rent out house for 6 months

Premier_2

naturegirl wrote: »

...My builder friend said I should do it my self and not get an agency I thought it would be less hassle to use an agent but it feels more and more complicated by the day!

If you think it's complicated using a letting agent, you can't even imagine how complicated it might become without using one.

Just learning what you must and mustn't do is bad enough, but when things go wrong ... and a professional tenant will smell the blood of an unknowing LL a mile off and go in for the kill.

As I recommended earlier, get a professional LA to help you.
They will charge as any professional would but that may work out a lot cheaper than trying to learn the profession in the next few days and certainly less than being taken for a ride by a professional tenant exploiting what you don't know.

When your car goes wrong, do you get a skilled mechanic to help you or do you elect to buy a haynes manual and go on a local college course to learn the trade to get your car fixed?

When you are ill, do you contact a professional medic to seek help or do you elect to get a few books out the library and hope to treat your illness yourself?

Obviously when you have electrical problems you contact your trained electrician for help.

So why when you plan to go into the business of letting probably your most expensive asset, your house, would you not seek the help & support of a professional?

tbs624

Premier wrote: »

... get a professional LA to help you.They will charge as any professional would but that may work out a lot cheaper than trying to learn the profession in the next few days and certainly less than being taken for a ride by a professional tenant exploiting what you don't know.

...or they could just add to your misery as a newbie LL and be equally exploitative, generally incompetent, or just downright lazy. Remember - no training necessary, no qualifications necessary, no particular expertise necessary, no common-sense necessary to set up as an LA. Depends on your definition of what constitutes a "profession", I guess

The electrician who recommended the LA may be on one of those reciprocal set-ups - "you carry my business card and I'll hand out yours"? If you were to use any LA you could get your friends to pose as potential tenants first & see what kind of treatment they get.

Naturegirl - you may find these links interesting: here and here

On whether it's worth joining a LL association if letting just for 6 months , I'd say "yes" - you can set the membership fee against rental income for tax purposes and you can get a hefty discount on LL insurances . You can also obtain up to date tenancy agreements from them, and you have swift access to good advice if things did go belly-up with your tenant.

mlz1413

naturegirl wrote: »

The letting agent has told me she is not a member of an association. (She was recommended by an electrian I was using who has worked for her) I can use my own builder for repairs. The Mortgage company has been contacted they want £490!!! to change details for the 6 month rental. I haven't got intouch with the insurance co yet. Is is worth joining the LL assoc if I'm only renting out for 6 months? My builder friend said I should do it my self and not get an agency I thought it would be less hassle to use an agent but it feels more and more complicated by the day!

Please use an agent who is a member of ARLA without it the agent may have as much knowledge as you. Being part of ARLA gives you some come back if needed.

If you rent your place for 6 months by just placing an ad in the local newspaper getting some rent upfront and a TA signed you might be luckly and have model tenants who pay, treat the place well and move out after 6 months without hassel.

On the other hand you might get tenants who don't pay, you are in another country so can do little more then ring and write to them, they break doors, windows and ruin the kitchen and carpets, then after a lengthy battle may move out leaving you with a place that needs everything replacing and redecorating.

Or the tenants maybe somewhere inbetween these situations, but if anything goes wrong is when you will wish you either hadn't rented or had used the 'expensive' option of an agent and LL association.

Sorry to be so negative but if you are going to out of the country think very hard about renting a place that you will have no time to manage and difficulties sorting any problems out. Your builder friend may recommend what to do with something that he has no responsibility for, but ask him to repair the place after bad tenants and I'm sure the response will not be so willing.

barnaby-bear

naturegirl wrote: »

I've got the chance to work away for 6 months next year and want to rent my house out for that period. How, Who, etc etc Where do I start, who can help? do I need special insurance, tell the mortgage provider?
Any information greatly recieved.

You do realise you will have to put all your stuff in storage - not just stuff it in the loft so the tenant has to chuck it to put their own stuff up there....
Perhaps easier to get a couple of lodgers a few months before you go and avoid all the paperwork and tax forms and lodgers more likely to move after 6 months.

barnaby-bear

naturegirl wrote: »

The letting agent has told me she is not a member of an association. (She was recommended by an electrian I was using who has worked for her) I can use my own builder for repairs. The Mortgage company has been contacted they want £490!!! to change details for the 6 month rental. I haven't got intouch with the insurance co yet. Is is worth joining the LL assoc if I'm only renting out for 6 months? My builder friend said I should do it my self and not get an agency I thought it would be less hassle to use an agent but it feels more and more complicated by the day!

If you are out of the country you have to appoint a representative in the UK to receive court papers/correspodence if your tenant should desire... legally no rent is due if this is not done

barnaby-bear

mchale wrote: »

Is their a market for your property?
get permission from yr mortgage company
sort out insurance cover
sort out corgi cert
sort out tenancy paperwok
have a builder handy for problems

tenancy deposit scheme

Premier_2

tbs624 wrote: »

...or they could just add to your misery as a newbie LL and be equally exploitative, generally incompetent, or just downright lazy. Remember - no training necessary, no qualifications necessary, no particular expertise necessary, no common-sense necessary to set up as an LA.....

The same overlly alarmist suggestion could equally be levelled against many other professionals an average person may have need to call upon
e.g. a plumber, an electrican, a builder, a carpenter, a motor mechaninic ... etc.

Choose a professional with a good, long term reputation and if possible seek a personal recomendation/endorsement from others.

... or of course you can go and learn to be an 'expert' in these all skills too just like Manuel learnt his English i.e. "from a book"! :rolleyes: :cool: :rotfl:

naturegirl_2

Thanks everyone for the advice!!! I've still not sorted anything out and the more advice I get the harder it is for me to decide what to do. I think it's the initial costs that are getting me down. I'll have the mortgage paid for but it wont cover all the expenses from the mortgage company, letting agent, corgi cert etc etc Im only going to Scotland so its not too far away Im giving myself two weeks to decide then that it. ta again

silvercar

Work out whether it is cheaper than leaving the property empty.

It really isn't that difficult provided:

a) you have the time to do a bit of reading on the net (here and landlordzone.co.uk and the direct gov sites are good places to start)

b) a bit of common sense

c) treat tenants as you would expect to be treated - remember your house becomes someone elses home.

Getting a tenant who won't trash the place and will pay the rent is the important thing. Either use an agent or ask around friends & work colleagues.

FraudBuster

(I still have not told my mortgage provider)

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/2385737