brandn

Anyone rented there house out in the uk and moved to NZ. We are thinking that with the exchange rates as they are it would be nice to have some ££ coming in. Good idea or bad??

We are thinking of doing it and are just worried about not being about to manage it in case anything goes wrong. Fine if you get a good tenant who stays for ages and doesnt give you any hassle but It might not be worth the headache.

Have others used agents to manage things for them and what sort of price are you paying them and for what type of service are you getting?

Cheers,

Ash1

Hi. Just considering the same thing. Met an agent . To form a lease and to manage your property you are probably going to pay around 10-15 percent of the rental income. Depending on where you are, the rental market is supposed to very good at present. If the company you use is any good , they should line up new tetenants if the old ones give notice. Some property agents are also estate agents so your house can be on the market as well as being rented.Hope this helps.

Ashley

Englishmum

Although not living in New Zealand (New Jersey actually!) we went on an expat posting to Singapore in Jan 1995 - supposedly for 12-18 months and haven't yet returned to Blighty! All of this time our house has been rented out....we've kept it 'just in case' we have to return unexpectedly to England . We've had some very long term tenants , the current tenants must have been there for about 5 years and have just renewed for another year. This is because we charge less than the local market rate although enough to cover the mortgage plus repairs eg. leaky pipes etc., boiler maintainence - have to get a CORGI certificate annually.

We did have one problem tenant about 7 or 8 years ago with a family who had just left the Army and they suddenly stopped paying the rent; a neighbour spotted them doing a moonlight flit with some of our furniture too -and called the estate agent who manages our property so they turned up with a locksmith....in reality the agent does little apart from collect the rent and deposits it into our offshore current account. Our rental income doesn't provide enough 'profit' that we need to pay any income tax on it.

On the whole we've had hardly any problems at all...and of course our property has gone up quite a bit over the years. If you have been in NZ for at least a couple of years and know you will never have any intention of returning to the UK to live then perhaps selling your property may be a consideration......but if you're quite new to the country then I'd wait a bit before selling up so your house will be a 'security blanket' for the time being in case things don't work out.

Cape Blue

12% for full management

most agents are pretty useless but should at least cover finding a tenant and the legals - assured shorthold and Corgi gas test

would suggest you ensure your building ins know that the house is let out

would look at emergency assistance ins (cover the first 500 quid of an emergency Sunday-night-type plumbing or electrical call out) and legal protection which pays for the legal costs if the tenants mess you about - they both cost about 7 quid per month each.

remember what was your house is no longer yours for the period of the tenancies and be prepared for tenants to not be as careful as you are.

good luck

brandn

Its actually our old flat in London which we kept and rented when we moved out of london. We are going to sell our house but we think maybe keeping the flat rented for a while, as a security blanket like you say Englishmum, might be a good idea plus it will give us a bit more regular income whilst we are getting on our feet.
Weve got a good tenant at the moment and she has been there a couple of years and she would be fine but we have had some problems in the past and being so far away its impossible to manage. I guess if you get the good tenant and a good managment company and try and cover your bases with some emergency insurance cover it is doable at least for the short term.

Do you know if, you have to/are supposed to, pay income tax in NZ on the rent?
Thanks for the help.

isv

If you arrive in NZ after April 2006 you should be able to use the new 4-year tax exemption for new migrants on your rental income. HOWEVER, as the income is earned in UK the UK IR will most likely want to get their teeth in to your rental income first (special rules for overseas landlords too...). There could be severe capital gains tax implications too on property that you haven't lived in for some time - especially if you are in NZ on a working visa rather than PR. Check it all out at the centre for non-resident tax payers.

CurlyBloke

We are renting our house out. We were lucky that we seem to have a decent tenant (company let) and the letting agency have been very straight with us too.

I don't think it will be a money maker, unless you have very low mortgage repayments. By the time we have factored in electrical and gas surveys, landlords insurance, gardening services, possible bank charges for allowing you to let we are breaking even and I know a couple of people who are losing about 100 quid a month (may not sound like much, but it adds up). Of course what it does give you is the security that if you have to go back to the UK you have somewhere to go.

In the end it is a personal decision, but unless you know that you are definitely moving out to NZ for good I wouldn't sell up.

JAJ

British citizens living overseas can still use the UK personal allowance to offset any UK taxable income.

hubbard

We kept our flat in London and rented it out when we moved to NZ 4 yeras ago. Consisterntly had tenants though some only stay a year. As previous poster says after the mortgage is paid, letting mangement agent fee, and other 'associated costs' we make about 3000GBP a year. Enough to cover the cost of redecoration every 4 or 5 years plus cooker, dishwasher replacement. But the property is going up in value.

I think it is a really good idea. Particularly if you can afford to keep it as an investment longterm and buy from scratch again in NZ. It is really nice to think you have something solid towards your retirement years. Especially as wages in NZ won't allow much for pension payments. Advise you to get rent protection insurance - covers rent if tenant defaults plus any associated legal costs.

Keep the property and borrow again in NZ to buy. Maximise your investments when you are in your best earning years.