Letting out our house

capital0ne

Mayfair321 wrote: »

Yes I will be using a letting agent who have advised me my house is perfect for our local rental market and should rent easily.

Well thats a surprise! Who would have thought a letting agent would think your house is perfect for a local rent! Most unusual!

Anyway as another poster said watch as many Nightmare Tenants, Slum Landlords programs you can find on catchup, then decide.

Things like non payment of rent, sub-letting, cannabis farms, crack dens etc. Are you sure you can cope with that and the renovation expense. OTH sell the house, claim back the 3% extra SD you paid on your second home and invest the proceeds in a nice balanced portfolio of shares returning 10% per annum - tax free in an ISA and/or top up your pension via a SIPP.

Happy days and no hassle.

Comms69

Mayfair321 wrote: »

Yes we are remortgaging to finance our new purchase and by the time we have factored in all the letting costs and tax on the income, we will not e making much profit. What we do make will be saved for any future repairs on the house.
In terms of redecorating, we are only planning a lick of neutral paint in most of the rooms, no wallpapering or new carpets. I would prefer not to have to spend the money but I also want the house to be presented nicely for tenants, although as it is likely to rent to families it will probably get scuffed up again in no time!

So hypothetical, what happens if the tenant stops paying rent? You're going to be significantly in the red by the sounds of it.


The profit really is if house prices rise, because any small profit you make will be immediately written off against the increased payments on your mortgage(s)

Crashy_Time

tom9980 wrote: »

Why rent if you wont make any money? you are in for a rough awakening being a landlord if you get anything wrong, even using an agent wont protect you from mistakes. Just get it sold now and be done with it.

Good advice, dropping the price even will probably be less stress in the long run.

G_M

* New landlords (1):advice & information :see links in next post

* New landlords (2): Essential links for further information

* Letting agents: how should a landlord select or sack?

need_an_answer

What are your medium to long term plans for this property?


Will you want to sell it within the 3 year cap in order to reclaim the extra stamp duty payment on the new house?


If the answer is yes then you aren't really looking at this with the tenant in mind and potentially your not ready to be in the business of letting.

I'm still amazed that any redecoration prior to rental should cost £3000 as a LL myself I'd love to know what you plan to do...I was able to redecorate and recarpet a 2 bed family house property easily for that figure with mid range carpets throughout and every wall/surface painted top to bottom in the property.

2-3K seems an extortionate amount to spend on a couple of rooms unless you intend to get a decorator in...

One final point to remember is that however well a tenant treats your home they will never cherish it like you did.

Socajam

Mayfair321 wrote: »

Yes we are remortgaging to finance our new purchase and by the time we have factored in all the letting costs and tax on the income, we will not e making much profit. What we do make will be saved for any future repairs on the house.
In terms of redecorating, we are only planning a lick of neutral paint in most of the rooms, no wallpapering or new carpets. I would prefer not to have to spend the money but I also want the house to be presented nicely for tenants, although as it is likely to rent to families it will probably get scuffed up again in no time!

This is a simple question: Put yourself in any potential tenant shoes, if you were looking for somewhere to rent, would you rent your house as it is, or would you like to have it painted?
If you can answer this honestly, then you have your answer.

Socajam

Mayfair321 wrote: »

Thanks @tacpot12 I will check out your link.
Yes I will be using a letting agent who have advised me my house is perfect for our local rental market and should rent easily.
@tom9980 we will actually make around £6k a year after expenses but I would keep that for expenses/repairs initially.
@cakeguts the letting agent advised me to leave my white goods, I am not palming them off to tenants! They are all good quality items which I would rather take with me to my new house if I can!

Why not swap out the white goods (fridge freezer, stove, washing machine etc) with new ones at a lower price.

Mayfair321

Thanks for the links @G_M
@need an answer We will see how the renting goes and perhaps look to sell in 2 year’s time to reclaim the extra stamp duty if need be.
The £2-3k estimate is based on a decorator needing at least 15 days to do the work at £130/day plus paint costs on top. This is for a 4-bed house. I don’t have time to do all the work myself within our timeframe.
@Socajam most of our kitchen electricals are integrated apart from the washing machine, and the American fridge freezer is plumbed in so we would probably leave that too.

lookstraightahead

If you leave all of your white goods and they break down you are liable to have them fixed.

babyblade41

I think with your . may I say "optimistic " view on being a LL you may be in for a bumpy ride

A 4 bed house will mean most likely a family renting your house ..white goods will take a bashing so I would remove

If you can cope with a void, could you cope with them not leaving, you say you haven't the time to paint, just having a letting agent doesn't admonish you from responsibility either.

What if your circumstances change and you need the extra income? .. your tenants won't move, they don't pay the rent and they are certainly not looking after the property as you would hope

I did a Section 8 without legal assistance but it is frustrating , costly , hassle and the chances of getting anything back are remote.

You then have to completely re-furbish it from scratch to get it ready for sale again... plus all the utility bills when you have finally got the bailiffs in to remove tenants... maybe 12 months down the line .. all the while you have a mortgage to pay , council tax etc

I'd really consider just selling it at a good price and get shot of it ASAP.. I think you may find being a LL is not all it's cracked up to be