Renting Out My House, Where To Start???

cruickgl

Hi all, my first post on here….so be gentle with me. I am looking for some advice on what I would need to do. I am thinking of renting out my house as I would like to move this year and I don’t know where to start or what I would need to do. My situation is that I have a 3 bed semi which is mortgage free ( I paid it off over 12 years) and as my circumstances have changed (girlfriend and a 3 week old baby!!!) I would like a change of scenery for us all. As property prices are low I am reluctant to sell at the present time as I know that any rental income I get for my home would be pure profit to go towards repayments on my next home. However do I need certification on my current property for the gas and electrics or anything else to show it is safe and is it best to use a letting agency or go anywhere else to rent it out? As I live in Portsmouth I did wonder whether it might be an idea to approach the MOD or even a Housing Association to see if they would be interested in obtaining my place for rental. Can an experienced landlord come back to me with what I need to do to make a start on putting my place up for rental ??? Any other advice or ideas would be well received also. Thanks in advance. Gary.

anselld

It depends how much you want to do yourself. The letting agents can do everything for you (for a price).
You legally need a landlords gas certificate.
NECIEC Electrical Safety certificate is not mandatory I dont think but very advisable as the LL is liable if anyone is injured through faulty electrics.
You need LandLords Buindings insurance rather than your existing home/contents.
You need to have the correct legal agreements (AST).
And you are legally required to hold any deposits in a recognised protection scheme.

Check out landlordzone.co.uk for loads of info.

If you are in the University District that is another good market and students are looking now for next Sept.

If this all sounds too difficult contact one of the local letting agents.

clutton_2

find a good lettings agent who is a m ember of an Accredited body, let them do it - there is far more to it than you think. spend 6 months reading and researching on here, on www.landlordzone.co.uk and www.singingpig.co.uk learning all the pitfalls of being a LL - then think about if you want to self manage

2912pwil

You also need an EPC, as I understand you need it before you can start advertising.. they cost about £70 and no tenant I have ever met cares anything at all about them.. but the law says you must have one.

http://www.campaigns.direct.gov.uk/epc/

Think about joining a landlord's association (so you've others to talk to and people to ask when things go wrong - oh yes, things will go wrong..) eg
http://www.rla.org.uk/

Work out ALL your costs (insurance, expenses, corgi, etc, etc) and don't assume you'll always get all the rent payments (there are bad tenants out there, as well as bad landlords...)

- but, good luck! In my humble experience (renting out since 2000, 3 houses rented) things USUALLY go OK.. but I have had to go to court a few times...

Robert_Sterling_3

cruickgl wrote: »

I know that any rental income I get for my home would be pure profit to go towards repayments on my next home.

Where will you live, rent free, when your own house is rented out?

Kynthia

You'll also need to pay tax on the profit. This could be quite a significant amount as you don't have mortgage interest to reduce your profit. 20% or 40% depending on your total taxable income.

Swipe

After taxes and fees letting out is not worth the hassle IMO. I'd just get rid of it now before prices plummet. I'm in the same boat (stuck with 2 houses) and one of mine is going in the auction ASAP.

cruickgl

Yeah, thanks for all this.....I was after some website references to read through and get some knowledge. I was speaking to a friend of mine and thats what got me thinking of renting it out rather than selling it. He reckoned I'd be looking at £700-£750 a month income on it,so if I was to purchase another property (I have a very significant deposit available also) and use the income from my current place to pay towards the mortgage (I intend buying a better place in a better area) then my monthly repayments would be minimised. Sounds simple I know, and as I've never been down this route I am out of my comfort zone. Probably a Letting Agent will be the way to go for me,less money each month but guaranteed income. Anyway, my research phone calls will start tomorrow.

clutton_2

i have done just that very successfull - i have rented out my home, and am in rental at the moment - but i do know what i am doing re tenants. i was not prepared to lose a shed load of money by selling at this stage in the market