Renting out UK Property
 

Has anyone rented out their UK house whilst living in Oz? If so, did you have many problems i.e. with the rental company fixing stuff or collecting rent? Not sure if its just easier to sell and make a clean break rather than leaving property still in the UK.

Thanks for any help.

Re: Renting out UK Property
 

We have rented our house for coming up to 7 years and never had any issues. We are on our 3rd set of tenants. We have a good management agent. We put it on the market last year but missed the peak do decided to let again. I guess it also depends on how definitive you think your stay in oz will be. Im sure we all come with the intention of it being a one off move, but many ping back and forth. I guess it also depends on whether you need the funds to buy or happy to rent for awhile until fully settled. We have friends who have been here almost 4 years and were very unsettled for the first 2 years so only now have decided to sell and buy here.

Re: Renting out UK Property
 

Just be aware that the time before selling before Capital Gains Tax is liable is being reduced next year, from something like 18 months to 9 months. Perhaps something to factor in when deciding whether to sell or rent.

Re: Renting out UK Property
 

Other people's experience is not going to be a whole lot of help - one tenant can cause a mountain of issues, and you might go 30 years with good tenants and have no issues but then you experience the tenant from hell. :(

Conversely your very first tenant might be the tenant from hell, that is the risk you take being a landlord, which is amplified when your property portfolio is a single unit. It is relatively easy to tolerate a bad tenant if you have five units and only one bad tenant in five years (25 unit-years), but a whole lot harder when you have one bad tenant and only one unit.

Re: Renting out UK Property
 

We bought a couple of investment properties when we moved to the UK (dual Brit/Australian husband, me just Australian on a spouse visa). We had intended to stay forever, but have returned to Oz after 20 months. We've kept the properties and so far haven't had any huge problems.
Things to be aware of:

• You'll need to tell your property management company that you're non-resident landlords and that they're to deduct tax on your gross rental income.
• You'll need to complete both HMRC and ATO tax returns. We have an accountant in the UK who specialises in tax for landlords.
• There is a tax treaty between the UK and Australia, which should eliminate you being taxed twice on the same income.
• As you've already said, you need a good property management agent. While I'm happy with the letting/referencing etc side of the agency I use, I'm less happy with their maintenance department. After a few stand up/knock down rows with them, they've stopped the more blatant rip-offs but I still need to keep an eye on them. They were also taking too long to arrange minor work that I'd authorised and I won't allow my tenants to be treated that way - they're much better since I threatened to take my business elsewhere.
• Before we left I'd built up a good working relationship with a plumber and an electrician, so if anything goes wrong in those areas I inform the maintenance department that I'll arrange for those repairs myself.
• Being a landlord means you need to keep up to date with the relevant legislation, and there's a lot of it. Even if you have professional property management, you're also responsible for making sure your tenants are living in a safe and healthy home.
• Check whether the Council your property's located in has a selective licencing scheme, if so you'll need to prove that you're a 'fit and proper' person to be a landlord.
• Value your tenants. Good tenants are like gold, and you want to hang onto them. Let them have a pet, redecorate (you can agree on the colour scheme and level of finish), hang pictures etc. Make sure that maintenance tasks are completed quickly. I send my tenants a Christmas hamper and thank them for being great tenants :)
• If you have a mortgage you'd need to tell your mortgage provider that you're going to let the property. Many mortgages prohibit letting in their terms and conditions, in which case you'd need to move to a buy to let mortgage at a higher interest rate.
• You'd need landlord insurance, as opposed to standard residential insurance.

They're just some things to think about, ultimately the decision whether or not to hang onto your UK property will come down to you and your personal circumstances. Best of luck whatever you decide.