stelisa

hi i'm contemplating moving to nz or oz, but i have a house in london which i would like to rent out whilst overseas, would anyone who has been in a simular situation be able to advise me as to what they did and what to look out for as this is rather a new concept for me.

newkiwi

if you dont mind forking out comission on your rent received, approach reputable letting agents and ask them to take you on as a landlord. That way they seek out and vet applicants, and if a tenant moves out will look for new ones. they can also then do teh paperwork with tenancy agreements etc. Bit of money down the drain when everything runs smoothly, but worth paying if your going to be on the other side of the world in case something goes wrong.

you will need to ask them to send you the income statments to nz, as technically you are liable for tax in Nz if youre living there, minus any tax already paid in the uk.

luvwelly

A Managing Agent is essential. If you are living abroad, the Inland Revenue will let your tenants pay the rent to you without tax deducted if you fill in the right forms.
I just break even on mine but in London it could be a different story depending on the amount of rent you get compared to the level of your mortgage payment (assuming you have one)i.e. you could make a lot of profit but I don't.

You need to advise your mortgage company that the property will be let and they have to consent - some are very awkward about this and try to increase your interest rate - we managed to keep ours the same but we had to switch the name of the product to 'Buy To Let' even though it had always been our family home.

Likewise you have to change your house insurance to a Landlord's product - I found www.legalandgeneral.com a lifesaver with immediate cover over the phone when my old insurer (NatWest) advised they could not continue cover for tenants. It is 'Buy To Let' insurance which will meet your needs.

You can also take out insurance through your Managing Agent to cover you in the event of the tenant defaulting - if you can't cover your own mortgage repayment from other income then this is probably money well spent and is also a good idea even if you can cover it since it takes several months to evict a problem tenant and refurb and get re-let.

A refurb of the property before you go is also a good idea (but not tax deductible) if you can stretch to it (Managing Agent will advise) as a neat neutral property will attract a responsible sort of tenant.

This is not essential but with mine I pay someone a retainer to look after the garden (tenants like this) and I kept on my British Gas Home Care cover to sort out any central heating maintenance problems quickly and easily.

You also need an electrician to certify that the electrics in the house are safe and have to have a yearly Landlord's Inspection of any gas boiler.

The other beauty of a managing agent is that they will tell you all this and often arrange it all on your behalf liaising with the tenant as necessary. The downside is if any work needs doing they send you a quote or two and you're stuffed really what can you do except say yes from 11,000 miles away, so go with a reputable agent which will not be the cheapest agent. Most people change their agent at least once as have I but the one I have now I am very happy with even though we have recently had to evict a tenant for non-payment of rent..the Law is on your side but it still takes a good few months for the process to work through. They have handled it all for me and it has been surprisingly stress-free.

Oh and as discussed in another thread..you need to decide whether to accept tenants with pets !

minky

As above make sure you get a good agent and on fully managed they should do 3 visits a year and take care of gas certs etc.
We took the option on the 4 year tax exemption instead of family assistance as it was better for us.

stelisa

thankyou for that advice double taxation rules you just can't dodge them!!!!

stelisa

thanks for your comments all good advice big step but willing to take it!!!

stelisa

thanks for the tax exemption advice something else i didn't know what a great site!!!