Rental out our flat

NEH

As we're nearing the end of redecorating our flat our minds are obviously turning to broachng the letting agents....

Before we rent out our flat we have informed the morgage company and kept the building insurance on it. Presumably we need some form of landlords insurance so which is best?

I notice on searchs some people advise a book about renting but it doesn't cover Scottish law which is where we are renting does anyone have a book that covers Scotland?

What other things do we need to consider? There is no gas to the flat only electric heaters and oven etc...do we need to get some form of electrical certification?

Thanks, apologies for the mispelling of the title....

princessamy86

I think if you're in Scotland you need to register as a landlord. Not sure about anything else as I'm England, but theartfullodger may be able to help you, I think he is a Scottish landlord.

tbs624

You need to register yourselves and the property with the local Council, as required by Scottish law.

You may want to join up to SAL (Scottish Assoc of LLs) Courses available, membership fee tax deductible and also gets you a discount on your LL insurances premiums. You could try Alan Boswell for insurance.

You need to ensure that your property meets the Repairing Standard - see here. Also have a look on your local Council's web site for guidance.

Artful Lodger is probably your best bet on here for the finer details, as he owns & lets property in Scotland

BitterAndTwisted

Being a landlord with no prior experience is a potential minefield and I really wouldn't recommend it. The risks can be huge and you've got to look at it as a very long-term business arrangement, especially in the current economic climate.

NEH

princessamy86 wrote: »

I think if you're in Scotland you need to register as a landlord. Not sure about anything else as I'm England, but theartfullodger may be able to help you, I think he is a Scottish landlord.

tbs624 wrote: »

You need to register yourselves and the property with the local Council, as required by Scottish law.

You may want to join up to SAL (Scottish Assoc of LLs) Courses available, membership fee tax deductible and also gets you a discount on your LL insurances premiums. You could try Alan Boswell for insurance.

You need to ensure that your property meets the Repairing Standard - see here. Also have a look on your local Council's web site for guidance.

Artful Lodger is probably your best bet on here for the finer details, as he owns & lets property in Scotland

Thank you, just found the register site now....thought i'd check out our property, bit concerned as our landlords nor their company are registered. Hoping it's a mistake....

BitterAndTwisted wrote: »

Being a landlord with no prior experience is a potential minefield and I really wouldn't recommend it. The risks can be huge and you've got to look at it as a very long-term business arrangement, especially in the current economic climate.

We don't really have an option. We had to move as my health meant that we could no longer live in the flat and we have had to rent in our new place as my husband is self employed and a new business so getting another mortgage would have been hell. Renting out the flat is the best option at the current time....

princessamy86

A site a lot of the landlords on here recommend is landlordzone, so it might be worth joining that?

m_13

An electrical safety check should cost you about £125 for a two bed flat with electric heating. They will check the wiring and PAT test any portable appliances you are leaving (kettles, toasters etc) and also list the large items they have tested (oven, washing machine, storage heaters) etc. The reports will say how long it should be until the next test. Our says 3 years.

NEH

m_13 wrote: »

An electrical safety check should cost you about £125 for a two bed flat with electric heating. They will check the wiring and PAT test any portable appliances you are leaving (kettles, toasters etc) and also list the large items they have tested (oven, washing machine, storage heaters) etc. The reports will say how long it should be until the next test. Our says 3 years.

Thanks, it's a studio flat so good to know prices....We're getting the storage heater in the lounge/bedroom replaced so may ask the elctrician to do the necessary checks then...

BitterAndTwisted

NEH wrote: »

We don't really have an option. We had to move as my health meant that we could no longer live in the flat and we have had to rent in our new place as my husband is self employed and a new business so getting another mortgage would have been hell. Renting out the flat is the best option at the current time....

I understand why you cannot live in the flat but disagree that renting it out is the best option. I believe that the best option would be to sell but if you are intent on going down this route please do lots and lots of research to protect yourselves, your asset and your sanity.

NEH

BitterAndTwisted wrote: »

I understand why you cannot live in the flat but disagree that renting it out is the best option. I believe that the best option would be to sell but if you are intent on going down this route please do lots and lots of research to protect yourselves, your asset and your sanity.

We have done some research already and we feel that now is not the best time to sell and that we'd be better off renting it. Two other flats in the same block have rented within weeks and the prices are pretty simliar....We're going to be putting it in an agencies hands so we don't have to deal with all the queries etc given that we are now 70 miles away. We've found out as much as we can really in terms of the rental market in the area, one bedroomed/studio flats are in demand....As for research on what we do next etc that's why i'm coming on here as a good starting point so that we get it right and do it the correct way...

BitterAndTwisted

I'm in danger of being a complete Jeremiah so I'll duck out of this thread after this last post: it's entirely possible for you and your partner to do everything right and everything in the correct way but all you need is just one "professional" tenant to stop paying the rent and it could cause you months of stress and heartache and months and months of lost rent before you can get them out, and meanwhile they've trashed the place costing you thousand to put it right and you've still got to pay the mortgage on it. I do sincerely hope that will not happen to you. There are threads on here regularly describing exactly what I've just said