Landlords - How to Get the Right Tenants

With the current Credit Crunch spreading total gloom over the property sales market, there is still one remaining bright spot - lettings.

Because most people are unable to sell and many are holding of from buying, rents are on the rise even though there are more properties being offered for rental. But of course, as ever, margins for landlords are being squeezed, particularly those who may have bought at the top of the market and as such many may be trying to avoid the costs of using letting agents who can charge up to 15% for full service lettings.

The benefits of using an agent
Apart from making a landlord's life easier, a really important feature of letting your property through a letting agent is that dodgy tenants tend in the main to avoid agents because of the stringent credit checks etc they apply. Of course there no guarantees but it is safer to let through an agent. But is there a way you can still reduce the risk of getting rogue tenants whilst at the same time saving money?

The Reluctant Landlord
Another feature of The Credit Crunch is the emergence of what I would call The Reluctant Landlord. These are people who expected to sell and move and are now having to rent and move. As such they are often letting their own homes and do not possess the kind of experience that more professional landlords do so they can tend to be even more prone to getting bad tenants.

Rent protection for private landlords
A great way to let more safely is to protect your rent with Landlord Rent Guarantee and Legal Expenses Insurance. You simply pay a yearly premium to insure your rent per month. The way it woks is this. Firstly you must ensure that the tenants are credit checked, and that they supply a couple of forms of ID, one of which must include a photo and finally an employer's reference. Once the correct formalities of issuing an AST (Assured Shorthold Tenancy agreement) and moving in monies are collected then you apply for the insurance and you're covered! Usually the insurance only kicks in after a tenant has failed to pay the rent for one month. If the situation continue then you can obtain free of charge legal assistance to evict the tenant and/or recover back rent. This insurance via Rentalguard.co.uk for example actually costs less than 99.00 per year to insure up to 2500.00 of rent per month. Other companies may charge slightly less or more than this. All the underwriters for this insurance must be registered with the Financial Services Authority.

In fact, just because a tenant knows that you will be carrying out full credit checks and ID profiles can of itself tend to put off those with something to hide. The Landlord Insurance just gives you that important extra bit of protection and peace of mind.

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