Second house for work purposes

MX5huggy

Sounds like you might be better being the lodger yourself. Perfect lodger in my view , one who is not lodging for most of the time. 

sammyjammy

MX5huggy said:

Sounds like you might be better being the lodger yourself. Perfect lodger in my view , one who is not lodging for most of the time. 

Much better idea and no risks, no long term commitment if you find the right place!

Annisele

The "is it a good idea" question depends on all sorts of things, including how long your particular piece of string is.

How much will the Manchester property cost, how much rental income would you expect, and how does that compare to the costs of what you're doing at the moment?

Would you be better off selling your current property and just plain moving to Manchester? (I appreciate family etc may well mean that isn't just a financial decision.)

How long are you expecting to have regular work in Manchester? If it's only for a couple of years, the costs of buying then selling again are likely to be the dominant factor here.

What's the tax position going to be? You're unlikely to be able to use the Rent a Room scheme for your Manchester lodger income, because you won't be letting out a room in your main residence. You'll also probably be liable for CGT when you sell. Your costs in renting yourself in Manchester might be deductible against tax (eg if you're self employed), but your costs of having a Manchester property as in investment almost certainly won't be.

How tight are your finances? Eg if your lodger declared themselves a tenant and locked you out, could you afford legal advice? If your lodger stopped paying, could you still afford the mortgage?

As others have said, it sounds like by far the least risky option is to become a lodger yourself. The potential reward there is lower - it's just cost - but it'd be so much simpler.

Grufflovgreen

Thanks for your thoughts. It would definitely be easier to find a regular place I could rent as and when I need to, but from my experience it’s hard to do that and not feel like you’re a ‘guest’ in someone’s house. I wouldn’t want to sell my current property either. Certainly given me plenty to think about, I’ll wait to see what the numbers would look like.

Annisele

There is the option of a regular place you could rent "as and when you need to" - but there's also the option of a regular place that you rent for the whole time, including periods you're not using it. That's going to feel like a waste of money, but it would likely reduce the hassle factor considerably. You'd still feel like a guest in someone else's home - but I suspect you might feel like that with your lodger plan too; it's probably going to feel more the lodger's home than yours.

Ditzy_Mitzy

The issue is that the 'lodger', in this situation, will be no such thing.  He will instead be a tenant, as the Manchester house will not count as your primary residence.  If the tenant exercises his rights the whole thing could get messy.  

68ComebackSpecial

Grufflovgreen said:

I’ll find out more this weekend, but I guess officially they’d be classed as a lodger, because I wouldn’t be allowed to live there if they were a tenant. Surely I’d have to be very unlucky to be landed like someone you describe! 

I didn't have any difficulty in getting rid of one of my lodgers as the police very kindly came round and took him away in handcuffs. 18 months for theft, criminal damage and some motoring offences I was able to help the police with as it transpired he had lost his licence. Cost me more money then he ever paid in rent, though I did enjoy cleaning the toilet with his toothbrush before his friend collected his belongings.

Grufflovgreen

Wow!! OK I’m having second thoughts about all this now...

md258

Just buy (or rent) a studio flat that you can lock up and leave. This gets round the potential problems of someone else living there.