By Tony Booth

Many buy to let investors are starting to fall foul of unaffordable mortgage commitments. Many are the result of what could actually be little more than a hiccup, often amounting to one bad tenant failing to pay his rent over a prolonged period.

The knock-on effect means an investor may not have enough rental income or reserve funds to cover mortgage payments, repair obligations or other unavoidable contractual expenses.

The answer to this potentially disastrous 'falling domino' event is to guarantee the landlord's rental income right from the start by having an adequate insurance policy.

I travelled along this stark learning curve some twenty years ago when, after years without having experienced problems, I acquired a young couple as new tenants for my multi-let property.