000-08:00

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

2008-11-12T02:40:00.000-08:00

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

2008-11-05T09:23:00.000-08:00

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/

2008-10-31T03:09:00.000-07:00

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

2008-10-30T05:01:00.001-07:00

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.

2008-10-24T01:03:00.000-07:00

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

2008-10-17T02:51:00.000-07:00

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

2008-10-16T01:21:00.000-07:00

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 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

2008-10-15T08:58:00.000-07:00

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

2008-10-10T05:12:00.001-07:00

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?

2008-10-08T06:23:00.000-07:00

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.

2008-10-03T04:21:00.000-07:00

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?

2008-10-02T01:19:00.001-07:00

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/

Services for Landlords & Letting Agents

2008-10-01T01:52:00.000-07:00

Services for landlords and letting agents come in a wide variety of types. The most recognisable to most landlords and letting agents who would have a bit of knowledge about the buy to let market would be tenant referencing (where any tenant approaching the landlord or letting agent is ran through a series of checks, also known as tenant checks), rent guarantee, Landlord Insurance, tenants insurance and emergency services. Some services are less well known to the buy to let market such as a service to evict tenants, fixed fee tenant eviction or tenant eviction, emergency cover for landlords, and most recently fixed fee energy performance certificates otherwise known as EPC's.

Now that's just the tip of the iceberg, if you visit http://www.letsafe.net/ you will see a whole host of landlord services and letting agent services as well as landlord products and letting agent products which cover a wide spectrum of needs that the landlord and letting agent would have in the uk buy to let market.

http://www.letsafe.net/ also includes helpful advice for letting agents, landlords and tenants and their free landlord advice section can prove useful for experienced landlords as well as landlords or letting agents who may be new to the buy to let industry as in the case of estate agents who are converting to letting agent status or wily property investors who see the buy to let market as a good investment in these uncertain economic times.

Anyone with experience in rental property will understand just how crucial it is to find a provider of landlord services, landlord products, letting agent services and letting agent products that you can trust and are also competitively priced. At http://www.letsafe.net/ we aim to do just that, provide UK landlords and UK letting agents with a world class service for their letting agent and landlord needs. At http://www.letsafe.net/ we take every care to ensure that we do everything we can to support your buy to let business and we are recognised as a market leader in our field. Our business has grown from referrals based on competitive prices and great service to all our clients. If you are a big or a small landlord or letting agent LetSafe offer the same level of care and attention to your letting agent and landlord needs that sees our clients some of whom rank amongst the biggest letting agents and private landlords in the UK remain loyal to the LetSafe way of doing business.

The buy to let and rental market for the UK Landlord and UK Letting agent is a rapidly changing environment and LetSafe take every measure to ensure that we adapt and create solutions for your needs so you can run your buy to let business safe in the knowledge that you have a trusted landlord service and letting agent service provider behind you with letting agent and landlord products that cover you every step of the way.

LetSafe has grown since we planted those early acorns and the company continues its never ending quest to improve its letting agent support products, services and landlord products and services. Tenants can also be assured of great service should they need LetSafe's help as we offer tenants contents insurance and our insurance for tenants is always competitively priced and always backed with the service you expect from LetSafe as one of the buy to let industries most trusted companies.

We hope you take time to visit us today at http://www.letsafe.net/ and view our wide range of letting agent support products and landlord services and landlord insurance products all designed and tailored specifically for the landlord and letting agent in the UK buy to let market.

Check back soon for more news on the buy to let market from http://www.letsafe.net/

Investment Landlords

2008-09-30T02:56:00.000-07:00

According to the latest ARLA report, Investment landlords in the Private Rented Sector continue to remain calm in the face of the current economic situation. Over three quarters of landlords who were questioned for the Review, published Monday 29 September, will not sell their investments because of falling house prices. Instead, they expect to keep their property portfolios for an average of over 16 years. A further quarter intend to hold their investments for more than 20 years.

The Third Quarter Review shows that the average rate of return over five years on residential rental property bought outright averages 10.92%. For a geared investment with a Loan to Value ratio of 75%, the average return is 21.07%. Portfolio landlords carry an across-the-board Loan to Value ratio of only 57.3%. When making new acquisitions, they expect their Loans to Value to be about 70%.

Four out of ten of those surveyed expect to buy property over the next twelve months.

Ian Potter, ARLA's Head of Operations, quoted:

"These figures show that investors are still intending to make use of the availability of Buy to Let mortgages and that the profile of the typical Buy to Let investor has not changed since ARLA first launched Buy to Let following the last serious downturn. The average investor is cautious, mature and aims to support the Private Rented Sector for the long term by looking for the right property in the right market." According to the latest surveys that form the basis for the Review and Index, migrants from the new European Union countries continue to make an impact on the rental market.

Said Ian Potter, "Before the credit crunch, ARLA was forecasting sustained growth in the rental market, driven by a variety of domestic demographic factors. It is very clear that without the support of the Buy to Let investor, the sector would be seeing some very serious shortfalls in the supply of housing to rent in some areas given the downturn in the housing market." However, letting agents report they are seeing an increase in rental property coming onto the market because it cannot be sold.

Overall, this has been mainly houses rather than flats, except in London where the reverse is true.The Third Quarter Review and Index is based on the responses from 453 letting offices and 494 investment landlords during August and September.

It is the largest independent quarterly survey of its kind for the Private Rented Sector .

The Review and Index is available on www.arla.co.ukARLA, the Association of Residential Letting Agents, is the letting and residential management division of the National Federation of Property Professionals.

Letting Agents and Landlords visit us today and get the best out of your business: www.letsafe.net

Time to pull the rug?

2008-09-26T08:35:00.000-07:00

Following on from the previous blogs regarding tenant eviction and evicting tenants it is worth noting that Mike Summerhayes director of Legal services at LetSafe is well equiped to pursue those lines of enquiry on your behalf and take quick effective action to evict tenants if required.

With LetSafe you can take up their fixed fee eviction service to evict tenants. If tenants aren't paying their rent or you need to evict tenants for other reasons then you can contact us via our website http://www.letsafe.net/ where you will be able to read just what we can do to evict bad tenants on your behalf.

Our service is fast, professional and competitively priced.

Visit us today: http://www.letsfae.net/ for all your landlord and letting agent needs.

King of The Housing Market

2008-09-25T01:25:00.000-07:00

The number of buy to let landlords investing in the UK property market looks set to rocket in the future, a new report by Mintel suggests.

According to Mintel's research, one million homeowners say they are planning to invest in the buy to let market within the next three years.

If this does happen then reports suggest that the current number of landlords in the UK rental market will double by 2010, with further expansion predicted by 2011. With the latest EU reports detailing the volume of the UK population growing massively (see previous blog) we can clearly see that the supply will be needed, especially if the current squeeze on mortgage application acceptances is anything to go by.

Paul Davies, MIntel senior financial analyst commented:

"It is clear that these days, buy to let is no longer the exclusive domain of professional portfolio landlords. Increasingly property owners are seeing the benefits of investing in bricks and mortar and often regard the second homes market as a good alternative means of saving for retirement. As long as these trends continue, future growth in this market should be guaranteed."

