How Rental Stress Testing Can Affect Your Next Mortgage
Many landlords think about their next mortgage in simple terms. What is the property worth? How much is outstanding on the current mortgage? What rent is being received? What interest rate is available? Those are all important questions, but there is another issue that can have a major impact on the outcome of a buy-to-let […]
Why the Cheapest Quote Is Not Always the Best Deal for Landlords
Landlords are right to question the cost of insurance. With higher mortgage costs, repairs, regulation, tax pressures and tighter margins, every expense matters. If one landlord insurance quote is cheaper than another, it is natural to be interested. But the cheapest quote is not always the best deal. It may be. A lower premium can […]
Legionella and Landlords: The Risk Assessment Many Forget
Legionella is one of the landlord safety duties that is easy to overlook. Most landlords are familiar with gas safety checks, electrical safety reports and smoke alarms. Legionella risk can feel less obvious because there is not usually a familiar annual certificate in the same way. That does not mean landlords can ignore it. Landlords […]
Landlords Facing Higher Monthly Payments: What Are Your Options?
Many landlords are now facing a very different mortgage market from the one they experienced when their current deal was arranged. For some, the change can be significant. A landlord who fixed their buy-to-let mortgage several years ago may now be approaching the end of that deal and discovering that the new monthly payment could […]
A Matched Premium Is Not Always a Matched Policy
Many landlords think they have won when their existing broker agrees to match another quote. On the face of it, that may seem reasonable. The landlord has received a renewal, checked the market, obtained a better price, gone back to the existing broker and secured a lower premium. But there is a danger in stopping […]
Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Alarms: Small Devices, Big Legal Risk
Smoke and carbon monoxide alarms are small, relatively inexpensive devices, but they carry major importance for residential landlords. They are not optional extras. They are part of the basic safety framework for rented homes in England. A missing alarm, faulty alarm or lack of evidence that alarms were checked can create serious risk for tenants […]
Think Tank Calls for Landlords to Pay National Insurance: Why the Proposal Risks Hitting Tenants Too
A new proposal calling for landlords to pay National Insurance on rental income has reopened the debate about how the private rented sector should be taxed. According to recent reporting, the New Economics Foundation has urged the Labour government to extend National Insurance Contributions to landlords’ rental profits, with the measure estimated to raise around […]
Why Buy-to-Let Mortgages Are Not Just About the Lowest Rate
When landlords review a buy-to-let mortgage or remortgage, the first question is often obvious: what is the rate? That is understandable. Interest rates matter. They affect monthly payments, rental profit, cash flow and the long-term cost of borrowing. In a market where landlords are already dealing with higher costs, changing regulation, tax pressure, repairs, insurance […]
Cheap Landlord Insurance Can Become Very Expensive When You Claim
Every landlord wants a competitive insurance premium. That is completely understandable. Landlords are already dealing with higher costs, tighter margins, more regulation, repairs, mortgage pressures and the general financial demands of owning rental property. So when a cheap landlord insurance quote appears, it can be tempting to treat it as the obvious choice. But landlords […]