PegLeg

Just wondered how many people are renting out their houses in the UK or are most people just selling up straight away?

For those who are renting what have been your experiences and what advice you can give?

Many Thanks.

Pootle

Hello,
We are currently renting out our uk house. We have an agent for full management is 11% plus vat. They lined someone up to move in the week after we left (which didn't happen!) We ended up getting an e-mail after we landed in Oz to say they couldn't move in so it was then put back on the market. This was back in Jan and we had someone move in at the beg of March. They paid 6 months initially and we don't yet know if they want to stay beyond that. We have had no problems. Let the insurance people and mortgage people know etc. Had never visited Oz so didn't want to sell before we came. Will probably look to sell next year so we can buy out here.
Ruth

NKSK

We're renting ours out - have been doing so 6 years.

We've been very lucky - had just two months of vacancy and spent about £300 in that time. It will be rented for at least another year.

A few tips:

1. get yourself a good estate manager. I've heard nightmare stories.
2. Consider getting insurance for vacant periods (covers empty periods or tenants who default) I personally didn't go with this because if the management company is good they should be sifting applicants anyhow.
3. Offer low rent (as low as you can and still cover your outgoings). More chance of filling it.
4. Try to make contact with your tenant - just to establish some kind of relationship.
5. Leave enought cash in the bank to cover at least one month's mortgage and any incidentals.
6. Be aware that tenanted properties are harder to sell.

PegLeg

That's exactly are reasons for thinking of this as well.
It would be a hell of lot easier to just sell, but we are thinking of renting for 6 to 12 months and then if all ok we'll sell and know where we want to live in Brisbane.

Can I ask who your agent is for renting? Need to make sure we get one who is up to scratch with the internet and email for correspondence.

Pootle

We are just using a local one to Wiltshire. Get 2 or 3 agents round to value the property and give you details of their rental service. They should give you an idea of all costs involved then you can go from there. I think most companies advertise on rightmove now so that would be good to check out.
Ruth

PegLeg

Thanks for those points.
Did not think of point 6, but luckily we do have some contacts here who could do some quick decorating if needed.

Bix

We could not sell our house so rented it instead.
Have been renting for 7 months....so far, so good.

We also use a local agency. He recommended unfurnished and I think that was good advice otherwise you are responsible for every little thing that goes wrong.

Effectively we only ended up leaving carpets and curtains so have a small contents insurance covering that as well as a buildings insurance of course.

Check your insurances as some companies do not cover rental properties. We had to change both of ours.

LindyLoo

We're renting out 2 flats and haven't had too many problems over the past 18 months.

One property is with a friend...minor running problems but no hassles.

The other with an agent which is a complete saga. The major concerns are when there are no tenants. Make sure you have enough money to cover 3 months mortgage in the UK.

Check you are insured for renting out...you will probably have to change insurers. You should inform your mortgage lender - to be honest as long as they get their payment each month I don't think they are too bothered.

There are tax implications in Oz, as your rent money is termed "world wide earnings".

Speak to several letting agents and see what service they offer. They usually charge between 10-15% of the rental cost.

Make sure your agent can be contacted by e-mail and that they respond! Most are keen to get your rental money but when there are problems it can be difficult contacting them when you are 10 hours ahead and half way around the world.

We left our places furnished as that is was tenants in our area want...you will need to check out the market in your area.

We just about cover our costs, so you will need to look into the full costs of running the place, insurance, repairs, council tax (if it's empty), advertising etc.

We think it's a great idea to rent out. At present in Brisbane the housing market is way out of our league compared to our earnings. It costs us about 50% less to rent out a really nice flat in a nice area, compared with what we would be paying in a mortgage. I would say house prices are about 6/7 times your annual earnings.

Also if you still have a place in the UK you can always go back if things don't work out. We are giving ourselves 2 years, getting our citizenship, and then making up our minds. You can never say never....

Lynne

If your property is mortgaged, read your mortgage, you will probably find you need permission from your mortgagor to rent your property and they usually insist on it being handled through a property rental company. Our mortgage was with Alliance and Leicester and they were very good and quick at granting permission. The only downside was that Alliance and Leicester, at that time, would only grant permission for two years. When it got close to the end of the two year period I had to contact them again. Provided your rent is more than your mortgage payment there should be no problem.

We were very happy with the rental company we used. It is true that a house with a sitting tenant will not sell for full market value. If you are not sure how long you are going to rent, just have the rental agreement for one year renewable or have some clause in there that allows you to regain vacant possession upon reasonable notice.

Are you non resident for tax purposes?

alkristensen

We are renting, and are mortgage free so that cuts out the mortgage lenders two penneth.

We found a great agency and they do 3 levels of service depending on what you want. We were fully managed while we were travelling round the world and the gutters had to be done on a full inspection which is carried pout quarterly and it cost us £50 and was done by them. We have a six month rolling contrac with the tenants and we may go to half managed seen as we are back now and live in another town and can go up and do little jobs ourselves and save money, and when e move to oz we are going on full again til we settle and then may sell, but a straight income is guaranteed being mortgage free and times it by nearly 2 and a half and it makes for good living abroad.

Also if we dont like it (i doubt it) then w can come back and we dont have all the probs off the drop in money on return.

I think this ll only happen when ulhuru gets snow capped all year round!

See which property agents houses fly out the quickest in your area , and phone up pretending to be a potential tenenant for your own property once listed and see how tey handle you, so as to get a fair idea of what sort of co. they really are.

If they insist on all the refs and wont budge then they will be ok , imo

good luck
alk

flapsterhp

Hi, we are going to rent our house out (if we ever get our visa) and were wondering about the tax situation. Do we pay tax over here before the money is transfered to Australia or pay tax in Australia or can we rent a property for the same amount as the rent we would get for our house and not pay tax. As you can see I know nothing about this so any help would be greatly received. Andy

Grayling

You can arrange for tax exemption in the UK but will be liable for Australain tax on any overseas income including rental income.

You should take advice on any tax matters as it can be very complcated especially if you are leaving ANY investments in the UK ie. pensions,endowments etc.

G

Bushranger

I'm looking for adivce on tax matters realted to property. I rent out a flat in the Uk. All the rental income goes towards the mortgage. Any one know if I'm liable for tax? Who should I talk to about this?