It is easy to look at the current economic climate and see why the buy to let market is booming right now. Various factors and news we are bombarded with on a daily basis through the media keep reiterating that financial institutions (some of the largest in the world) are facing challenging times themselves. With recent massive mergers and bail outs on a global canvas the economic down turn shows no sign of abating. This means simply that the money made available to prospective home buyers does not look like it will be available on anywhere near the same scale again. Now super banks will take centre stage when we eventually see the economic climate turn once again as it seems to do every 20 years or so.

The buy to let market will continue to flourish for many reasons, tenants inability to obtain a mortgage, their lack of confidence in bricks and mortar as an investment, the supply of increased rental housing as landlords who have kept money back continue to grow their portfolios, the explosion predicted in the UK population and many many more micro economic factors that blend with the overall chaos to bring us to a point where we see the landlord becoming king of the housing market.

Whatever the future holds for landlords and letting agents LetSafe will be making sure they watch and deliver on the needs of this rapidly changing market.

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

Evicing Tenants - what do you do when the worst happens?

2008-09-24T08:51:00.000-07:00

Evict Tenants or evicting tenants. Not a thought anyone relishes as it means that you are traditionaly looking at an expensive route of getting your property back so you can start getting that precious rent back in to your buy to let business. When landlords evict tenants there are legally required actions you have to take.

Most of the ways to evict tenants when the worst happens can be found by using this link which details the law regarding evicting tenants.

evict tenants

Tenant Eviction

Tenant Eviction services are tricky waters to navigate if you are a novice and while there are ways to "do it yourself" the best way and most effective way to evict tenants is well recognised as appointing an eviction services provider such as LetSafe who offer a fixed fee eviction service.

Most landlords who have taken out a good rent guarantee product will usually find themselves with Legal Cover included, however for those that do not have this or did not take this up at the time then LetSafe's fixed fee evition services which you can use to evict tenants is a must.

Population explosion take heed and prepare

2008-09-23T04:48:00.000-07:00

The UK population is set to become the largest in the European Union, according to a report.
It is expected to increase from its current figure of 61 million to almost 77 million in 2060 - a rise of 25%.

This would make it the largest population in the EU, ahead of the projections for France (72 million) and Germany (71 million). The EU's statistical office Eurostat also predicts the EU population will be 506m in 2060, up from 495m in 2008.

Shadow home secretary Dominic Grieve said the figures showed it was "essential we develop a coherent strategy to deal with population growth".

This can only mean a bigger demand for housing as the population in the UK grows. As a high percentage of this growth is based on migratory persons it is a sure fire bet that the buy to let industry in the UK will continue to thrive as time moves on.

Landlords and Letting agents will need to ensure they are up to speed with the most recent legislation surrounding their rental property and the dynamics generally of the buy to let market and it's intricasies.

Most Landlords and Letting agents will continue to use companies like LetSafe to maintain their position as leaders in the buy to let market in the face of the changing climate. This gives landlords and letting agents every opportunity to convert the population increase into a profitable increase.

The future for lettings and rental property seems to be secure in face of the recent figures and while the housing market falls prey to the fortunes of various financial institutions ability to provide the market with mortgages the buy to let market stands firm.

Landlords and Letting Agents make sure you are future proof join the buy to let provider of choice, visit www.letsafe.net today.

Landlords see auctions as a bargain

2008-09-22T03:30:00.000-07:00

ARE property auctions a viable alternative to Landlords in the current economic climate?

According to a new survey, just over a third of people in the industry would recommend that vendors consider auctioning their properties. Regionally, responses were varied with between 57 and 71 per cent of the respondents (predominantly) in the south of England saying they would recommend auctioning properties as an alternative to the traditional selling route. In the South West, North West and North of England less than 25 per cent of said they would recommend an auction to people looking to sell their home. People were also asked if over the past six months they had noticed an increase in properties going to auction. Nationally, just under 40 per cent said that they had seen an increase with Wales reporting the greatest rise, followed by East Anglia and Greater London.

The North and North West regions reported that auctions were up by around a third compared to figures six months ago. Of those who had seen a rise in the number of properties in their area that went to auction, 46 per cent said it had been an increase of less than 10 per cent.

As far as Landlords are concerned buying at auction can not only avoid last minute hitches but also offers some bargain properties to add to their buy to let portfolio. When the auction ends and the hammer falls, the contract is legal and binding and the person purchasing has to pay a 10 per cent deposit with the balance of the payment usually due within 28 days.

This avoids the uncertain waters of buying and selling property in the traditional way and also greatly reduces the chances of the seller pulling out.

As the continued squeeze of the credit crunch and the current economic climate bite, more Landlords are seeing the auction route as a way to get themselves reduced price properties in a faster manner than the traditional estate agent route. The lower a Landlord can get a property for the better their chances of maintaing a margin between monthly cost and rental yield as the financial climate worsens and margins reduce due to simple supply and demand economics.

We expect the auction route to grow over the next few months as the rental market continues to flourish in face of ever decreasing supply of mortage arrangements.

Visit www.letsafe.net today for all your buy to let needs.

Lettings consistently rise

2008-09-18T04:41:00.001-07:00

Reproduced from the times online

As house prices fall and the mortgage drought prevents people from buying, frustrated homeowners are choosing to let their properties rather than sell them at a discount, and are renting other homes elsewhere.

Figures this week from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) indicate that the number of people letting their properties has increased at its fastest rate since the survey began in 1998. “Established investors have been reaping the benefits of the housing downturn for some time,” explains James Scott-Lee, a spokesman for RICS.

“They will continue to do so in the short term. However, ever-increasing supply could have an impact on rental growth as tenant options increase.” The effect of the new supply of homes on rent is particularly strong in London. Knight Frank reports that tenant demand is up 25 per cent in a year, but the supply of homes has increased by 35 per cent. Liam Bailey, its head of research, predicts that rents in London, which had been rising by as much as 7.6per cent in prime postcodes in the year to June, will drop 10per cent this year.

Savills reports that rents have already fallen in some postcodes, and are down 10 per cent already in Docklands, an area of high supply. Cluttons reports that rents are down 5 per cent in South Kensington, Chelsea and Knightsbridge.

Related Links
http://www.letsafe.net/
Why sitting tenants can be a great investment
The rise of the accidental landlord

The prediction of falling rents comes just as buy-to-let investors face difficulty in securing competitive mortgage deals and are grappling with more complex and costly tenancy laws. The Government already requires landlords to protect tenants' deposits, and from October energy performance certificates on rental properties will be compulsory. The Law Commission delivered final recommendations to Parliament this month on proposed buy-to-let reform, which would require property inspections and membership of a self-regulation scheme. Should they be adopted, the new rules may be made compulsory as early as next year.

Figures from moneysupermarket.com show that the number of buy-to-let mortgages available has fallen in the past year from 4,384 to 307. Those left require larger deposits and charge increased interest rates. This means that landlords are under pressure to increase rents to counter the shortfall. Lynsey Sweales, a director of the mortgage broker The Money Centre, says: “New mortgage deals are being done, but these are by the savvy landlords who have put money away to use as a cushion for these hard times.”

When The Money Centre analysed the buy-to-let market, 82 per cent of the investors surveyed said that they would keep their existing properties. And the more experienced landlords see buying opportunities even in these conditions: 16 per cent are in the process of purchasing further buy-to-let property; for investors who already own more than 20 properties, the figure is 40 per cent.
'Know your area'

Stephanie Traynor, pictured, entered the buy-to-let market six years ago. “I used to run my own business and didn't have a pension,” she admits. “The business collapsed and I had little money to show for it.” She then went to work in sales and earned some handsome commissions, which she decided to invest in property. “I bought four properties and sold one on very quickly at a good profit.”

