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feasability of being an absentee LL

İ am considering renting my home out and run away to somewhere sunny!
İ know LL ing is not easy but how difficult would it be if i was absent but left an agent in control for up to a year at a time!--and any rough costings.
mfw'11 No68- 55k mortgage İO--little to nothing saved! i must do better.

Comments

  • 00ec25
    00ec25 Posts: 9,123 Forumite
    1,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    how can we give any costsings when you present a blank sheet of paper?

    being a non resident LL (in tax terms ie you live abroad) is in one sense no different to a UK resident LL who insists everything is done through the LA. If you want to be a good LL you would consider using a LA who had control over a sizeable maintenance fund and a high threshold for them to authorise spend so repairs get done quickly

    you will of course have to sign up to the non resident LL scheme with HMRC (google it yourself)

    your main problem will be finding a reputable LA who won't upset your tenants, start with an accreditied one but even then that does not guarantee their competence.
  • G_M
    G_M Posts: 51,977 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper Combo Breaker
    Rental income (10 months per year) - no idea.
    Agents fees - 12-15%.
    Maintenance/overheads - no idea.
    Tax - no idea.
    Set up costs - no idea

    Non resident LL scheme - no need to sign up if you use an agent, but agent will have to deduct tax before passing rent to you.

    Read this post and all links.
  • de1amo
    de1amo Posts: 3,401 Forumite
    1,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    costings --12-15pc agent fee
    what rate is tax paid at on rental income?--are all maintenance fees including renewals on the property tax deductable--
    mfw'11 No68- 55k mortgage İO--little to nothing saved! i must do better.
  • joerugby
    joerugby Posts: 1,180 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture Combo Breaker
    edited 18 March 2011 at 5:05PM
    I've done this before and paid 12.5% agency fee plus vat. The agent was in regular email contact and I approved all expenditure over £100. Net rent was paid promptly to my UK account.

    My building society granted consent to let because I was working abroad. You need to check this with your lender as they may have a different policy including stringent ltv requirements.

    Enjoy the sun - where are you going?

    BTW our house dropped in value by £40,000 whilst we were away - we'd have been better off selling when we left!
  • G_M
    G_M Posts: 51,977 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper Combo Breaker
    de1amo wrote: »
    costings --12-15pc agent fee
    what rate is tax paid at on rental income?--are all maintenance fees including renewals on the property tax deductable--
    Depends what tax bracket you fall into?! It is income, therefore part of income tax.

    See the HMRC on the link provided for details of tax deductables. ALL the info you could POSSIBLY want is on the post I referred you to. Start reading - there's a lot to learn/consider.

    Absolutely no point picking on one or two issues to question. You need to consider all the issues you don't yet realise need considering.
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