HELP first time land lord

consumer31

Havnt Rented Out Yet Just Making Lots Of Enquiries Before Deciding What To Do

specs_3

You may/may not go to prison if you kill your tenants.

You are sure leaving it late to do even basic research though.

clutton_2

you almost certainly will go to prison if you kill your tenants .........

if your property is 3 storeys high, and it qualifies as a HMO and you do not comply with he regs, it may cost you a £20,000 fine also.

mystic_trev

Sorry but without sounding rude (I've had 2 BTL's for ten years) Investing in BTL now, is about as useful as betting on a three legged horse in the Derby. Except with BTL you're likely to lose more money!

beerhunter

Firstly, it doesn't matter if its family or a stranger as a landlord you will be entering into a legal contract, so do not think of it as a "friendly agreement".

what kind of a contract do i have to make the tenants sign.

Make them sign? They don't have to sign if they don't like the deal. What are other properties renting for locally / what cotact do they use / what is the deposit?

as a landlord what rights have i over the agreement

Very little other than the standard AST(which almost all contracts are... look up Assured Shorthold Tenancy), and from my experience additional additions added by a landlord are often viewed as unenforcable if challeged.

how much bond is also required

Do your reseach... what are other landlords asking as a deposit? A months rent?

You'll have to excuse me, but it sounds like you haven't let before?

Have you done the other things (or atleast in progress) such as

- informed the lender of the change of use?
- gas and electrical safely checks?
- if its furnished, does the furniture meet the current standards?
- credit checked/got references your prospect tenants?
- looked at the tax implications?
- will it a HMO, and do you need a licence?
- etc, etc

If you haven't looked at the above and more, but hope to let within 4 days.. god help you.. and your tenant!

specs_3

clutton wrote:

you almost certainly will go to prison if you kill your tenants .........

if your property is 3 storeys high, and it qualifies as a HMO and you do not comply with he regs, it may cost you a £20,000 fine also.

All I was saying was that someone posted that "You will go to prison" you happened to agree 100%. This is not true. Your quote above in response to mine is not backing up that statement.

I think too many people have took this suggestion by the O.P. and 'ran' with it.

clutton_2

Spec - i cannot think of any circumstances under which the death of a tenant caused by culpable negligence would not end up with the landlord in prison. Apart from that, i am not sure what point you are trying to make ....

specs_3

The goal posts are moving...

The only point I am making is : You may/may not go to prison.

Tassotti

I think you're all being a bit harsh on the OP. When I began letting properties, I did not know everything there is to know about the business ( I still don't and would be surprised if anyone else here does either)

It is the same as anything, it is a learning curve (maybe very steep for the OP) It's easy to become complacent in any job (how many people remember their first day at work? No clue whatsoever)

Whatever anyone's opinion on entering BTL at the moment doesn't matter either. The OP has chosen it and must now make it work.

Best advice is to arrange for a letting agent to find tenants and manage it for the first six months. Then read, read, read all you can

singingpig,
LLZ,
here,
property books
etc

Also, build a contact list of various reliable tradesmen

Tass

mystic_trev

Point taken TTRTR - You're not expanding your Portfolio, are you?