All three of Traynor's properties are studios or one-bedroom flats, which she finds an easy letting option, in the area around Eastbourne and Brighton. She admits that she has been lucky as there has never been a time when they were empty. One was bought with a sitting tenant, a disabled man, who is still in the property. Traynor is not looking to expand her portfolio, however. “I'm happy with the three I have got,” she says.
She advises new landlords to have realistic expectations and to keep to an area that they know well. “Try and get as much information on the area and type of property you are looking to invest in,” she suggests.
“There is also the extra burden of a lot of new legislation for landlords, which you need to keep a handle on.”
'Treat it like a business'

Michael McVeigh has played the buy-to-let market very well. He bought his first property four years ago with the aid of his mother, Kathleen, who saw it as a chance to supplement her pension. They clubbed together and bought another four properties, each time with a 15per cent deposit. Property prices were then escalating and McVeigh wisely chose to take out equity in the property at various intervals by remortgaging and putting the money in the bank to help to cover any rental voids.

“I only invested in an area I know very well - Rotherham in South Yorkshire - and chose to buy houses close to a very good comprehensive school, which has attracted families as tenants, who tend to stay longer,” he says.
He now owns 21 buy-to-let properties and is in the process of buying three more. “Newer landlords are finding it difficult to finance buying property, so competition is reduced,” he says.

His advice to new landlords is to treat buy-to-let like a business. “It isn't like other investments, it is very hands-on. There will be ups as well as downs, but you really have to be in it for the long term. Property investment is no longer a get-rich-quick scheme.”

for all your buy to let, landlord and letting agent needs visit LetSafe today.

Top Tips for Landlords from LetSafe

2008-09-18T04:41:00.000-07:00

Set aside money for the unexpected - such as a void period in rent or a boiler breaking down or get rent guarantee and emergency services cover for landlords to cover these eventualities.

Keep an open mind about what and where to buy. Talk to as many experienced landlords as you can and learn from their mistakes and successes.

Think carefully before buying a property with any maintenance issues. You might save buying, but any savings may be lost while you're renovating or improving the property.

Don't indulge your own taste in when designing the style of the interior or exterior of the property as this will restrict its appeal. try to keep it neutral. Remember tenants won't normaly redecorate.

Beware of companies offering cheap conveyancing. If a few pounds saved on conveyancing means a slow service, you may lose the property. Fast and efficient is what you want.

Don't skimp by finishing your buy-to-let property with second-hand furnishings, fixtures and fittings. If they don't meet health and safety regulations, you could find yourself in trouble and you may be buying twice.

Be aware of the specialist insurance you need. LetSafe can cover you for almost any eventuality as a landlord. Standard domestic insurance policies do not cover many of the eventualities that landlords face.

Think carefully before leaving the management of your property to relatives or friends. Buy-to-let properties often need experienced management.

Cherish the relationship you have with your tenants. They are after all your source of income. Give them plenty of notice before you visit and make sure maintenance problems are addressed quickly. If you have emergency landlord cover from LetSafe you will be able to call an emergency line 24 hours a day 365 days of the year. Remember tenants are the essential part of your business plan and the relationship should be treated with the importance it deserves.

We trust that these easy, quick tips will help anyone out there looking into becoming a landlord and becoming part of the UK Buy to Let industry.

For all your landlord needs visit LetSafe today:

www.letsafe.net

Danger for landlords

2008-09-16T03:11:00.000-07:00

Recent research from the UK Insurance industry showed that current levels of tenants slipping into rental arrears are on the rise. 13 per cent of tenants have gone into arrears in the past three months. In addition to this, over 50 per cent of tenants are concerned about their ability to pay their rent going forward.

This news adds further misery to the UK mortgage market as buy to let owners were left financially strapped by a growing number of tenants who failed to pay rent.

Its findings showed that 95 per cent of tenants in privately rented accommodation had no kind of income protection in place to assist them if their financial situation changed due to unemployment, critical illness etc. This was of concern after recent statistics showed jobless levels in the UK were on the rise and redundancies were increasingly hitting the headlines.

Landlords and Letting Agents would be well advised to ensure that they have rent guarantee in place for their buy to let property portfolio. Letting agents should also advise their landlords to ensure they use a quality referencing service and also advise their landlords to get rent guarantee.

Stay ahead of the buy to let game, visit LetSafe today. www.letsafe.net

2008-09-15T02:33:00.000-07:00

The signs are becoming clearer in the UK Housing market and letting market as a growing number of estate agents continue to adapt to the lack of mortgage availability and the impact this has had on the current financial capabilities of a growing number of people unable to buy a home. A recent article appearing on the estate agent news website, made the point clearly as results of recent RICS surveys came in.

THE rental market is booming as housing sales diminish, according to the latest lettings survey from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors.

New instructions to let in July increased at the fastest pace in the survey’s history as many would-be-sellers found that becoming a landlord is a better option than selling in the current climate.

Forty three per cent more chartered surveyors — members of the RICS — reported a rise than a fall in landlord instructions compared to 30 per cent in the previous quarter.

Equally, both new instructions to let houses and flats increased at the fastest pace in the survey’s history with 47 per cent and 39 per cent more surveyors respectively reporting a rise than a fall. According to the RICS, surveyors report that frustrated vendors have been placing their property in the market to let as they have been unable to agree sales due to a lack of demand in the housing market. Thirty seven per cent more members reported a rise than a fall in tenant lettings, up from 30 per cent in the last quarter. Significantly, demand for family homes remains stronger than for flats, according to the report.

With many would-be buyers forced to rent as the route to mortgage finance has been blocked, 43 per cent more chartered surveyors reported a rise than a fall in demand for houses compared to 34 per cent who reported a rise in demand for flats. Rents have continued to rise while house prices fall, driving gross yields upwards, say the RICS. Rising profits have kept landlords committed to the market. The proportion of landlords opting to sell at the expiry of the tenant lease fell to 2.1 per cent, the lowest level on record from 4.2 per cent.

Rental expectations fell slightly with some surveyors expecting over-supply to push rents downwards in the next quarter.

James Scott-Lee, chairman of Chancellors Estate Agents, speaking on behalf of the RICS, said:

“The lettings market is booming with many vendors opting to rent their property while sales in the housing market continue to dry up. Many are willing to ‘hold’ and await the return of capital appreciation. Becoming a landlord is now an increasingly profitable option with rising rents and yields offering good returns. Established investors have been reaping the benefits of the housing down turn for sometime and will continue to do so in the short term."

This article has been reproduced in part from estate agency news.co.uk

Estate agents looking to transform their current fortunes and are looking to implement a letting department should contact LetSafe.

The word on LetSafe is.....Great

2008-09-12T04:39:00.000-07:00

Trawling the net as we do from time to time to check our rankings on the world wide web, and to see how the world at large is perceiving us LetSafe notice from time to time some real gems of information that make all our efforts to ensure our landlords and letting agents are king seem worth while.

Here are a few snippets of information and views on LetSafe gained from Yahoo, Google, & MSN

"I Must say that I am VERY pleased with the personal service you provide that reflects the same values as M*** Lettings and Management." L.B., MARLA, Proprietor.

