Sell house or become a weekend Dad ?? What would you do??

bikingbarney

Serious decisions to be made here folks !!!

So we currently rent our house out whilst Im posted up in Scotland, all going swimmingly although our tenant is a bit erratic.

When i get back from the Falklands I am posted back down to Benson, not ideal as its a little to far away from our house to commute to so we had decided to move into another married quarter at the camp... cool.

However ... our erratic tenant has now decided that as we wont let her have pets in the house(quite common in rentals) that she wants out at the end of her tenancy agreement in September.

The house is about 100 miles away from the camp Im posted to so its to far away for commuting everyday. So our options are as follows....

1, My family live in the house whilst I live in the block at the camp and only get to see my wife and kids at weekends for the next 4 years.

2, Sell house and come off housing ladder and live in a quarter at camp for next 4 years then buy when I leave.

Ive tried living in the block before and hated it, especially not seeing my family. However Im a bit worried about coming off housing ladder and seeing house prices soar( if they do ?)

We dont really want to rent again as we have 3 lots of tenants now and each time they have given us nothing but trouble(non payment of rent and smashing the house up to name a couple)

My wife and I are going round in circles over the decision going one way then the other !!

What would you do ??

HELP!!

Andypandyboy

Do you use a management company? If so were the tenants vetted?

With young children you miss a lot if you are a weekend dad. I would rent the property personally but to tenants I was really happy with.

Iwantthathouse

Hmmm tough decision

Would you consider selling and buying a house nearer camp?
Or renting your property through a reputable agent who can properly vet any potential tenants?

dc197

Despite per your bad tenants, option 3 does still exist: rent it out again. Just with wiser choices of tenants. That's what I would do.

Marvel1

Option 3: New tenents.

AnotherJoe

Whats erratic about the tenant? If its just the pets issue why not let her have her pet? Dog? Cat? Gerbil?
And then treat the house for fleas or whatever when you move back into it in 4 years time?
Surely it will need a full clean and redecoration at minimum after several years of tenants anyway? And if you let her stay with a pet she's got an incentive to be well behaved hasn't she? Is your refusal to let her have pets logical or useful to you?

bikingbarney

Andypandyboy wrote: »

Do you use a management company? If so were the tenants vetted?

With young children you miss a lot if you are a weekend dad. I would rent the property personally but to tenants I was really happy with.

Thanks for all the replies so far, it really is a tough decision.

The first 2 lots of tenants we had were all done via a letting agent.

1st lot stopped paying rent and smashed the house up.

2nd lot whilst she was ok she preferred spending her money on holidays and a new car rather than paying her rent.

The current tenant is a relative of my wife and whilst she has paid the rent on time she has done(her kids have) quite a bit of damage to this house. We had new doors fitted upstairs and she allowed her children to draw all over them in marker pen. Her boyfriend drove into the side of the house and we had to rebuild the house wall etc etc

Hence why we are really apprehensive about renting again.

bikingbarney

Iwantthathouse wrote: »

Hmmm tough decision

Would you consider selling and buying a house nearer camp?
Or renting your property through a reputable agent who can properly vet any potential tenants?

property prices around the camp are well out of my league and the area isnt where we want to settle.

bikingbarney

AnotherJoe wrote: »

Whats erratic about the tenant? If its just the pets issue why not let her have her pet? Dog? Cat? Gerbil?
And then treat the house for fleas or whatever when you move back into it in 4 years time?
Surely it will need a full clean and redecoration at minimum after several years of tenants anyway? And if you let her stay with a pet she's got an incentive to be well behaved hasn't she? Is your refusal to let her have pets logical or useful to you?

We have let her have all sorts of pets from cat to dogs to small animals before.

She had a dog in this house and used to let it do its business inside and out.

It come to be a problem when the neighbours are contacting us about the smell of dog poo etc as she isnt cleaning it up and also letting it bark at all hours.

AnotherJoe

bikingbarney wrote: »

We have let her have all sorts of pets from cat to dogs to small animals before.

She had a dog in this house and used to let it do its business inside and out.

It come to be a problem when the neighbours are contacting us about the smell of dog poo etc as she isnt cleaning it up and also letting it bark at all hours.

Oh dear. Try again with new tenants then? To answer your question, thats what I would do.

ajp1309

Only you can make this decision. It is a tough one.
What does your wife think does she want to move back to your house? Have you decided where your going to settle once your out?

Also if you decide to commute is there the possibility of doing your 18months than asking for a posting nearer to your home/like
Y an exchange posting would come up?

We are just in the process of buying but my hubby is on his last 6 years so nearly on final tour. We never thought we would settle here when we discussed it years ago but glad we are.

I personally wouldn't like the thought of Hubby commuting I think it would be hard on the kids and ultimately strain our relationship as it would be for such a long time. But I know people who do it and it works for them.

what kind of pet does your tenant want would it be worth considering if they pay their rent? I notice you say she has done a lot of damage but there is nothing to say you might not get a worse tenant. Or you could get another really lovely one.

i wish you luck in your decision it must be a hard one.