paulry

Does anyone rent out their home in the UK? And if so, do you have any warnings/recommendations that you would like to share for those thinking of doing the same? Is letting out to a housing association a good idea?

Thanks.

Molko1974

We rent our house. We didn't want any council tenants because of fear of them not looking after our house. We had a few council tenants who came round to view our house which put us off because of the way they were during the viewing. Some of them only got so much in benefits towards the rent and then had to find the rest themselves. I’m sure there are decent ones out there but we didn’t get a good feeling about the one’s we saw.

The tenants we did have were fine until we decided to sell our house. They wouldn't let anyone in for viewings and when they did move out they left a mess which cost us 300GBP to clean. We did have an inventory but that didn't seem to help us much. They didn’t remove all of their belongings on the last day and chained them to the drain pipe down the shared driveway. The estate agent didn’t want to know and being overseas it made things difficult.

We couldn't sell our house so now have new tenants. They are on a 6 month contract which expires in June. We have decided to sell again, and now we are having problems with these tenants. They won't let anyone in to view which is fine as we have had an offer from someone who has seen the house from last year but we can't get access to our house for the surveyor. They are refusing to answer the phone and when they do they won’t talk. I’m annoyed as I don’t want our tenants to stop/delay us from selling. The estate agent suggested waiting until they move out in June to access our house.

At the end of the day it pays the mortgage. Look at the fee’s the agent’s take, you still need to pay for landlords building insurance and we paid 35GBP a month for British Gas as you need a certificate. Then there may be repairs to the property. Even to change the washer on the taps we had to pay to get someone in.

Good Luck.

perksy

We have rented ours out. Personally we've stayed well clear of housing associations and estate agents. We've let it privately and have a family member collect rent and do any repairs. Its worthwhile getting things checked over before you leave, things like giving the boiler a service or any niggly maintainance issues. Make sure you keep buildings insurance up to date and that its covered for things like fire and flood etc.

We didnt have a mortgage on ours but its worthwhile checking with your mortgage company should you have one that everythings above board.

dickchap

I've rented my house out in the UK. My MIL owns some properties and rents them all out so she is looking after our house. I found out that someone at my child's school was looking for a rental as hers was about to run out. She contacted me and looked around and decided to take it. My MIL printed off a tenancy agrement which was for 12 months. The family in my house are keeping the house/garden nice and my MIL has popped round to collect post ect and says it's always clean. So I'm lucky that I got a nice family living in my lovely home. I haven't had any problems and it hasn't cost me any money!! Problem I have now is, I'm going home so I won't be renewing their tenancy. I feel bad as they had hinted that they would like to buy it if we decided to stay in OZ. But things haven't worked out for us. I'm just so glad that we didn't sell up. I always needed that safety net for what if...

I dont know about leaving your home in the hands of an agent but I'm sure it was made easier for me as I knew the people moving into my home.

Good luck!

mittas

Hi

I'm renting out my property currently. Here's a few things I've learned along the way;

1) You must inform your mortgage lender - mine gave me leave to stay on currenty mortgage and let my property for a year and also moved me onto interest only for that year. I haven't figured out what to do after the year is up so any advice is welcome on that!

2) Unless you have extremely generous friends & family get an agent to fully manage the property. When I got my first tenants in my family had to go round and do the inventory, but then ended up organising a loo to be fixed, & the heating to be fixed (these were all things that worked before I left - typical!). The tenants though lovely did seem to ring them a lot with the small things but enough for my rels to feel a bit put out. Previously of course they'd also had to do lots of viewings. They were regretting their kind offer by the end of this first month!

3) Unless you know what you're doing, going without an agent can be very time consuming and stressful. You can advertise the property yourself on sites such as Gumtree - however the only interest I got here was from DSS / smokers / people with pets and a random guy who wanted somewhere to stay over the weekend he viewed the flat - weirdo! You can use reference companies to ensure they're properly vetted and get tenancy agreements off landlord websites or via a solicitor.

At the end of the day most people will go to the agents to find somewhere to rent - so that's were you'll find your market, plus they'll do the initial contracts & vetting for you - and of course viewings. Unless you're lucky of course and happen to know someone who is looking for somewhere!

4) You can get really cheap buildings / contents insurance (don't forget your carpets / curtains / cooker etc need to be covered if you're going unfurnished) I used Simple Landlords Insurance (.com)

5) The initial set up can be costly but some costs will only occur the first time - others will reoccur each year / 6 months. Here's some of the things you need - prices are roughly what I paid in Oct 08;

Gas Safety Certificate (50 +vat)
Electrical Safety Check (80+vat)
Energy Certificate (105+vat)
Agents fees were about 300 +vat for tenant find / reference check

The electrical safety check is not technically compulsory however you'd be considered pretty negligent if something did happen as a result of faulty electrics.

