Many people buy homes which they rent out to tenants or boarders. If you are one of these people, it is a good idea to get insurance coverage for your buy to let home. There are many house insurance options for buy to let homes but these policies are a little bit different from policies for permanent residences. For one thing, they only cover the structure, fixtures and fittings of the house and not the furniture and other items within it. Many of these policies also lapse if the house is left unoccupied for more than 30 days so you have to be clear with your insurance agent about these things.
How To Choose Buy To Let Home Insurance
Common sense effectively dictates that every individual should take out a house insurance policy in order to protect his or her property. Unfortunately, the unexpected often does happen at the moment and with crimes rates as high as they are at the moment, you cannot afford not to have some sort of protection in place. If you own more than one property and actually rent it out as an extra income then you must have buy to let house insurance. There are a number of reasons why anyone renting out their property should take out house insurance, but you should always shop around to get the best deal.
When choosing the right buy to let house insurance for you, you must first come up with a list of your needs. For example, will your property be occupied all year round or will it be left empty for several months of the year? Do you have specific criteria as to whom you will rent to? What sort of cover will you need? You may not know the answers to some of these questions but you should think about it before taking out house insurance because they will often affect the kind of policy you need.
Regardless of your needs, you must take out a specialist landlord house insurance policy and consult with your mortgage company beforehand. House insurance policies will not pay out if you are leasing your property and have not informed the lender on a policy in this situation, will be perceived as deception. Aside from the legal implications, buy to let house insurance is fundamentally different from regular home insurance and can be tailored to suit your individual needs. However, some insurance companies are more flexible than others so it pays to get quotes as well as an insurance plan before choosing a company to go with.
Most house insurance companies will have a stipulation that will only cover a property if it is left unoccupied for up to 30 days, but some buy to let house insurance policies will afford you up to 90 days. This can come in useful if your property is in student area or if it may be left vacant between tenants. However, bear in mind that some insurers will choose not to accept applications for buy to let house insurance if you are likely to have students living there. They are classed as high-risk tenants as they are the most likely occupiers to cause damage, and thus claims too.
You can never be completely sure about tenants so buy to let house insurance can provide peace of mind. There are add-ons that you can choose to have, such as a 24 hour on call service to get a tradesman to your property at any time of day or night just in case anything does go wrong. It is imperative that you do choose the ideal house insurance policy, with or without add-ons, for you. Your property is valuable so make sure that you treat it as such.
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