[Jen1977ni]

Originally Posted by Bermudashorts Going to show my ignorance here but is NI subject to UK tax rules? I will assume it is but if not ... well can't help you. You will only need to pay tax on the profit not the rental income. If you have an interest only mortgage you can fully offset this, if you stay with an interest and capital mortgage then you can only offset the interest element of your mortgage payments. I am not sure about the deduction of 20% at source, it could be that this is something that agents do for convenience when they handle that side of things, but I would have thought you could elect for them not to do this. Ask them. You should do an annual tax return anyway, even if it is a loss. It is extremely unlikely that you will be liable to capital gains tax (if UK rules apply). You would have primary residents relief for the entire period of ownership for the period you lived in the house and for the last three years of ownership even if you did not live there. So if you let it out for say, four years after you leave for Australia, then only one year would be assessed for CGT. So if you had the house for ten years over all, 1/10th of the gain would be chargeable to CGT but even then the first £40,000 of gain would be allowed as letting relief. In short, you would have to make a mighty big profit on the house to have anything to pay... And finally, if you are out of the country for five years then you would not be liable to any capital gains tax in the UK. What you really need to look into IMHO is the Australian side of it, i.e. whether you would be liable for Australian CGT when you sell as an Australian resident. Hope this helps.

Well as it's part of the UK, then yes, we are subject to UK tax rules!!! lolololol You do know which four countries constitute the United Kingdom yes? England, Scotland, Wales and NORTHERN IRELAND!!! LOL

(Sorry if this sounds like a sarky reply, but it just riles me sometimes when people presume because the Irish Sea is there that we're not part of the UK! LOLOL Also, we have BRITISH television, BRITISH currency and BRITISH passports (some have Irish though, through choice) end of RANT...hope you understand why I've just written what I have I'm proud to be British...thus my response.)

[Bermudashorts]

Originally Posted by Jen1977ni Well as it's part of the UK, then yes, we are subject to UK tax rules!!! lolololol You do know which four countries constitute the United Kingdom yes? England, Scotland, Wales and NORTHERN IRELAND!!! LOL (Sorry if this sounds like a sarky reply, but it just riles me sometimes when people presume because the Irish Sea is there that we're not part of the UK! LOLOL Also, we have BRITISH television, BRITISH currency and BRITISH passports (some have Irish though, through choice) end of RANT...hope you understand why I've just written what I have I'm proud to be British...thus my response.)

Thought there might have been some devolution of powers. Ahem.

Also in my defence, some Northern Irish (well the ones I have met) would take offence at being referred to as British. Hard to know what to do for best.

But now I know for you.

[Jen1977ni]

Originally Posted by Bermudashorts Thought there might have been some devolution of powers. Ahem. Also in my defence, some Northern Irish (well the ones I have met) would take offence at being referred to as British. Hard to know what to do for best. But now I know for you.

Tis ok missus, me sorry for rant lol

[Jen1977ni]

Agent out yday, thoroughly impressed with him, very professional, and his wee camera took some fantastic photos, even better still, the sun was shining and the sky blue in the photos! Not bad for November in NI! It's already on the interweb, so it's all systems go! Now just the waiting game til we see if we get a decent tenant.

He's charging 7% a month for full management, no upfront fee for listing, but £225 comes out of first months rent and he holds onto deposit. He carries out very thorough checks on prospective tenants and also offers an insurance that if the tenant stops paying the rent, it'll start paying the rent and pay for legal expenses to evict them, if they don't leave of their own accord. That insurance is £99 for the year, which to me, is a price worth paying. Also, if a new tenant isn't found it pays half the rent for a few months til one is found.

Things are moving forward, let's just hope any prospective tenant doesn't want to move in, before we....MOVE OUT! EEEK!

[Mrs Vash]

I wish you luck.

I've advertised my property for sale since May - nothing.
For rent since mid Sept - nothing - two secured tennants changed their minds.

If anyone knows of a better rental agency than Countrywide, then please let me know. (Based in England)

[jad n rich]

Originally Posted by renth My advice - do whatever you can to sell the house - including dropping the price. Renting out a house in the UK when you are in Australia is a nightmare, even with a good tenant. With a bad tenant is even worse. You'll face all the scams we had to face - the fake "your drains have collapsed" video - (we didn't fall for it) - having stuff stolen like paving stones. Tenants refusing to pay the rent, very expensive void months with no tenant. My house ended up being rented to some sort of witch - literally, who ended up putting a curse on me when she asked me to halve her rent and I told her where to get off. It means you will probably have to rent in Aus. which is also a nightmare as you will be treated as a second class citizen by estate agents and property owners who (if they are Italian or Greek) will turn up out of the blue without an appointment. If you are in a position to buy in Australia and you end up selling your UK house for a profit (which I reckon isn't likely in nominal terms but with the one eyed Scottish idiot printing money like Robert Mugabe you could see inflation driven house price rises) -- you will have to pay capital gains tax. Just my 2c IMHO.

Agree 100%.

We rent out a house 4klm up the road, (OZ) that is enough of a headache

Out of 7 lots of tenants, one lot didnt cause us any trouble at all. The others ranged from out on bail litigation lunatics, obsessive fixer uppers - that sounds good apart from DIY wiring Only 2 lots caused rent arrears, but 2 lots trashed the house.

Charming people

Must add current tenant seems perfect, however I am sure we will discover bodies in the sewer when he leaves, hes too good to be real

[Jen1977ni]

Originally Posted by jad n rich Agree 100%. We rent out a house 4klm up the road, (OZ) that is enough of a headache Out of 7 lots of tenants, one lot didnt cause us any trouble at all. The others ranged from out on bail litigation lunatics, obsessive fixer uppers - that sounds good apart from DIY wiring Only 2 lots caused rent arrears, but 2 lots trashed the house. Charming people Must add current tenant seems perfect, however I am sure we will discover bodies in the sewer when he leaves, hes too good to be real

Then I'll get my moneys worth out of my management company! Woo hoo! Ha...

[Janna and Nick]

Originally Posted by Mrs Vash I wish you luck. I've advertised my property for sale since May - nothing. For rent since mid Sept - nothing - two secured tennants changed their minds. If anyone knows of a better rental agency than Countrywide, then please let me know. (Based in England)

I have heard Andrews are good. One of my friends has a neighbour who immigrated to NZ and they use Andrews and apparently everything has been perfect.

[Jen1977ni]

The agent I'm using does at least 10 different checks on prospective tenants, so that's something!

[formula]

Originally Posted by Jen1977ni I am aware that I will have to change my B&C insurance to a Landlord insurance, only covering the actual building, and have had a few reasonable quotes about this so far, great. (Is there anything in this landlords insurance that I should be looking out for?) Also I know I need to have my EPC done before a tenant moves in, no problem, I've a friend who does those. What else is involved in the letting out of a house?

The gas safety certificate needs to be carried out by a corgi registered engineer and you will need to renew this within 12 months. £5,000 fine of 6 months custodial sentance if you fail to do this.

You will need to register with one of the 3 deposit schemes and make sure the tenants full deposit is put into the scheme within 14 days of the tenant giving it. 3x the deposit payable to the tenant (in court) if you fail to do this, plus you can't issue a Section 21 if you fail to do this.

You need to give the tenant the prescribed information within 14 days of the tenant giving the deposit. You can't issue a Section 21 is you fail to do this.

If a letting agent is doing all this for you, make sure they do as the landlord is the one who has the legal responsibility for all of these things.