A Landlords Guide to Renting

elliewild

madeupname1 wrote: »

I can tell you that renting out a former home has worked well for me. There is a lot to think about but it really doesn't take a genius to work through the issues. Do as much research as possible. I think the key points are (1) can you afford to pay the mortgage without the rental period coming in for a period of time (2) do you have approval from your mortgage lender (3) get landlord insurance (4) get your gas safety certificate done (for additional peace of mind you can get an electrical safety certificate done, although its not legally required) (5) get references done re any potential tenants (6) protect their deposit (7) be prepared to lose (alot of) money if you get bad tenants (8) you have to submit a tax return (and pay tax on any taxable income following appropriate deductions). A search through these forums will show lots of other threads where posters have asked the same question.

Thanks for everyones advice! i have got permission to rent out my property. My letting agents are good and doing thorough searches, im only allowing workers to rent the property. The mortgage payments are fairly low so i can manage a little while (although letting agent guarantees rent. i have been getting quotes for landlord insurance and have a gas cert.

its nice to know that it can work, i know there are risks -im not oblivious to bad tenants and will have safe measures set up in case. i will be removing all furniture. wish me luck!

FATBALLZ

As somebody with a lot of experience of renting as a tenant, I'd have to say my worst experience was with a Landlord in your situation, ie wasnt happy with market price for his house so rented it out. I believe this was due to him not having the faintest clue of his responsibilities as a landlord, being emotionally attached to the house, and generally being a bit of a !!!!.

For the sake of your future tenants, please don't allow yourself to go down the same road as my old landlord. And good luck

G_M

LOTS of useful info here.

dorset_nurse

Is your Mum happy with you living in a caravan on her drive while you make/lose money renting your place out?
I think its an odd solution to lowering the price of your house to a reasonable level so that it sells.
Can you afford to buy another place without selling the first one?
Lots of people rent successfully and it could work for you. Are you aware you may not make a profit even if and when you have tennants that are paying rent

elliewild

dorset_nurse wrote: »

Is your Mum happy with you living in a caravan on her drive while you make/lose money renting your place out?
I think its an odd solution to lowering the price of your house to a reasonable level so that it sells.
Can you afford to buy another place without selling the first one?
Lots of people rent successfully and it could work for you. Are you aware you may not make a profit even if and when you have tennants that are paying rent

we only lived in the caravan for 2 weeks while the sale of the new house went through. my mum was happy to help. i am in a unique situation when i bought my first home i was on 9000 a year! now im on 25500 so yes can now afford. it seems to be working so far. we dont actually make any profit, we pay for the management company, landlord insurance and mortgage - its not about making profit, in the long run we hope to pay enough off the mortgage so that when the market does pick up we can sell and gain capital.

elliewild

Just wanted to thank everyone for all their good advice. ive been renting my house since june 2011, with an excellent tenant and management company. yes things have gone wrong, i had to replace the doors, oven and other things, which the company took out of the rent (and i was able to pay) its working really well at the moment. the mortgage lenders did let us 'let' the property with an extra fee of 100 pound a year which isnt bad - however i don't think they do that anymore due to current climate. the tenants contract is up in June so we'll see how i get on. Its really great to see all the advice for others starting out. it has been stressful but im hoping that when my tenant pays off the mortgage, it will pay for my retirement property abroad...well one can dream! thanks again.