6) Consider using a bond agency. The government have now set up independant agencies who hold bonds so there is more security on either side. Some estate agents insist on this. I used DPS (Deposit Protection Service) - you can manage the information online - www.depositprotection.com - it really offers more protection for tenants than landlords I think but a good way to assure prospective tenants you'll be a good landlord.

7) I found the government website really useful on information about responsbilities of landlords & tenants. They've lots of useful factsheets.
http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/HomeAndC...Home/index.htm

8) Don't forget to look into your taxes - if your income from the property comes in under a certain amount you can do it through PAYE rather than a self assessment form (see the government website). I've found it's easiest just to ring your local tax office for specific advice about your situation.

Well I hope this is helpful. And on the housing association front i was generally warned off this on mass!

Cheers

Mittas

Ozzidoc

This is where many people get caught out. When letting your property, it is not your home. It's simply a property. Emotional attachment can cause a lot of angst.

To the poster who commented that their tenants left their place dirty or messy at the end of the tenancy which cost them (the househowner) £300, well I must say that £300 is nothing - I suspect that you meant £3000? You wouldn't even repaint the bedrooms for that price, let alone recarpet.

I hope that all works out

MarkMC

We rent our home out and have had a nightmare with the agent and our first tenants, We have finally kicked them out and got the rent they refused to pay and the keys back thanks to a little persuasion by Marks dad.
One thing we have learn't is look for a good rental only agent not an estate agent that does it as a sideline and has no idea about the rental laws.
The other thing to remember is it is not your home anymore but the people who live it, so a little thought and respect to them would go a long way.
We have first hand experience of this from renting here in Australia with our landlord.

Kingseat

Don't go for cheap insurance. Tenants do not look after anything that is not their own so if they trash your house, ie rip the kitchen to bits, same with the bathroom, ruin carpets, knock holes in walls, break windows, damage boilers etc then basic insurance will not cover this. You need a policy with malicious damage by a tenant cover.


A gas safety inspection is a legal requirement and this must be done annually.

You must inform your mortgage lender. Most won't have a problem with it for the first 3 years.

If you let for more than 3 years and then sell you may well be liable for capital gains tax.

Make sure you credit check all tenants as well as double checking references.

mittas

Cheap doesn't always mean bad Kingseat. Simple has really comprehensive cover. I'm not stupid!!

Reading fan

[QUOTE=Kingseat;7438032]. Tenants do not look after anything that is not their own so if they trash your house, ie rip the kitchen to bits, same with the bathroom, ruin carpets, knock holes in walls, break windows, damage boilers etc then basic insurance will not cover this. You need a policy with malicious damage by a tenant cover.


Hey not all tenants are the same - we are renting and are currently in the process of painting the entire house having first stripped wallpaper and grease off the walls. My husband has put new units and worktops in the utility room. All the problems we have had renting have been from landlords taking too long to fix things after all its only a rental ! Our last rental was £1800 pm and we spent most of the winter without adequate heating - the owner lived abroad and employed a "handyman" locally to do work - when it suited him.

Good luck finding great tenants - we have found the rental process works better with an agent - having been a landlord and now a tenant.

Kingseat

oooh yikes! I seem to have ruffled a few feathers. To the poster above, I have re-read my post and didn't call you stupid! All I did was to post my thoughts and the main one is to always make sure you have sufficient insurance. Most lettings insurance is a standard policy and the add on is the malicious damage cover. I never had it until I needed to make a claim only then did I find out that most of the damage caused by my tenant was not covered with the standard policy. I learnt the hard way so I am just posting from experience.

paulry

Thanks for all your advice. It's a bit of a minefield when it comes to letting your house out and moving to the other side of the world. So many things to think about.

Unfortunately, I don't have the advantage of close family nearby and I wouldn't be too comfortable with that arrangement anyway. My dad manages some of my affairs in South Africa and despite his best and kindest of intentions he occasionally makes errors of judgement ("....you painted it what colour??" ). A housing association: besides the added risk of damage to the property, I would at first think they would be best because the HA takes the responsibility for damage etc, and they pay the rent every month regardless of whether the house is occupied. But I'm not prepared to risk imposing unpleasant tenants on my neighbours - all of whom are excellent. So a private letting agent is probably the way to go, along with all the bells and whistles in terms of insurance cover, maintenance contracts, and stepped up vetting.

I think I'll try and sell the house first and revisit this option later on if necessary.

Here, have some Karma for taking the time to cover it all in such great detail.

Thanks again.

koalakim

Hi there

My advice - don't do it!

Seriously - we have had many friends go abroad for a bit and they have had no hassle with renting out, one even managed to have the same tenant for 4 years.

