Renting dilemma

2nd_mortgage

Sorry for the long post, but need some advice.

I have been a landlord since Sept 2013 & have only had 1 tenant so far. They vacated the property end of March & the property has been on the letting market since end of Feb - with not much interest. It is a lovely property but not a typical rental property.
The letting agents have called me to say that they have found a very nice couple who are looking for a long term let (I think I will start with 6 month tenancy to see how things work out). They are retired & selling their house. They expect the sale to be completed by middle to end of May. They are prepared to leave 1/2 the deposit to "reserve" the property & they want to start the tenancy once their sale is complete.

If I had lots of interest & offers, I would have accepted a lower rent from someone wanting it soonish, but.....I havent. There have only been about 3-4 viewings since early March & this is the 1st offer which is just under the asking rent.
I am obviously concerned that the sale of their property will be delayed & as a consequence, my property will remain empty for longer. On the other hand, they could complete the sale in next 3-4 weeks & start renting my property from mid May. They have mentioned renting for 5-10 years which would obviously be attractive to me.
Has anyone experienced such a dilemma before ? What did you do ?

Thanks in advance,

2nd mortgage.

franklee

Good tenants are worth waiting for but I'd put a cap on the time, say the reservation will only hold till end May (or whatever). If you get short term tenants in you will likely have another void sooner rather than later whereas these tenants want to stay long term.

When I sold and went renting (some years ago) my landlord waited a month for me. That was also a lovely property that hadn't let, mainly as it was quirky. I would have stayed there longer if he hadn't sold up.

Make sure you put down in writing exactly what the reservation deposit is for and under what circumstances it will be returned or kept etc.

teabody

Hi....as far as no interest is concerned....have you tried letting through openrent? I put a property with a well known estate agent and viewings came drip by drip and potential tenants were turned away as unsuitable and so on by the agent. I marketed it myself with openrent and got 4 viewing enquiries within 24 hours and within 5 days it was taken. The tenant told me she had tried through the agent and was turned away as she worked part time and the agent felt she would need more security. I did thorough checks and she came through credit checks etc like a dream and is now an excellent tenant. I also think agents fees really put potential tenants off as to even go through admin and referencing the agents charge rediculous amounts. As for the potential tenants....not sure what i would do.
Good luck...hope it works out.

Tixy

The 1/2 deposit they are offering - are they suggesting that would be non refundable if they don't take up the tenancy? (due to the house not selling or changing their mind etc).

I'd be tempted to suggest a larger figure maybe the whole deposit to keep it for them up until say mid June.
If they don't take up tenancy by the then you get to keep the deposit.
Then you wouldn't be (much) out of pocket compared to having someone commence a tenancy from say early May.

G_M

I agree with the above. On the one hand, good tenants worth their weight in gold. And long term is also valuable (assuming they don't suddenly decide to buy again, or move, after 6 months.......)

Another tenant who stays 6 months and leaves you with another 3, 4, 5 month void after that.........

On the other hand, house sales are very unpredictable, and you could be waiting indefinately.

I'd stipulate that if they don't take up the tenancy by end of May, they forfeit the deposit and you start marketing again.

If, come end of May, the sale is 'nearly there' you might request 1/2 rent or something for waiting a bit longer.

buglawton

As teabody says, Openrent can be effective. But requires some organisational nous to use.

2nd_mortgage

Thanks everyone for your replies.
I will contact the agent today to find out a bit more about this 1/2 deposit offer.
I wasn't aware of Openrent, but I generally prefer to not have to deal with the tenancy as I work really long hours most days in the week.