"During my career in lettings I have used a number of referencing companies and Letsafe are the first that I have felt have gone out of their way to provide such a thorough and personal service.

The Letsafe team have been extremely helpful in what is now a very busy market and I am sure that it is with their help that we have been able to flourish despite the pressure of an ever increasing number of Lets. I would be happy to recommend Letsafe to any Estate Agent or Landlord". E.K. Senior Lettings Consultant

"Having been in the Lettings business for almost 10 years now we used several other referencing companies before we found LetSafe. We have used LetSafe for the last 3 years and keep our business with them because they are always friendly and helpful, easy to contact, know their products well and react immediately when we call them for advice or follow ups. I whole heartedly recommend LetSafe to anyone who is dissatisfied with their current company or just starting up in business. I wish I’d found LetSafe when we started, they make the whole process as easy as possible for us and they are such a pleasure to deal with." A.P. Lettings Director.

In addition to the massive weight of professional letting agents advocating LetSafe as the best bet for a good balance between service and cost we have noticed this which we are very proud to be mentioned in:

http://my1ststepsasalandlady.blogspot.com/

If you want more reasons why you should bring your business over to LetSafe, then visit us today and find out for yourself why we our clients consider us to be the best providers of services and products to the UK buy to let market, it's landlords and it's letting and managing agents.

www.letsafe.net

EPC's are you prepared to gamble?

2008-09-11T06:01:00.000-07:00

There has been some confusion floating around the Internet lately regarding what the stand point is on Energy Performance Certificates.

It' is fair to say that the main area of confusion seems to lie squarely in the estate agent market.

However as a growing majority of estate agents have branches that include letting departments it is becoming obvious that information that is not verified or "rubber stamped" by the government is going out to the wider field and causing a dangerous environment of confusion and in some cases delivering dis-information.

LetSafe received a recent newsletter via one of our clients from an online estate agent news source, which reads as follows:

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"EPCs October 1 deadline: heat comes off agents

Wednesday 10th September 2008Estate agents have exactly three weeks to prepare Energy Performance Certificates for homes on the market that pre-dated Home Information Packs. But the heat is off. Yesterday (Tuesday), in what looked suspiciously like a U-turn, new Regulations were rushed before Parliament. updating EPC requirements, in a clear bid to avoid the debacle that would have ensued if the Government had insisted EPCS on hundreds of thousands of properties in the next three weeks.The new Regulations effectively phase in EPCs for commercial buildings over three months and also water down the requirements for domestic EPCs.The Regulations themselves are not likely to be available until the end of this week but we believe the following guidance to be correct.

From Wednesday, October 1, the EPC regime will affect all homes for sale, all rental homes where there is a new rental agreement and all commercial buildings of any size.

By October 1, all public buildings will also need to have a Display Energy Certificate.As far as homes are concerned, all domestic properties on the market, including those without HIPs, should have EPCs. But note, the word is effectively ‘should’, rather than ‘must’.

Sellers, or their agents, will NOT need to provide EPCs on non-HIP properties October 1 and nor will they have to withdraw those properties from the market if EPCs are not in place. Instead, EPCs should be produced “as soon as possible”. The lack of an EPC on October 1 would not affect or prevent sellers from continuing to market such properties.Agents will NOT have to reprint particulars for non-HIP properties showing the EPC graphs. This is not necessary, although CLG recommends that EPCs do accompany particulars “on a voluntary basis”.Strictly speaking, for non-HIP properties, it is the seller and not the agent who is responsible for producing the EPC. In practice, it is believed that in virtually all cases, it will be the agent who has to take the lead.

Under the legislation, sellers who do not provide EPCs on non-HIP residential properties on or after October 1 could be fined £200. This now looks to have been superseded.However, no updated guidance has been given by CLG in response to specific questions as to whether sellers will be fined if they have not produced EPCs by a certain time, such as the end of the year for example. One important change in yesterday’s Regulations is that EPCs for homes for sale can now last three years instead of one year.Another important change relates to non-domestic buildings, where the requirement to have an EPC has now been delayed and phased in.Any non-domestic building on the market before October 1 and remaining on the market will now not need an EPC until January 1 at the latest. If it is sold or rented out in the meantime, an EPC must be commissioned and then handed over “as soon as is practicable”. CLG says: “This measure is intended to make it easier for owners and landlords to comply with the legislation, avoid market fluctuations and is in response to expectations from the industry.”In reality, there are nowhere near enough commercial inspectors available to have completed the hundreds of thousands of EPCs necessary on commercial properties.

Any further updates on this story will be posted up on the Estat***ntT**ay website as soon as we receive them."

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Now we looked into this as from the LetSafe point of view as a national provider of EPC's to landlords this seemed noteworthy. LetSafe checked with our RICS qualified group of surveyors and they all expressed their astonishment that unverified news of this nature is being sent out. The information is misleading and in fact could prove financially damaging to many letting agents and landlords as they may feel that they can sit back and wait while all they may be doing is sitting back and letting potential fines build up for themselves and their landlord clients.

When we visited the site in question we noticed that the article had seen recent post activity, again cut and pasted below for your ease:

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“Posted By Megan Baker on Wednesday 10th September 2008 We all need to be very careful what we believe at the moment with this. Your details are completely at odds with the Communities Government update released today which states... October marks the completion of the introduction of EPCs. The full timetable is below: Homes: • Since 1st August 2007 all homes going on the market with 4+ bedrooms have required an EPC when sold • Since 10th September 2007 all homes going on the market with 3+ bedrooms have required an EPC when sold • Since 14th December 2007 all homes going on the market with one or more bedrooms have required an EPC when sold • Since 6th April 2008 all new-built homes have required an EPC • From 1st October all remaining homes for sale (including those which had been on the market from before the above dates) will require an EPC and all homes for rent will require an EPC when newly rented. Note the word WILL not SHOULD! Who are we supposed to believe?”

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The EPC regulations are a directive given to the UK Government from the EU and our research shows that the EPC legislation is not subject to the UK Governments whims. Therefore it is with high confidence that we say Energy Performance certificates WILL be required in the buy to let market at least.

It is also important to note the following extracts from the newsletter and online article:

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“The Regulations themselves are not likely to be available until the end of this week but we believe the following guidance to be correct.”

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The important phrase here as stated is “we believe”, not fact merely conjecture and guess work.

All landlords and letting agents would be well advised to visit the government site as an accredited voice of information on this legislation which again contains no such guesswork and clearly states what is required.

Bear in mind the directgov newsroom was updated today and DID NOT include any such estimates of any "new" situations with regard to the EPC legislation.

Where government levies or fines are involved most wise and competent businesses would advise distancing themselves from rhetoric of this sort. Stay where the source is and make sure that your information is verified and comes from the horses mouth.

For all your EPC needs visit LetSafe today

Links as follows:

http://campaigns.direct.gov.uk/epc/

http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Nl1/Newsroom/index.htm

Stamp Duty Reduction may help UK Landlords

2008-09-10T03:47:00.000-07:00

Recent developments in the UK Housing market (see previous Blogs) may have a positive effect on buy to let investors.

Landlords looking to further increase their portfolios may find that the latest incentives from the UK Government may help them.

