Around fifteen years ago when I was running Frank Farr's letting office at Iver and Beaconsfield (part of Property Leeds / Halifax Estate Agents) the usual differences were occuring between the sales offices and the lettings offices in the Frank Farr division.
One of my colleages in the sales division came up with some good reasons to buy then for local marketing. We got our heads together in the lettings office and came up with "10 Good Reasons To Rent At The Moment"
1. FLEXABILITY TO MOVE WHEN YOU WANT
2. NO LONG TERM COMMITTMENTS
3. NO HIDDEN MAINTENANCE COSTS
4. NO EXPENSIVE LEGAL FEES
5. YOU WON'T MAKE EXPENSIVE MISTAKES BY MOVING TO THE WRONG AREA AND NOT BEING ABLE TO MOVE AGAIN
6. NO CHAINS INVOLVED - YOU CAN NORMALLY MOVE INTO A RENTED PROPERTY WITHIN A NUMBER OF DAYS
7. NO CONCERNS ABOUT FLUCTUATING HOUSE PRICES
8. SHORT OR LONG TERM LETS AVAILABLE
9. WHEN YOU RENT FURNISHED YOU DON'T HAVE TO GO OUT BUYING FURNITURE, IT HAS BEEN DONE FOR YOU
10. NO D.I.Y. IN YOUR FREE TIME
I have just come acroos this file and some fifteen years later it looks very much like the same reasons are valid.
Buy to Let is still big business and there has not been any decline in the rental market in the UK over the last few years, far from it a lot of growth.
It will be interesting to see if these reasons will still be valid in another five years from now. I expect they will be.
A major issue for tenants to remember is that the Landlord's insurance will not usually cover you for your own personal belonging so it is highly important that you insure these yourself. Find out more here about Tenants Contents Insurance
Blue Insurances are to be the exclusive sponsors of the Travel Media Awards 2012 in Dublin Ireland.
Blue Insurances was established nine years ago in Dublin by by Joint Managing Directors Ciaran Mulligan and Rowan Devereux. They then opened a base for the company’s UK operation in Cardiff, Wales
The Travel Media Awards 2012 will be held on the 23rd November at the Westbury Hotel in Dublin be presented by Kathryn Thomas. Kathryn is a a well-known celebrity from state broadcaster RTÉ.
The event calls on the media to vote and give their say on who they think stands out in the travel industry and vote for their favourite travel companies. The awards even will start with a networking drinks reception in the Marble Bar, followed by a lunch in the award winning Wilde Restaurant, where the winners will be announced, and then downstairs to Novo Bar for informal networking and drinks.
Ciaran Mulligan, Managing Director of Blue Insurances, said “Blue Insurances are delighted to be the exclusive sponsor of the Travel Media Awards 2012. These awards are unique as they are voted for by the Irish media whom Blue Insurances very much supports. We are also very pleased that Kathryn Thomas who is familiar with the Irish travel industry, will be presenting this year’s prestigious awards.”
To find out more about Blue Insurances insurance products for the UK market Click Here.
They offer: Carhireexcess.com - car hire excess insurance, Covermygadget.co.uk, gadget insurance, Covermybreakdown.co.uk - breakdown insurance, Annualtravelinsurance.com, Backpackertravelinsurance.com, Greatcover.com and Multitrip.com - Travel Insurance, Covermywedding.co.uk- wedding insurance and Covermypet.co.uk - Pet insurance.
Halloween is just around the corner, the clocks go back and bonfire night follows soon afterwards, so it must be time for a break. A half term break if you have family of school / college age.
So you maybe taking off somewhere for a few days, hiring a car, (don't forget to buy the excess insurance separately) and taking the family away for a few days to a warmer climate or city break in northern Europe.
Whatever your reason for travelling, don't forget your travel insurance.
Holiday delayed? Missed departure?
Lost your passport? Personal money stolen?
Damaged your ski equipment? Personal Accident?
Abandon your holiday before you leave the UK or Ireland.
Catastrophe — fire, flood, earthquake or storm.
Medical Emergency — Hospital — Emergency Dental Treatment - Legal Advice - Mugging and a lot more.
There are different types of policy available — Holiday, Multi Trip, Backpacker, Activity, Winter Sports, senior citizens cover.
Many of these policies can be taken out on an annual basis and are great value.
At the jml Insurance there is a great choice. As the sites are not comparison sites with a price and summary you must look at each individual advertiser's product individually. Might take a bit longer, however you will at least know if that is the insurance product that is suitable for your needs.
Currently the following companies advertise - Multitrip.com Travel Insurance for UK and Irish Residents,Annualtravelinsurance.com -Travel Insurance for UK and Irish Residents, Greatcover.com Travel Insurance for UK Residents, Worldwide Insure Travel Insurance - Questor Travel Insurance,Essential Travel - Travel Insurance Products,Direct Travel Insurance,Staysure Travel Insurance for over 50's,Endsleigh Travel Insurance, Quotezone Travel Insurance, Insureme4.co.uk Travel Insurance,JS Insurance Travel Insurance,Travel Insurance Medical Insurance, Protect your holiday - Financial Failure Travel Insurance from as little as £5 per person Protecting your holiday in the event of insolvency,Kinsure Expatriate Emergency Medical Travel Insurance,Devon Direct Insurance Services - Travel Insurance,Backpackertravelinsurance.ie for Uk & Irish Residents and Kidnap and Ransom Insurance via Allstyles Insurance (TR Youngs Insurance Brokers). Quite a choice.
