In this article I show you how to make your spare room instantly more attractive than the vast majority of those available on the market. Follow these simple (but often overlooked) steps, and you should have an army of potential lodgers eager to move in.
1. Write a killer advert. Potential lodgers will be reading a lot of them, so keep your advert short, clear and informative.
2. Set a realistic rent. If you charge a little less than the market rate you will widen your market considerably, set it too low however, and people will perceive the property as being down-market.
3. Include most bills in the rent. A fixed cost is attractive to anyone on a budget.
4. Make sure your property has curb appeal. A potential lodger will simply drive past if your property does not appear clean and well maintained from the outside. Make sure the parking facilities match those stated in the advert.
5. Ensure your property is spotless. No dust, clutter or odour. If you have pets, mention them in your advert and make sure that they are well behaved. The first hint of a pest problem is guaranteed to sent any potential lodger running for the hills.
6. Give a good personal impression. You are under scrutiny just as much as the room. Being well organised says this is a hassle-free place to live. Draw up a short document anticipating everything a potential lodger is likely to need to know in making a decision. Include such things as:
- The room - dimensions, inventory and photo
- Estimated cost of bills per month
- House rules such as out of bounds rooms
- Special considerations such as parking permits
- Do not include sensitive information such as alarm codes.
7. Make sure the room is ready for immediate occupation. A lodger will want to see exactly what they will get. Do this even if you are not ready for someone to move in just yet.
8. Make sure that the property is safe. Have up to date regulatory documentation. In the UK, you will need a CORGI gas safety certificate, and it's a good idea also to have a full electrical safety check of your appliances ("portable appliance test"). Other things to consider are your home insurance, fire safety, and smoke/CO2 detectors.
9. Take an interest in them. Where do they work, what do they do? What do they like to do with their spare time? This will help you determine if you are likely to get on and if your lifestyles are going to conflict with one another.
10. Follow up. You are likely to already have an email address or telephone number, but if not, it does no harm to ask for them as the lodger is leaving. If they like the place they will most likely give it to you. Follow up with a call a few days later, and find out what they thought. Any negative comments can be worked on for the next lodger.
If you follow these simple steps, you will have differentiated yourself and your property from 90% of those on offer in the marketplace, and have your pick of whom to offer the room to.
Chris Gill is the founder of http://www.fivenights.com - the weekday only room to rent service. IT contractor, entrepreneur, and long suffering commuter, he came up with the idea whilst staring at the wall of a B&B, one evening a long way from home.
Filed under Home Insurance by on Feb 4th, 2010. Comment. 
Although you may be spending more for other types of insurance such as car insurance or medical insurance, home insurance can cost a substantial amount of money. Getting a good deal starts with shopping around with different carriers or having a reputable insurance broker do the shopping for you.
Benefits are at least as important as cost. A cheap home owners insurance plan that won't cover you will is a bad plan at any price.
Your home insurance plan probably offers benefits that you have never thought of. It can pay you if your house is burned down or if your personal property is damaged. It can also pay a third party if you injure them due to a negligent act. This is true even if that act takes place far from your home. It can also reimburse you for living expenses when you are unable to live in your home due to a covered event.
The benefit that most people focus on is the part that will pay you if your house is in a fire or is damaged by some other covered peril. This is probably the most important coverage. It is important to get the adequate coverage limits for this aspect of your plan.
Determining the right amount of coverage is not as easy as finding out the market value of your home. Your insurance company will not use the market value when deciding what to pay you to replace your home.
There are two reasons why the market value is not relevant. This amount required to rebuild your home can be much higher or much lower than the cost to purchase a similar structure. The insurance company is not required to replace the land your house sits on.
The cost of the land and the location of your house are part of your potential sales price. They are not directly involved in the calculations required to determine replacement value.
Another critical benefit of a standard home insurance coverage is the benefit limits for your house's contents. Things like your couch, your stereo and other much of your other portable personal property is covered by the contents benefit limit.
Things that are permanently attached to your home are usually considered part of the house and add to the replacement cost for the house and are not considered contents. A wall to wall carpet will probably be considered a part of the house. A throw rug will probably be considered one of the house's contents.
You may have some latitude in determining how your house's contents are covered. You may be given the option of having your contents replaced using their depreciated value or the replacement cost.
Typically you will not be asked to determine an exact dollar figure for this benefits. You may be given the option to have your other possessions covered. 50% or 70% of the replacement value of the house.
Certain possessions like your diamond rings and cash will have limited coverage in the standard coverage. However, you should be able to request additional benefit limits for jewelry. Most of the other benefits of your homeowners coverage are not changeable by the consumer. They are part of the standard policy.
Buying the best house owners insurance policy is a part of intelligent long-term planning. Make sure to make your decisions after comparing both coverage and premium.
You can find Nevada house insurance quotes on the author, Alston J. Balkcom's site. His recent blog posts include: Get Car Insurance Prices Online.
Filed under Home Insurance by on Jan 23rd, 2010. Comment.
Buy to let investment solutions are available to you, if you reach out to a professional buy to let investment agent online. It's not too hard to find an investment agency in London. Stop, brooding over a bad tenant, think of how you can protect your rental payment in future. Some of them suggest a rental insurance to protect your rented out property. Few of the insurance on rental policy covers home emergency cover such as home security, plumbing and drains, primary heating facility, lost key protection, boiler inspections and security. If this is not what you are looking to protect then you can get your policy customized. Understand, what is that you want to cover in your insurance. A building insurance will only cover the exterior part of your building. Where as rental insurance will help you cover the contents or items housed inside your buy to let property.
Some even guarantee your rental income which may be affected due to unforeseen instances such as fire, theft, earthquake, explosion, floods, Aircraft, Riots and vandalism or Vehicle impact. Other damages may be caused by the tenant himself, such as damage to property and its structures. And it is essential to cover everything right from fixtures and fittings to loss of rent.
It also covers for costs and proceedings to evict the tenant from the rented property. There are various covers for Rent guarantee which will either be for six months or for a period of 12 months. It may or may not include a comprehensive reference based on the cover you opt for. Basically, a comprehensive cover will present a detailed report of the reference checks and tenant background check will be carried out in depth. Anti-fraud check, rent payment defaults, personal identity checks, County Court Judgment checks, bankruptcy etc are the basic checks carried out. In addition to this employer's check, previous landlord's check will be covered in a detailed assessment. Avoid getting a tenant with a bad history of payment defaults and you can easily protect your rental income. Reach out to experts and see how you can avoid risking your capital investment.
Kirthy Shetty, Platinum author,
Tenant Rent Insurance Company assistance from:
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Filed under Home Insurance by on Dec 30th, 2009. Comment.