UK Landlords stand to benefit from the new stamp duty amnesty introduced by the current UK Labour Government. Buy to let investors could benefit unexpectedly from the stamp duty amnesty which is planned to effect sales of properties worth up to £175,000.

From September 3 2008, the one per cent stamp duty for any residential property under the value would be waived for a year, allowing buyers to save up to £1,750 per property. This latest measure from Labour meant approximately half of all property transactions would be free of the tax. The measure was aimed at first-time buyers, however most experts fear that first time buyers would continue to struggle with higher mortgage rates and the general reduction in availability of mortgages.

Buy to let property investors, in contrast, often boast larger slush funds, financial resources and cash deposits to draw upon. So for UK Landlords looking to extend their portfolio the prospect of buying property under the threshold becomes attractive and tax efficient.

The Labour Governments amnesty was designed to make the market more open and “fairer for all,” but as a direct result of this, some home owners looking to sell, who were stuck with properties on the housing market at £200,000 began to move their prices by £15,000 to take advantage.

Problems seem to have beset this initiative from the outset. For example we may see buy to let property investors holding back on any bids they intended to make on new property until housing prices fall further still. After all bear in mind that the government has given until September 2009 to buy qualifying property tax-free.

One thing is for sure the buy to let market for UK Landlords and UK Letting agents is expanding and this could see more rental properties coming on to the books of letting agents and managing agents alike.

Just bought a new buy to let property? Visit LetSafe for the best in Letting Agent Landlord Services and Products

Landlords stand firm

2008-09-08T02:10:00.000-07:00

Buy to Let landlords are standing steadfast and are maintaining their portfolios of rental property. This, despite the fall in house prices and the current doom and gloom predicted for the economy generally by financial experts is a sure sign that the buy to let market remains vibrant.

No surprise really, when you consider the difficulty in obtaining a mortgage for most prospective home buyers as well as expectations by the general house buying public that house prices will continue to fall. Renting a property rather than buying in these unsteady economic waters remains an attractive proposition to landlords and tenants alike.

Only a tiny minority of landlords (appx 1.3%), expect to sell their buy to let property due to the current economic conditions. We can expect some to alter their buy to let portfolios, while ARLA information suggests an expected four out of ten landlords to increase their buy to let portfolios during the next year.

Latest figures indicate a lower Loan to Value ratio than generally reported. Perhaps more importantly the research shows an increase in the length of time landlords expect to retain their properties. ARLA points out that it is only the individual Buy to Let landlords who are investing in housing at the moment.

The noise coming out of the buy to let market has remained robustly positive as landlords report that they expect to retain their property investments for the best part of twenty years.

A quote from ARLA's Head of Operations, Ian Potter, "Buy to Let landlords are confirmed as prudent investors for the long term. These investors understand the realities of the investment market they have chosen. This understanding would appear to be far greater than the understanding shown by investors in many other markets and is proving to be a bonus for the nation's housing problems. There is no one else investing in residential housing at the moment."

The data, from which the quarterly ARLA surveys of letting agents and landlords is generated was drawn in May 2008. 444 lettings offices and 289 investment landlords were surveyed and this is the largest quarterly survey of the rental market.

All surveys are available by visiting http://www.arla.co.uk

LetSafe (UK) Ltd providing landlords and letting agents with products, services and news on their industry.

Market Forces at play in the housing market

2008-09-05T01:41:00.000-07:00

Richard Donnell is director of research for Hometrack, and Richard reported in the Sunday Times on 10th August 2008, that the cost for first time buyers when considering buying their first property has increased by a whopping 21%. Take note that this would be before saving a deposit for their home.

Richard Donnell commented “Would-be first time buyers are being pushed into the rental market, despite rents rising by an average 9% over the past year.”

Perhaps even more interesting for Landlords and Letting Agents are Hometracks findings that it is on average £280 per month cheaper to rent a property from a landlord or letting agent than to buy a property from an estate agent or private seller via mortgage arrangements.

“Only when these dynamics change, through lower mortgage rates or changes in availability of credit, will sales transactions levels likely to improve.” said Richard.

Estate Agents must now consider if they can continue to survive comfortably in the current financial environment without having a well organised and well supported lettings department as part of their overall revenue stream. As you can read from previous Blog entries and as reported in the UK national media over the last few days the financial situatiuon in the UK is being flagged as going from credit crunch to full blown recession.

Letting agents, need to keep an eye on interest rates and the availability of credit to consumers. It seems unlikely that even with measures by the UK Government (see previous blog entry) to inject some impetus into the housing market that their measures will have any effective impact on the housing market overall.

Until the current situation in the UK Buy to Let market changes and the overall financial climate changes, renting a property from a landlord or letting agent is a market likely to flourish or continue at the current levels.

“The fact is, low housing turnover is here to stay for the foreseeable future” reports Richard.

Estate Agents looking to create a Lettings department or convert to Lettings should contact LetSafe (UK) Ltd today to ensure they have the best products and support available for their business.

A new era for the private rented sector

2008-09-04T09:04:00.000-07:00

As the third and final part in its series on housing law reform, the Law Commission announced its proposals for better regulation of the private rented sector.

The report, Housing: Encouraging Responsible Letting, follows wide consultation with both landlords and tenants. It focuses on improving the overall coherence and stability of the current private rental framework in a cost-effective way. Based on the principles of smart regulation, the Commission recommends a programme of staged reforms designed to promote self-regulation and enhance voluntary initiatives already in place in England and Wales.

The proposals include;

Creating a housing standards monitor (for each of England and Wales) for the private rented sector

Establishing an associated stakeholder board to which representatives of all sides of the private residential rented property sector are appointed

Developing a single code of housing management practice for landlords

Making landlord accreditation schemes available in every local authority area

Launching a pilot programme for home condition certificates

The Commission proposes that independent evaluation and development of appropriate incentives to make the programme attractive to landlords should supplement these initiatives. Professor Martin Partington, who was the Commission’s Special Consultant on Housing Law in charge of the project, said “Too much privately rented property is in a poor condition and poorly managed: the law does not operate as Parliament intended. An increasing number of people are deciding to rent in the current economic climate making it more important than ever that the private rented sector takes its place effectively in the housing market. The recommendations in our report are aimed at benefiting both landlords and tenants by enabling them to use existing legal processes more productively thereby more fully realising the intended impact of housing legislation. Implementation of these reforms would not only improve rental conditions for tenants, but also help to build the reputation and professionalism of landlords. More broadly, it would encourage institutional investment in the provision of rental accommodation, enhancing the important role of this sector in the wider economy.”

The Law Commission is a non-political independent body, set up by Parliament in 1965 to keep all the law of England and Wales under review, and to recommend reform where it is needed.

For further details on this project, and the full programme of housing reform, visit

http://www.lawcom.gov.uk/housing_renting.htm

http://www.lawcom.gov.uk/housing_disputes.htm

http://www.lawcom.gov.uk/renting_homes.htm.

The completion of this project marks the end of Professor Martin Partington’s time with the Commission. He will maintain a close interest in the progress of these proposals.

Keep up to date with latest news and developments in the buy to let development market by visiting www.letsafe.net

LetSafe delivering the goods.

2008-09-02T05:53:00.000-07:00

LetSafe (UK) Ltd provide premiere products and services to UK Landlords and UK Letting agents and are well known through the buy to let industry for providing their clients with innovative services in an ever changing market.

