Oh HELP!!! (Permission to let advice please..)

clg123

HiIm all in a quandry over what to do and looking for some advice to help...My self and my partner own a two bed apartment, purchased July 2007. However.. he is a gardener and getting very frustrated in this fine weather not Having his own garden to tend to!! Therefore this (and a few other reasons none too major) has meant we have requested from the RBS, our lender, conset to let staying on the SVR as per now on a residential (they are sending a form, with a few conditions - anyone know what they are BTW?) and other than that said its fine. What is the best way of letting out our property? We would then be renting ourselves. We probably wont make a profit on ours, but obviously need as near as poss to out mortgage payments. We are looking to sell in a few years when all *hopefully* picks up. We have previouslu tried and got nowhere.I have read a little about guaranteed rentals, insurance for if the tenants cant / dont pay, etc. We have approached the council to see if they are interested however they do not offer this, the best they can do is pass on our details to people on housing supoprt - would this be a no-no?Apologies this isnt too clear, im doing this at work so al little rushed.Thanks in advance

caljoemor

The bank will probably have conditions about the the type of tenant you can take and they will also want to make sure that your tenancy agreement contains certain clauses.

Some banks won't allow you to rent to tenants in receipt of benefits so I would wait to receive that and then look at advertising the property.

You can market the property yourself (Gumtree seems to work well) or use an agent, rental insurance is a good idea and your agent may be able to refer an insurance provider most companies will require you pay them to carry out a reference check on your tenant before they will provide the insurance.

Don't forget to contact your Buildings Insurance provider too.

Other info you may need - you will need an EPC (valid 10 years) and a Gas Safety Certificate (valid for 12mnths so have done just before a tenant moves in).

Good luck!

littlemisslettings

As a first time landlord, your best bet is to instruct a letting agent who is a memeber of a recognised scheme (e.g NALS, ARLA, NAEA, NFOPP), on either a let only, rent collection or fully managed service. The agent will credit check and reference tenants for you as well as provide correct tenancy agreements, advise on safety regulations & legal requirements and depending on the level of service arrange maintenance.

Not using a letting agent as a first time landlord is a false economy. Use an agent who only deals with lettings (not an estate agent with a lettings office atatched to boost their income).

I am not completely unbiased in making this post as i do work for a letting agency, but i wont say which one, and i wont make any recommendations :-)

MissMoneypenny

Perhaps go to the thelandlordzone for advice
http://www.landlordzone.co.uk/

My letting agent is really useless for the landlord (I'm renting). They didn't protect all the deposit, so can't issue me with a S21 (owner of the letting agents says he has always kept some of the deposit in his account and that is what he is still going to do).

Plus they forgot to get the gas safety certificate renewed. If they are reported for this, it is up to a £5,000 fine or 6 months in jail.

Anyone can open up a letting agents and it is the landlord that pays the price for their incompetence.

Pee

Unless it is making you really miserable where you are, I wuld say that letting your flat to move into rented is just going to be a headache. If you have problems with tenants, i.e. finding them, getting them to pay rent and getting them out you are going to be financing that.

Is it really not an option to sell and buy something with a garden now? If you are selling and buying, the state of the market matters less.

poppysarah

You're going to garden in a rented property?

What about an allotment? Is there any unused land anywhere near you? Look up Landshare (hugh fernley whatsit's thing)