Although it is not quite the skiing season yet, it will soon be here, so make sure you and your family have the appropriate winter sports travel insurance now.
For details of the insurance products being advertised by the advertisers listed above, go to jml Insurance Travel Insurance Here.
Have a great half term break.
For many of us the prospect of reading a property's insurance policy is confusing enough, but if you don't have a full grip of the language it is written in is even worse.
Imagine if that property was in France, Spain, Portugal, Greece, Denmark, Germany or Italy. Do you speak the language well enough to understand the insurance in Portuguese for example? Many insurance companies in European countries have advisers who speak English, however normally the policy will still be in the local language. Insurance policies are often difficult enough to understand in your mother tongue, but in a foreign language you probably wouldn’t know what was covered and what was not.
There are specialist UK based companies out there who do cater for those who only speak a small amount of French or Italian, or none at all. They work in English, from the UK.
Companies like Andrew Copeland Insurance - Intasure and Staysure for the over over 50s.
All three of these have taken advertising pages on the jml Insurance websites
You can easily get a quote for your property and you won't have to worry if it is covered fot the X,Y and Z of incidents that could occur.
What do you do next.?
You take a look at the Overseas Property Insurance page here and then you can relax and think about that holiday home by the sea in the mountains or city centre. A base to go and play golf in the sun or sail on azure blue skies - skiing throughout the winter or walking each morning to that distinctive Mediterranean aroma of pine and bougainvillea lazing around the pool or sitting by the river watching time go by.......
Remember also that some of these insurancec companies also insure main residences either in the UK or other countries, so it does not always have to be a holiday home or second home.
Just received an enewsletter from The Riviera Times who are reminding residents (and non residents with a property in France) that It's time to pay those property taxes.
They go onto say "At the end of this month, the deadline for paying land tax (taxe foncière) will have been reached, while the tax d'habitation won't be too far off."
"The taxe d'habitation is a residence tax paid by the occupiers of a property, or by the owner if it is rented out long-term, that must be paid by all residents and non-residents of France, while the taxe foncière is a land tax that is only applicable to all property owners. And together, they can add up to a few thousand euros each year, depending on the size of the property and the area in which it is located."
Taxe Foncière - Property Ownership TaxThis tax is an annual property ownership tax imposed on the owner, whether or not the property is actually occupied by them, or rented out.
The tax is levied for the year in which it is imposed and payable by the person(s) owning the property on 1st January of that year. The tax goes towards the funding of local services by the commune, inter-communal and departmental councils. Source for this paragraph - French Property Com.
No doubt the French Government thinks this is a better time of year to collect these taxes rather than after Christmas when the family's budget has been spent!
If you own a property in France - Main Residence - Sceond Home - Holiday home rental and are looking for insurance (and the policy written in English) then take a look at this page at the JML Property Insurance Website
According to the Met Office, the UK has just had the wettest summer for a century. A total of 370.7 mm of rain fell across the UK during June, July and August alone – but (with winter approaching) the bad weather look set to continue! This might seem somewhat unfair, but it’s one of the realities of living on this wet, windy island – so it’s important to prepare.
Here are four things all homeowners should do before the nippy spell hits:
Arrange boiler cover
Is your boiler working properly? If you’re not sure (or can’t remember the last time it was serviced) it’s wise to have it inspected. A Gas Safe Register approved engineer will make sure everything’s working properly and will check the efficiency of your system – so you don’t end up with high energy bills. Worried about costs? Then take out boiler cover that includes services and repairs, as this will protect your bank balance in an emergency
Take out home insurance
Arranging insurance might not be the most exciting thing in the world – but it’s an essential part of life. Wind, rain, sleet and snow can damage your abode, so it’s best to safeguard your home ahead of the cold months. Building insurance will protect the physical structure of your home including the roof, door, windows and such like, whereas contents cover will cover the cost of missing or damaged belongings. Please note; your home should be insured for the amount it would cost to build it from scratch if it was completely destroyed.
Insulate your pipes
According to the Energy Saving Trust – a charity which gives impartial, accurate and independent advice on how to save energy – insulating your pipes will reduce the amount of heat that escapes. This will keep your home warmer for longer and will ensure you’re not shivering during the nippy spell. Fitting a British Standard jacket around your cylinder could also save you £40 a year, so it’s worth popping to your nearest DIY store.
Insulate your loft
While we’re on the subject of insulation, why not insulate your loft? This will stop hot air from escaping through the roof and could dramatically reduce your heating bills. Insulation might cost a few hundred pounds to install, but it tends to last for at least 40-years and will pay for itself over and over again. If you’re good at DIY, you could probably do a pretty decent job yourself and this will save you even more money.
Winter’s rapidly approaching, so make your house safe and secure today.
Source: Dan Whiteside October 2012