Mark Casey, Sales and Marketing Manager from LetSafe (UK) Ltd took a little time out to give us a few words. "At LetSafe we have been busy working on some very new products which we have rolled out to market in record time. We pride ourselves on getting our landlord and letting agents services and products to market as quickly as possible so we can enable our clients, who include some of the biggest landlord and letting agents in the UK to act on the demand quickly.

This rapid action means that our landlords and letting agents are in the best possible position at all times to give their clients what they need. The buy to let industry in the UK is an ever evolving environment. LetSafe ensure that through our constant exploration on what is needed by the letting agent or landlord we deliver premiere service and products.

We make sure that our clients are kept up to date in a wide variety of ways. Our ever popular Blog, our award winning website and of course our very popular email campaigns. Our clients want news on the latest and best products from LetSafe on demand and we do our best to find ways to achieve that for them.

Our strong growth in the letting agent and landlord market is no fluke. We are consistent in our delivery of great service and end delivery on our goals. Simply put our focus is to ensure that our clients time isn't taken up by high volumes of customer service calls. At LetSafe we spend our time getting the work and requests our clients sent through completed in a prompt manner."

LetSafe are on the move and since July have introduced a host of new products to their landlords and letting agents, including:

24 hour home emergency assistance for Landlords
Fixed Fee Energy Performance certificates
48 hour tenant checks and tenant referencing
Fixed Fee Eviction services

All of this in addition to their rent guarantee, tenants contents insurance, Landlord building insurance and other landlord and letting agent products.

To view the full range of services and products visit LetSafe today: www.letSafe.net

UK Government latest attempt to "fix" housing market

2008-09-02T05:21:00.000-07:00

The UK government is to axe stamp duty on house purchases below £175,000 for a year in an attempt to boost the housing market and its own flagging fortunes.

The new stamp duty rate kicks in from 3rd September 2008 and is in addition to a £1bn package to stimulate the severly depressed first time buyer end of the housing market. At present, purchases under £125,000 are stamp duty exempt. The new measure will cost £600m.

Other measures unveiled today include so-called "free loans
" for five years of up to 30% of the cost of a house. The relief will be available to first time buyers in England with an annual household income of less than £60,000.
Once the five-year period is up, buyers will be asked to pay an, as yet, unspecified fee. This scheme is expected to cost about £300m.

"This will help the housebuilding industry weather difficult conditions, so that, when the market recovers, they are ready to expand and get back on with building the new homes the country needs for the long term," the Department for Communities and Local Government said.

A further £400m has been earmarked for new social housing projects, while the government is also setting up an initiative where mortgage payers struggling to meet repayments can turn to a council or "social housing landlords" that will pay off the debt and charge tenants rent at an affordable level.

It will be interesting to see in the coming months if this helps the government's popularity, but it will be also interesting to see the impact it has on the letting market in the UK which has grown since the credit crunch. What impact if any will it have on the reduced ability for some aspirant homeowners to obtain a mortgage to buy their own home?

We will watch and report our thoughts.

Watch this space..... http://www.letsafe.net/

Reproduced in part from Yahoo news

EPC's quick turnaround times and nationwide.

2008-08-29T06:10:00.001-07:00

As most of our LetSafe (UK) Ltd blog subscribers are now aware LetSafe (UK) Ltd have recently launched a fixed fee nationwide Energy Performance Certificate service for UK Landlords and UK Letting agents.

Not only is it extremely well priced at just £55 ex vat (which is per property rather than per room), but the turn around time from booking your EPC to receiving the final EPC report is also very attractive.

Landlords and Letting agents need not worry as LetSafe (UK) Ltd, a premiere provider of letting agent services and products, and one of the UK's most well regarded supplier's of products and services to landlords provide a world class service to their clients on all fronts.

Their latest service to letting agents and landlords is their EPC product. Once LetSafe have received your order they aim to have their qualified surveyors make the appointment within 24 working hours effectively 1 day. Once the order has been received you can expect the survey to be carried out in roughly the same time scale. Combined this means that LetSafe offer a fixed fee EPC service that covers England and Wales and is usually completed within 2 working days.

Once again letSafe deliver on their promise of world class service backed by forward thinking innovative products.

For more on LetSafe and their products and services simply click here: LetSafe (UK) Ltd

Landlord Rent Re-Possessions, statistics for 2008.

2008-08-20T05:57:00.000-07:00

Official statistics published on 15th August by the Ministry of Justice confirm the fears of many that more and more tenants are defaulting with the payment of their rent and/or fail to vacate when they should. For the 2nd quarter of this year [April – July], the number of re-possession summonses issued on behalf of landlords in local county courts increased 2% for the same period in 2007 and 1% fewer than in the first quarter of this year.

The 2nd quarter of this year saw more than 37,600 private and social sector landlord re-possession summons being issued with more than 28,000 re-possession orders being granted. In excess of 23,350 related to rent arrears and other grounds for possession. For period January to June 2008, more than 74,820 re-possession summonses have been issued and 56,500 orders made to date.

Mike Summerhayes, LetSafe’s Director of Legal Services, considers that the “….statistics have yet to reflect the current economic climate and, regrettably, the 3rd quarter is likely to show an upward trend as tenants struggle with the effects of the current economic climate and with private sector landlords wanting to take swift and immediate action against defaulting tenants to safeguard their property investments.”

For a swift, cost effective fixed fee eviction service visit LetSafe now at www.letsafe.net

EPC (energy performance certificates from letSafe

2008-08-19T05:24:00.000-07:00

LetSafe introduce our latest service for the UK Landlord and UK Letting Agent market.

From 1 October 2008, when a UK landlord rents a property to a tenant in the UK buy to let market, the UK Landlord is responsible for making sure they have a valid energy performance certificate for the property being let.

This energy performance certificate once the UK Landlord has it is then made available to all prospective tenants.

The EU requires *UK Landlords to obtain Energy Performance Certificates on all their buy to let property.
Energy Performance Certificates will need to be provided for all buildings when they are constructed, sold or rented. If you are renting out your property, you as the UK Landlord will need to provide an energy performance certificate to any prospective tenant from the 1st October 2008. This also means that any UK Letting Agent will also need to ensure that an energy performance certificate is current and valid for any properties their landlords have on the letting agents books.

Don't worry, as a UK landlord you do not need to get an Energy Performance Certificate every time your UK Letting Agent sources a new tenant for your buy to let property, or for an existing tenancy. If an energy performance certificate is valid and still exists when changing tenants a new energy performance certificate is not required.
This applies to both private and social sector UK landlords and tenants.

Once you have arranged your EPC, and received your energy performance certificate for your buy to let property it remains valid for up to 10 years.

*except Scotland

24hour Emergency Services for Landlords

2008-08-15T01:29:00.000-07:00

Home Emergency Services for UK Landlords from LetSafe

LetSafe introduce our latest service for the UK Landlord.

Our LetSafe Emergency insurance provides you, the landlord, with the peace of mind you need when considering how to cope with household emergencies.

With cover starting from as little as £70.00 LetSafe Home Emergency Insurance offers UK Landlords peace of mind.

Dont let disasters small or major run your life or buy to let business, call LetSafe now on 0845 803 2027.

Sleep easy, knowing you have 24hour Emergency cover from one of the UK's premier providers of UK Landlord and UK Letting Agent service and product providers.