We on the other hand have had much hassle with it. We are using the agent we bought the place from and paying a hefty 15% a month so all should be in order. Ha ha....... We have had 3 tenants in 2 years, two of which left the place dirty and have ruined the carpet - just general dirt that now can't be shifted. The 3rd one has just left but it is a company rental so they are still having to pay the rent but...... the agents haven't been able to relet it yet as it's grubby! Now wouldn't you think someone would put their sensible head on a get the place cleaned!

The second lot were students (unfortunately no luxury of being able to pick your tenants from a queue here!) and nearly set fire to the place with candles and I nearly was sick when I saw the state they left it in. What is with these agents? Aren't they supposed to do checks!

Anyway, the other down side to be aware of is if you leave it furnished then you will have to pay council tax anytime it is vacant - wish we had known that one! Plus you will also be charged for water in between tenants as well.

I would also only advise it if your mortgage is tiny as it is a constant worry if it's empty about having enough savings to pay the mortgage still. Plus also they keep bringing in new regulations such as the energy certificate etc etc. Because we also have a flat on an estate we also have to cough up for extra checks with the estate management everytime we get a new tenant in.

I guess it depends on whether you have an independent house or a flat etc but these are just things to be aware of. Can you afford to pay rent here and support a mortgage back home? Fortunately at the moment if you are on interest only then it should be too bad but if house prices drop more then you could find yourself in negative equity if you aren't chipping away at the capital!

We have now decided to put it on the market as it seems to have picked up where we are, however, thanks to having rented it out we it hasn't been valued for as much as it should be - grrr! Unfortuantely we can't hop over and spruce it up - so that is another thing to be aware of, it's not like we are in Spain and can pop over for the weekend. We are going back soon so we can sort it out then but not everyone would be able to do it.

I would certainly stay away from housing associations as I've a friend who has a house rented to them on a long term contract and yep it's been trashed as well. We ended up with some people downstairs who were on witness protection from up north then got raided by the police for drugs! Lets just say they weren't the normal type our place attracts!

So do consider it seriously to your situation - we thought it was going to be a breeze but we're thinking of selling because we are just so fed up with the hassle.

Good luck!!!!

mittas

Koala Kim that sounds just awful! There are definately lots of pitfalls and it certainly does depend on who you get in - I think I've been lucky in finding good tenants by the sounds of it! You're totally right about considering if you can afford it if the property stands empty too - sometimes it can take a while to find new tenants.

On the water front an option for people who don't have one already is to get a water meter - depends on the size of your property as to whether it's worth it in the long term if you are going to live there again, but as mine was such a small property (2 bed flat) I installed meter when I moved in as it worked out cheaper for me anyway - sounds like it's worked out well for me on the rental front too as there's no cost to me in between tenants.

I think on the cleaning front you have to budget to send in cleaners after tenants move out (including a good carpet cleaning) - most people are so keen to get out they'll just run a hoover round (if you're lucky). Be prepared to give it a lick of paint pretty regularly too. Sady it's a fact that if you don't have to wash the carpets / paint the walls you tend not to look after them as well.

For me all of these things meant that for a short term let of 1 year whilst I was away I would be losing a few hundred quid, but it was worth it to be able to keep my property whilst I was away. Now I'll be letting in the long term it will start to pay for itself and maybe one day make a profit ;0)

A few people have mentioned that you need to not think of it as your home - this is completely true - you've got to detach yourself from it a bit.

A last thing to consider is the long term future - the reason I decided to keep mine is that although for now it may not make much in the way of profit it does keep my foot on the ladder in the UK should I ever want to return and it will provide a good longterm investment for retirement. I'm no financial expert but as I see it in 25 years I'll have no mortgage on the property which has essentially paid for itself and hopefully a little more. It might be a little nest egg.

KoalaKim hit the nail on the head saying you need to consider your own situation - which it sounds like you have. Hopefully other people reading the forums will also find it useful to hear different perspectives on this too.

Good luck with the sale and the move!
Mittas

PS so sorry I don't do brief messages - I've really tried but clearly it's not my strength in life

paulry

You have just confirmed my doubts about it.

Sorry to hear that things haven't gone well for you with your flat.

That's an interesting bit about not keeping it furnished because the general advice that I have been aware of in the past is to keep it furnished - apparently you have "increased protections and rights" that way - though I have never been sure quite what the "increased protections and rights" actually are.

Another thing that puts me off letting it out is eventually we'd sell it which could then make us liable for capital gains tax. Also as you have mentioned there's the cleaning between lets and all of the other hassles. I would hate it to have to return every so often to sort out one thing or another.

My conclusion: I think we'll sell.

Thanks for providing me with a glimpse of the nightmare scenario.