Thinking of renting house out...

fluffyscruffy

Im thinking of renting my house out but have been told its anightmare...can anyne give my any advice or benefit of their experiences,good or bad?Thanks.

thaylock

A nightmare ? In what way ? I have rented out properties for several years & have had no problems, as long as you get decent tenants & treat them like customers there shouldn't be any problems.

fluffyscruffy

thaylock wrote:

A nightmare ? In what way ? I have rented out properties for several years & have had no problems, as long as you get decent tenants & treat them like customers there shouldn't be any problems.

Thaylock..I understand what your saying but Im thinking of renting part furnished,I was told anything you leave in the property has to be checked,ie,electrical items etc.And what happens if tenants dont pay up?

Luis

A few years ago when I was married (yuk), we lived in my house whilst we rented out his. We made the mistake of trying to be fair and flexible, by saying we didn't mind tenants who were on benefits, and they could decorate 'within reason'. We also used a very good local letting agent.

My first piece of advice is this - I wouldn't rent out again if I were planning on living back in the house one day because:

Our tenants went into arrears, we tried to get them evicted, but the council said they had rights ( :eek: ) and we would have to wait for (I forget how long, I think about 3 months) total arrears before we could apply for all sorts of expensive court action to get them out of our house!

They decorated. Badly. No - worse than badly - picture if you will, bedroom walls painted in GLOSS MIDNIGHT BLUE. Fence panels painted with sky blue emulsion, the patio painted gloss brick red etc.

They didn't clean. Suffice to say, the first thing I did was go out and buy a new loo seat, and then bathroom suite and kitchen. Took me and my mum 2 days solid scrubbing for me to stop crying. Filthy.

They broke the patio doors, ripped the phone sockets out of the walls, smashed down a wall - the list goes on, you get the picture.

And because they had no money, it was pointless to go after them (solicitor's advice) - so all we had was the deposit. The letting agents said they had kept the place in good order until the last few months, when the arrears started - and they had as we had friends nearby who confirmed this.

However, this has not put me off renting out in the slightest. I plan to rent my house out when (if......) me and OH get a place together. But I have learnt my lesson, and in future, I will be one of those landlords who are more strict - I have been a tenant before in places where I wasn't even allowed to put picture hooks up.

So my advice is - good letting agent, no DSS, no pets, no smokers, no decorating etc. I am sorry if I come across as a misery, but once bitten......

HTH, Luis.

chugalug

If worried about tenants that dont pay make sure you get a deposit and rent in advance. Serve your S21 notice at the beginning of the tenancy so that you can start possession proceedings immediately should things not work out ie rent not paid. You can start proceedings when rent 8 weeks in arrears so deposit and rent in advance should cover you for this at least. Draw up a proper contract so everyone knows where they stand. Make sure you understand your obligations as a landlord ie gas safety certificates, repairs etc. Above all if you dont know what you're doing TAKE PROPER ADVICE. I wouldnt go through an agent because they charge a lot of fees both to you and to the tenants and do very little. Half of them dont know what theyre doing or why anyway and offer little protection. Tenants arent always trouble, some of them just want a decent property at a decent rent and to be treated as humans. There are always rogue tenants just as there are always rogue landlords - pity they cant be paired up!

mdean

I am no rachman- but have 1 house on a buy to let arrangement. I think the most important thing is not to be emotional about the house. It is a house - not a home - It is the tenants home. They can decorate it how they like - but I will redecorate back to magnolia at there expense when they go. They can make as much mess as they like - They will pay for the professional cleaners.

Only let to vetted professionals- My tennants have been great - but I chose a house in a desirable area

thaylock

1. Let the property unfurnished, most families prefer this as they have their own furniture, also you will not be responsible for obtaining safety certificates.

2. Get decent tenants who are working

3. If they don't pay up, remember you will have taken a deposit from them, if they miss 1 month you simple take their deposit, if they miss 2 then you send them an eviction notice. I have had to do this once & the tenants soon paid up & have been paying ever since. Just make sure your tenancy agreement specifies the notice period for eviction.

dougk_2

You still need a corgi landlord certificate if there are any gas appliances.

You still need to be sure the electrical installation is safe and many landlord insurance policies now specify a full circuit inspection certficate every 5 years.

Would recommend leaving cooker at least and not let them connect their own.

If you go furnished you can claim 10% of the rent against tax.

fluffyscruffy

Thanks for all the replies..can anyone point me in the right direction with regards to tax on rental income?

dougk_2

Try these !

http://www.inlandrevenue.gov.uk/pdfs/ir150.pdf

http://www.inlandrevenue.gov.uk/pdfs/ir87.htm

Hope it makes sense!