Should I stay or should I go now?

clutton_2

and then there are voids, if you get dreadful tenants who move in and dont pay you any rent, and it takes you 3-4-5- months to get them out, particularly if you are new to BTL and dont know what you are doing - and there is the 70 Acts of parliament you have to comply with as a landlords, and the CORGI gas inspections, and the fact that you are legally responsible for your tenants behaviour and can be taken to court if they do not behave, and the HMO regs, and the new Tenant Deposit Scheme and and and and ...... !!!!!

A_Nice_Englishman

I've been lucky and only had one bad tenant (who still owes me £1000 which I've given up any hope of getting back).

I'm selling the property I rent out mainly because the yield has fallen so much as prices have risen. I'm going to put the money into my private residence but I'd probably do just as well in cash at the moment.

Think carefully before you go into this wockawocka

DampProof

In my experience the golden rule is to ensure you have vetted the tenant(s) thoroughly... for a fee you can get a report online to check if there are any oustanding CCJ's and gives you a recommendation.
Last time I used Experian...saved me a fortune when I discovered at the 11th hour my prospective tenant had two outstanding CCJ's..
Have rented to Asylum seekers through local council but ensured I had a cast iron tenancy agreement through my local solicitor. That had its problems... but came out the end with a profit.
Even had full management and after a couple of months of no rent had to go down and sort out. Apparently had been let to local rapist and partner wanted on summonses... property deserted... gave the agent facts of life...again came out the end in profit. The agent had at least had guarantor tied up.

Sooo.... to all those out there who beleive being a landlord is easy money...its like any other business... theres no such thing as a free lunch. On top of which you need to maintain the property, have electrics periodicaly checked, gas cert done every year...etc...etc...

Having said all that, in the long term if you keep the house you are saving a fortune on legal fees and it continues to be an appreciating assett...and as its your main residence should not be subject to CGT.

Hope this helps :j

Tassotti

Looking at the pictures of the house, it looks like a very well kept, well decorated place.

It is more likely to stay that way if you rent to a family and not rent out rooms individually.

The yield may not be as good as renting out rooms, but it would be a much more straightforward letting.

However, what is the demand like for 4 bed houses in Ashford?

Waht could you get as rent for this (£800-900 per month??)

You need to weigh up pros and cons of all situations