Renting out your house

King_Juan

Hi all,

I want to rent my house out but have no experience of doing so. I've had a few letting agents look at the house but to be honest I will still live near the property and think I could save money by not using an agent and just arranging/managing things myself.

Can anybody advise me if this is a good idea (with no experience) and if there are any useful resources that I can use to help with the process. It does seem quite involved but the agents I have seen have not impressed me with their efficiency and I'm not convinced their service is worth paying for.

Cheers for any help you can offer.

Gary.

MissMoneypenny

If you have a mortgage, you will need to get the lenders permission to let, first.

BenL

You might want to read over http://www.landlordzone.co.uk/forums/ and see what your fellow landlords recommend.

mintedmatty

Letting Agents on the whole are a big waste of money!!!! they charge 10-15% for doing absolutly nothing!!! I currently rent out my property. i have recently got new tenants after renting it out to a couple of mates for 18 months.

It will save yourself a fortune if you just manage it yourself. It doesnt take much to advertise the property. A few well designed simple adverts strategically placed can do the trick. Buy a simple 'tenancy agreement' pack of the internet, I got mine from an IFA friend, I can email you the basic agreement if you wish. Get decent tenants in and you are laughing!!!!

One great piece of advice I received was to ring a local gasman,electrician,plumber etc. Say you are renting out a property and you may have work for them in the future when the situation warrants. Obviously check they are reliable first but in the current climate I found the tradesman I have spoken to are more than happy to be considered the first point of call if anything goes wrong! The Plumber was a family friend and he put me in touch with his gasman,electrician colleagues, but it reassures the tenant and its easier for yourself should your boiler pack up suddenly etc.

Hope that helps

penguine

King_Juan wrote: »

It does seem quite involved but the agents I have seen have not impressed me with their efficiency and I'm not convinced their service is worth paying for.

The agents may have too many rental properties on their books already -- a lot of people who can't sell have put their houses up for rent. It's probably worth a careful look into the rental market where you are, to see if you're likely to be able to find a tenant at the price you want to rent it for.

clutton_2

take absolutely no notice of minedmatt - his advice makes me shudder with horror - landlording is not easy - if you get an agreement off the web you will have no idea if it is a legally accurate document or not -

you could have tenant not pay rent and it could take 6 months + to get them out - during which time they may not pay rent - how will you deal with that ?

please join national landlords association (joining fees are tax deductible) and youget cheaper BTL insurance premiums as a member - and use an agent for 6 months while you research to see if you want to become a LL yourself

its nowhere near as easy as folks think - and get harder by the month with more legislation than you could shake a stick at

cleanmycleats

Good advice from clutton - take my word for it as well, please don't be tempted to take any shortcuts. There is plenty of info here and from the LL association to help you.

mintedmatty

clutton, wind your neck in!!!! At which point do i say it is easy? This website is called 'Moneysavingexpert.com' not 'moneywastingexpert.com' The whole point of this thread is to see where King_Juan can save money! safely and legally, I manage my property myself clutton, thats upto me! King_Juan will make up his own mind but my advice is spot on, If he chooses to manage it himself above board and legally and not get estate agents involved he can save himself a packet!