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How First-Time Landlords Can Avoid Big Insurance Mistakes

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Landlord insurance is a must-have for those who plan to lease a residential or commercial space. Yet many landlords are guilty of selecting the wrong policy when first starting out. If you are a first-time landlord and want to avoid common pitfalls, you’ll need to learn how to compare insurance quotes for your property.

To help you do so, quotezone.co.uk, a free insurance comparison site, has created a detailed infographic to help you avoid some big mistakes when first starting out. The helpful infographic (as below) is offering expert advice on how you can effectively adhere to your obligations when becoming a landlord for the first time.

Landlord Tips

Landlord Insurance Tips

The reason you have decided to become a landlord will be to make money. Yet the wrong landlord insurance can result in a substantial financial loss. You must therefore ensure you have both the right level and type of insurance before you agree to a policy.

In addition to checking you have the right coverage for the correct number and type of properties (such as residential, commercial or mixed), you must also factor in the right number of tenants and rooms at each address.

It doesn’t matter if you want landlord insurance to rent out a house, flat, apartment or bungalow to one or more tenants, you should use a landlord insurance comparison website to help you select the right insurance for your needs.

If you want to ensure you are fully-protected, building and contents insurance is a smart choice, but the policy will need to be for the correct sum to avoid a financial loss. What’s more, you will need to understand what’s covered in your chosen insurance policy, such as theft, water damage or fire damage.

The Landlord Checklist

It’s easy to make some big or small mistakes when you first become a landlord. It’s therefore essential to do your homework to learn more about your responsibilities, so you can become a dependable landlord for your tenants, whilst ensuring you adhere to your legal obligations. As the infographic states, you must ensure you keep a safe, hazard-free property to ensure the safety of every tenant. You can do so through regular inspections and by making the appropriate health and safety checks before handing over the keys, such as servicing a boiler. You must, however, provide all tenants with the right amount of notice before inspecting a property.

A property inspection will not only help you to resolve any potential issues at the address, but it will also ensure you adhere to your health and safety responsibilities. What’s more, it can ensure both you and your tenants adhere to your insurance policy, which can avoid invalidation. If you do not have the time or desire to manage the property yourself, hire a property manager to undertake the routine inspections on your behalf.

If you are a first-time landlord, take a look at the above infographic for more helpful advice – and don’t forget to save it to your bookmarks.