Landlords, get FREE expert advice.

2008-08-13T02:06:00.000-07:00

If you're in need of sound letting advice, we at LetSafe can definitely help you out.

Since 2001, LetSafe has been providing professional services geared towards helping landlords with their letting-related concerns.

From handling tenant disputes to searching for a contents coverage plans, we can give you a hand.

For more information and free expert advice visit us at, www.letsafe.net

Guarantee your rent? Yes you can.

2008-08-13T01:42:00.000-07:00

LetSafe offer extensive rent guarantee as well as legal protection insurance for landlords.

Our products cover comprehensive legal expenses in case you have to take a tenant to court because he caused damage to your property or he wouldn't pay his rent.

Read the full article now, click here.

For more information on this must have product visit us direct: http://www.letsafe.net

Tenants, are you properly insured?

2008-08-13T01:17:00.000-07:00

Getting sufficient insurance for tenants is important when you're renting an apartment or any other type of property.

This is to ensure that you don't have to shoulder the costs of having your unit repaired in case of damages for which you are held liable. Tenant insurance also features contents coverage so that you can easily get your possessions replaced or repaired in case they get destroyed or lost.

Read the full article by simply clicking here

Dont get caught out. Visit LetSafe today and make sure you have the right cover.

LetSafe (UK) Ltd a premiere provider of services and products to UK Landlords and UK Letting Agents.

Landlord Insurance, why you need it.

2008-08-13T01:10:00.000-07:00

Landlord insurance is a must-have for anyone who wishes to rent his property out.

This type of coverage provides protection from financial responsibilities in case the building is damaged by tenants or by natural calamities. At LetSafe, we offer coverage that is designed to address the needs of people who let their properties. Learn more by browsing further into this site.

Want to read the full article, simply click here.

Get your cover up and running. Visit one of the UK's premiere providers of products and services to the UK Landlord & UK Letting Agent industry. http://www.letsafe.net

Tenant Checks with LetSafe

2008-08-13T01:05:00.000-07:00

Tenant referencing is essential in order to ensure that landlords and their properties are protected from the hassles caused by uncooperative individuals who can cause damage to their rental homes.

At LetSafe, we make sure that we complete your references as soon as possible. We will even provide you with an in-depth and easy-to-understand report while we're at it.

Need more reasons why you need to reference your tenants? click here

Visit us at www.letsafe.net for full details or jump straight to the referencing section by clicking here

Letting Agents have their Say.

2008-08-07T04:10:00.001-07:00

Why are so many letting agents and landlords moving to LetSafe?

Presented here is a very small selection of the testimonials we have received from our clients. Our clients rank amongst the largest UK Letting Agents and UK Landlords in the UK Buy to Let industry.

LetSafe (UK) Ltd take great pride in the services we offer. We treat each one of our clients, large or small, with the same value and care that has consistently set us apart from our competitors.

"I must say that I am VERY pleased with the personal service you provide that reflects the same values as **P Lettings and Management."

L.B., MARLA, Proprietor.

"Having been in the Lettings business for almost 10 years now we used several other referencing companies before we found LetSafe. We have used LetSafe for the last 3 years and keep our business with them because they are always friendly and helpful, easy to contact, know their products well and react immediately when we call them for advice or follow ups. I wholeheartedly recommend LetSafe to anyone who is dissatisfied with their current company or just starting up in business. I wish I’d found LetSafe when we started, they make the whole process as easy as possible for us and they are such a pleasure to deal with."

A.P. Lettings Director.

"During my career in lettings I have used a number of referencing companies and Letsafe are the first that I have felt have gone out of their way to provide such a thorough and personal service. The Letsafe team have been extremely helpful in what is now a very busy market and I am sure that it is with their help that we have been able to flourish despite the pressure of an ever increasing number of Lets. I would be happy to recommend Letsafe to any Estate Agent or Landlord".

E.K. Senior Lettings Consultant

Feel the same way about your supplier, Join LetSafe today.

Eviction Services in 3 easy Fixed Fee Steps

2008-08-07T03:49:00.000-07:00

We have provided a brief overview of our Fixed Fee Eviction Services.

We hope this quick guide gives UK Landlords and UK Letting Agents a snap shot of what happens when this service is called upon.

Stage 1:

Receiving your instructions; reviewing the matter and serving Notices on all tenants (and Guarantors) requiring them to pay the outstanding rent within 14 days and/or to bring your tenancy to an end. These are the first stages to seeking possession of your property.

Stage 2:

If your tenants have not paid their rent or entered in to an arrangement with you, we appoint our solicitors to prepare the Court papers for a combined possession and judgment order against your tenants and for an Advocate to represent you at the Court hearing.

Stage 3:

Should your tenants fail to leave your property in accordance with the Court Possession Order, we shall make arrangements for its enforcement by instructing the Court Bailiffs. They will attend the property and remove them from occupation and return your property investment to you.

This article just gives you a very brief overview of what is actually involved. For full details, costs involved with the fixed fee eviction service, and FREE EXPERT ADVICE simply visit LetSafe (UK) Ltd a premiere provider of letting agent services and Landlord services across the UK.

Landlords, you need Rent Guarantee.

2008-08-05T08:39:00.000-07:00

Rent Guarantee.

All Landlords should consider the possibility that things can, and do, sometimes go wrong.

While a Landlord may take every care to thoroughly check potential tenants through companies like LetSafe, no one can predcit the future. Life throws most people a curve ball from time to time, and with obstacles like ill health, redundancy, and marital breakdown, predicting the future is impossible for even the most stable tenant.

LetSafe's leading Rent Guarantee & Legal Protection product is a cost efficient way to protect you, the landlord, when life's unexpected hurdles appear in your path. Rent Guarantee provides cover for the unexpected and with LetSafe this also includes legal protection to gain vacant possession of your investment if "worst case scenario" becomes a reality.

*LetSafe's Rent Guarantee covers the landlord for up to £10,000 as well as providing £25,000 in legal expenses cover to gain vacant possession of your property. It is available for managed and un-managed properties and cover can be arranged for DSS, Student and retired tenants.

It couldn't be easier with LetSafe. There are no lengthy forms to complete, and existing tenants can be covered.

*This is a brief overview of the extensive benefits that LetSafe Rent Guarantee can offer you, the landlord. To view the full article, and to read the Rent Guarantee policy wording, simply visit us using the relevant link below:

Landlords - Letting Agents

Tenants, Insurance for Letting

2008-08-05T07:37:00.000-07:00

Tenants Insurance, why is it different?

At LetSafe we understand that as a tenant you may find it difficult to obtain contents insurance. In most cases if you can get cover, it may be "limited" and premiums can be expensive. LetSafe have negotiated a special rate for tenants with our underwriters. Contents sum insured range from £5,000 to £15,000. Obtaining cover is easy with LetSafe, you can arrange everything through your Letting Agent or call us today.

Being brief the standard perils are covered, as well as accidental damage.

Here are some of the risks that LetSafe cover under their Tenants Contents Insurance.

