Tenancy agreement template

Blackcat29

Can you recommend a broker who may be able to help me find a suitable mortgage.

Don't want to spend a fortune switching as still going to keep the house on the market as not intending to remain as a LL at this point, though that could change.

G_M

Blackcat29 wrote: »

This tenant has kind of fallen into my lap, her son lives next door! And I believe that she will take care of my property.

The problem is that most tenants who can afford to pay their own rent are going to choose somewhere else - due to the area, not my property!

So if I can't accept DSS I may struggle to get a tenant to begin with and may have long voids between tenants if they move on.

For two reasons I would recommend seeking a new tenant:
1) the benefits claims combined with possible mortgage lender and/or insurance restrictions and
2) letting to people you know (or their family) is unwise. Only let to people you will be willing to evict if necessary and whose friendship (or that of their family!) you are not concerned about.

Read:
http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showpost.php?p=41160642&postcount=12

Werdnal

Blackcat29 wrote: »

Can you recommend a broker who may be able to help me find a suitable mortgage.

Don't want to spend a fortune switching as still going to keep the house on the market as not intending to remain as a LL at this point, though that could change.

Look in your local area for an Independent (very important!), mortgage or financial advisor. The change of mortgage should be fairly straight forward, so any IFA should be able to advise you - it not really a complicated situation.

However, keeping the property on the market whilst you have a tenant could be very complicating for you! You think you have had problems selling up to now - you will only make matters worse if you try to sell it with a tenant in the way. You really need to make up your mind what you want to do:

Let it for 6/12 months, then review the selling option again, or keep it on the market and reduce the price, change agent etc, to prompt a sale!

If you are only planning to let it short term, with the ultimate intention to sell anyway, would it really be worth your while? By the time you take out Gas Safety Cert (if you have gas), change of mortgage and the envitable costs and charges of this, change of insurance, repairs and maintenance, agents fees, tax on your rental income etc - are you actually going to make enough to cover the hassle of letting it at all?

Houses are selling, and you have admitted that perhaps the area may not be quite so desireable as some. Is your selling price at a level to reflect this? Would you care to put up a rightmove link so members here can critique it and suggest ways to improve your presentation and attract a buyer? You need to be brave as comments will be blunt, but sometimes a totally independant view on the place may help.

Blackcat29

Thanks Werdnal.

Letting it out may be more trouble than it's worth!!

I do need to review my photos on Rightmove as they were taken when we originally decided to sell and we have done a lot of clearing out since then, along with a bit of decorating to freshen things up so property looks better now than in the photos.

Think I'll sort out getting more photos done, maybe we will have more success selling.

Not sure I'm brave enough to post the link as I know some members are very blunt and although constructive critiscism would help it may also sting a bit too much.

I'm sure there are posts on here about making your property more appealing for purchase so will have a look at them and follow any advice that I can.

If I did leave the property empty in the hope of a quick sale in the new year does anyone know what savings I can make on monthly bills? Do I still have to pay water, gas, electricity etc? I know I can get 6 mths freeze on C. Tax if house has no furniture left in, but are there any other savings?

Werdnal

Before you even consider leaving the house empty, you must check with your insurance and mortgage as they can object to the place being uninhabited.

As you are planning to do this over the coldest part of the year, you should also ensure you leave your heating on low/frost setting to prevent freezing, or completely drain down the system with the water switched off at the mains.

You can apply for CT exemption if the property is unfurnished, for up to 6 months.

mg3nlt

Hello,

We are currently just thinking about letting our property. I have been trying to have a look at some rental agreements but can't seem to find any free examples. While I would be happy to pay when we come to actually drawing up an agreement, at the moment I just wanted to see what sort of things we can include to cover ourselves. Such as the legal jargon regarding the tenant repairing any damage that they cause, other than reasonable wear and tear etc.

Is there anywhere I can find this sort of information and see some agreements or snippets?

Many thanks

Werdnal

mg3nlt wrote: »

Hello,

We are currently just thinking about letting our property. I have been trying to have a look at some rental agreements but can't seem to find any free examples. While I would be happy to pay when we come to actually drawing up an agreement, at the moment I just wanted to see what sort of things we can include to cover ourselves. Such as the legal jargon regarding the tenant repairing any damage that they cause, other than reasonable wear and tear etc.

Is there anywhere I can find this sort of information and see some agreements or snippets?

Many thanks

Please do not draft an agreement yourself. You are using it to safeguard the most valuable asset you will ever own - and legally speaking, it must be able to stand up to a judge's scrutiny if you ever need to rely on it in court.

If you are just starting out with the intention to let, please don't cut corners on something as vital as this. If you want to do it on the cheap, you can buy commercially available "one-size-fits-all" tenancy agreements off the shelf in W H Smiths etc, but I have never used one so don't know what they are like. Or better still, join a recognised landlord's association, who will have all the documents you would ever need, and legal advice and support too. Yes, they charge an annual fee, whichi s tax deductable against your rental profit, but their documents are proven and legal, and above all, up to date. Tenancy and housing laws change all the time, and finding something free on the net could be way out of date and only proved wrong when you get caught out by it - once something is online, it stays online forever, unless the originator goes back and amends/deletes it.

And the fee to join may be offset 10 fold by the savings you would make by doing it legitimately from the start. Tenants tend to know far more about housing laws and their rights than many landlords do, and will run rings around you financially if you get it wrong ...

Whilst you are doing your research into letting, read this:

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showpost.php?p=41160642&postcount=12

and all the links it contains. Letting is classed as a business, and like all businesses, there are many laws, rules and regs and costs to comply with.


Please do not put together a cobbled up tenancy agreement from "snippets" and advice from anonymous and unqialified members of a public internet forum - you may as well ask a complete stranger in the street to scribble it out on the back of a fag packet! You know it makes sense ...