Guaranteed rentals

tribalboy

Hi Guys,

I am thinking of letting out my property as I am planning to go abroad for sometime. I was wondering if anyone has had any experience with the guaranteed rental schemes that we have heard of. Is it safe to look for such a provider and leave the house in his hands.

All I want is my property to be let & managed without hassle while I am abroad. I would appreciate any guidance and suggestions

Thanks

BitterAndTwisted

What are these rent-guaranteed schemes you have heard of?

hellokitty08

Northwood, the franchised letting agent do a scheme where they will come round and value your property, lets say at £650 a month, they will then offer to guarentee you a monly rental of lets say £475. They then pay you this regardless of if the property is vacant or not. (not sure if it covers non paying tenants ,i suspect so as thats half the point)

Other companies can arrange for you to take out an insurance policy that you can claim on if you dont recieve the rent.

As far as i know those are the two options. the other poster might be talking about.

tribalboy

Thanks hellokitty08,

Do you know if they would sub let to the council at all. Thats something I wouldnt want. Do you know if these chaps are reliable. Especially coz I wouldnt be in the country & dont want to be worried about my property

theartfullodger

Call me cynical but you do realise these wonderful companies employ experts in getting out of paying these so-called "guarantees"???
e.g. (just one small example..)

http://www.landlordzone.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?33065


You are already aware that as outwith UK your tenant/agent will have to retain 20% of the rent for HMRC???
http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/cnr/nr_landlords.htm



Cheers!


Artful

hellokitty08

tribalboy wrote: »

Thanks hellokitty08,

Do you know if they would sub let to the council at all. Thats something I wouldnt want. Do you know if these chaps are reliable. Especially coz I wouldnt be in the country & dont want to be worried about my property

I have no idea. I would obvioulsy suggest you do as much research as possible into the letting agents in your area. Just because a letting agent should'nt do something, doesnt mean they wont.
there is also a difference between subletting to a council (by which I assume you mean a council approved rental property) and renting to a tenant on housing benefit (or housing assist, what ever they call it these days)

I have worked for several agencies in my home town, some I would rent from, others I wouldnt. But as the national brands are franchised, I would say it is down the the individual owerns and how good their local reputation is.

bris

These schemes are very expensive and unless it's a difficult area to rent out, then the 2 or 3 months void period would not be worth it over a few years rental period. It would be better to find a good local LA who can manage it for you, for around 9 or 10% with the peace of mind that they will deal with local tradesmen for repairs etc.
Not all LA are equal though so do a bit of research into the ones you are thinking of, as some are just out to rob you for anything and everything they can. Make sure you get a list of charges for all the paperwork they issue on your behalf and even a rough guide to what their prefered tradesmen charge for jobs that often pop up. Having your central heating and boiler on a monthly scheme is a good idea as this can be the most expensive repair bill often costing hundreds of pounds, (avoid the BG scheme though).

G_M

You have no say over who they put in. They'll put anyone in rather than leave it empty. And as pointed out, the reduced rent they provide would be less than a void or two between tenants. And who knows, you might get an excellent tenant who stays 2 years+ and always pays on time. They do exist you know!

Read up on the options. Learn what you're getting into. Tax, law, etc

Letting.

LL !!!

Landlord-Certificates

If the tenants dont pay any rent you wont receive a penny.

My advice is to find a tenant finding service or just advertise yourself in Gumtree, other portals such as Rightmove or get a To Let booard for a few pounds.

My experience is that letting agents are good for one thing only - finding a tenant. Everything else you can do yourself.

Get a home emergency cover which covers heating, hot water, broken windows and lost keys amongst other things - for just £8 per month - and a very reputable company to go with it...

Aviva.co.uk/home-emergency-cover

What else are letting agents good for? Chasing rent, calling trademen, showing tenants around, banking your rent... cannot you do all of this?

Also, British Gas do fixed price repairs on boiler now and its only £69 depending on your area. You dont have to be a member and its a fixed repair.

G_M

Landlord-Certificates wrote: »

If the tenants dont pay any rent you wont receive a penny.

That really depends who the agent is and what the terms of the guarantee scheme are. There are schemes that do guarantee rent. The issue is the amount they are willing to guarantee.

olly300

Landlord-Certificates wrote: »

What else are letting agents good for? Chasing rent, calling trademen, showing tenants around, banking your rent... cannot you do all of this?

If in England the tenant needs an address in England to serve papers on. This is one service a LA fulfils unless the OP has a relative who doesn't mind having their address used and will promptly ring them up, and scan and email them any correspondence.