Damage to audio and audio-visual equipment and home computers.
Contents temporarirly removed from home
Contents in outbuildings and in the open
Replacement of locks following loss of keys
Spoilage of food in freezers
Accidental loss of fuel and metered water

Alternative accommodation following an insured loss

Damage caused by emergency access
Your liability as occupier, employer, tenant and in a personal capacity
Low policy excess of just £50.00
Accidental Damage to Landlords Contents Fixtures and Fittings
Accidental damage
Valuables and personal effects
Pedal cycles
Personal money and credit cards
Bicycle Cover

For full details of the cover and help LetSafe can offer you as a Tenant simply use the link below and click on the "Tenants" section on the http://www.letsafe.net/ menu.

Visit LetSafe for a competitive quote on your Tenant insurance: http://www.letsafe.net/

MIke Summerhayes new to LetSafe

2008-08-05T03:56:00.000-07:00

Mike Summerhayes has been appointed as Director of Legal Services overseeing the LetSafe Complete Landlord Legal Protection – a new 3 stage fixed fee legal service for landlords, who do not have the benefit of legal expense insurance, to obtain vacant possession of their properties against tenants who do not pay their rent or fail to leave when they should.

Mike brings a wealth of experience to LetSafe, having provided support to the lettings profession; private and social sector landlords and legal expense insurers since 1993. Before specialising in residential landlord and tenant matters, he was engaged in private practice; commerce and the local government sectors specialising in property related litigation.

For Complete Landlord Legal Services, including Fixed Fee Eviction Services for Letting Agents and Landlords visit us now at http://www.letsafe.net/

Tenant Referencing, get it right

2008-08-05T03:16:00.000-07:00

LetSafe were pleased to see that recent industry reports clearly showed that over 97% of their Tenant Referencing was being returned to their clients within 2 working days.

Susan Garland, Manager of the Tenant Referencing team gave us her comments on this achievement.

"We have seen a great number of new joiners come on board with LetSafe in 2008. The number of Tenant References we have completed has increased dramatically. We feel that this has been due to a number of factors, the main being dissatisfaction that Letting Agents may feel with their current providers, our own growing reputation as a centre of excellence in the letting agent services market, and our delivery of world class service.

In addition to the standards LetSafe set, we are also one of the most competitive suppliers of letting agent and landlord services and products in the UK. The Tenant Referencing team here at LetSafe are motivated and thrilled by this achievement and we all feel we are seeing our hard work, high levels of service and quality of work paying dividends. The Tenant Referencing team are thrilled to have met this standard and we are in the process of reviewing our processes with a view to beating 97% in 2 days.”

Tenant referencing for Landlords and Letting agents has never been as important in the UK housing and lettings market as it is now.

With the current "credit crunch" in full flow, Letting Agents and Landlords are seeking more ways to secure their investment and return their profit yield. Tenant referencing from LetSafe provides a detailed competitively priced screening service designed to ensure that the Letting Agent and Landlord have the best tenant possible for their property.

As Susan states an ever watching eye on market developments and an energy and drive to deliver world class service through excellence put LetSafe referencing a step ahead of the pack.

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More diligence please

2008-08-05T03:05:00.000-07:00

May we have more diligence please? In spite of the current economic climate and reports suggesting that landlords are losing confidence in the buy-to-let market, the private rented housing sector remains an important aspect of the housing market with the private rented sector accounting for 12% of England’s housing stock (2.6 million homes); an increase of 4% on 2006 figures. [Source: Survey of English Housing – Communities and Local Government]

The ‘experts’ through the media continue to prophesise gloom and doom with long term falling house prices; negative equity on mortgaged properties; mortgage foreclosures on the increase along with unemployment. What will the impact be on the private rented sector as the recession continues? Common sense tells me that a natural consequence will be that more tenants will default with their rental payments by reason of circumstances beyond their control, such as redundancy, and property investment landlords will consider purchasing ‘buy-to-let’ knocked-down priced properties to add to their property portfolios in readiness for property values to increase.

However careful landlords may be with the vetting of prospective tenants, there will be many tenants who will breach their tenancy agreement which is likely to result in the landlord not receiving their rent which they rely on to service their mortgage commitments. For many landlords it is re-assuring to have the benefit of rental guarantee and legal expense) insurance from the outset of the tenancy in the event of tenant default. Indeed, for most letting agents, landlords are positively encouraged to take out such cover as part of the letting agent’s standard service towards their client landlords.

But what if the landlord elects not too? Can landlords afford not to take out such insurance cover? When a tenant defaults or fails to vacate a property, where can a landlord go for a professional, speedy and competitively priced solution? Whereas they may be referred to their letting agent’s appointed solicitors or their insurers’ appointed solicitors, landlords need not necessarily appoint solicitors but, instead, place instructions with organisations who proffer tenant eviction services for a fixed fee. This seems to be a growing business within the lettings industry. There are many providers and an initial web-site search identifies scores of businesses offering high success rates without the need for landlords to appoint solicitors. In reality, these organisations have arrangements with firms of solicitors for the court issue and representation stages of the eviction process with their fees being deducted from the all inclusive fixed fee paid upfront by the landlord to the service provider with a standard of service that might fall short of the landlords’ expectations. In other words, ‘you get what you pay for’.

Having represented uninsured landlords in Court I have been disappointed by the number of ‘inexcusable’ errors which have appeared in the initial statutory notices (and court process) resulting in the S8 HA 1988 Notices of Seeking Possession being incorrect and worse, fatally flawed resulting in the court possession action either being ‘lost’ or the Court granting leave to dispense with the S8 HA 1988 Notice precluding the landlord from relying on the statutory grounds for possession.

Simple errors which should have been picked-up by the service providers and if not by them, by the service providers’ appointed solicitors. Errors such as misspelling of names; failing to incorporate all parties in to the court proceedings; citing an incorrect monthly rental and failing to show a correct accumulative arrears total.

Whereas these instances may be few and far between when taking in to consideration the volume of matters actioned, it is still of little comfort to the landlord who now suffers unnecessary delay in obtaining vacant possession and is likely to be financially prejudiced with little prospect of there being a financial recovery from the tenant at the end of the day.

Greater care needs to be taken by the service providers and their appointed solicitors to check the information initially provided by the landlord and/or the managing agent and to cross reference information with the tenancy agreement and associated documents notwithstanding any declarations signed by the landlord confirming the information form to be correct. How easy it is for the uninitiated landlord to state that the rental is four weekly (as oppose to monthly) because they receive 4 weekly housing benefit rental payments from their local authority.

A simple misunderstanding on the part of the landlord which can have consequences if not picked-up by the service provider or appointed solicitors and no redress by reason of the declaration signed by him.

With the growth in tenant eviction service providers it begs the question why firms of solicitors who proffer residential re-possession landlord and tenant services appear unable to provide a service at a similar non-contentious competitive rate. The answer may be that they consider such work not to be ‘economically viable’ meaning that it would not generate as big a profit as they would like. Isn’t any profit better than no profit at all? With the decline in conveyancing transactions and firm’s ‘bread and butter’ money, perhaps they should consider the viability of ‘standard’ possession work. For as long as landlords elect to use third party service providers, they need to satisfy themselves that their interests are properly protected and the matter will proceed without avoidable hiccups. For this they should use providers with a solid industry background.

Mike Summerhayes, Director of Legal Services – LetSafe (UK) Limited - providers of tenant assessment services for Letting Agents and Private Landlords as a well as a comprehensive range of Legal Protection Products for landlords and landlord eviction services.

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Article originaly published in the August 2008 edition of "Agreement" magazine the official ARLA publication
(Association of Residential Letting Agents)