Moving into renting short term

Mark7799

Hi Everyone.

New to this Board as MSE didn't exist last time we moved house!!

We've sold ours (Subject to contract   🤞 ) and have just secured a new build but we are likely to have to rent for about six months. Any suggestions how best to manage things like mail redirection and telling banks? Don't really want to  have to pay for two lots of mail redirection if we can avoid it.

Thanks on advance for any advice. 

propertyrental

In the scale of things, mail redirection is peanuts.

But the proper way to do things is to give everyone your new address each time you move. For some (eg DVLC) it's a legal requirement, for other's (eg banks) it helps with mortgage applications, and with the rest it's just more convenient.

But you're right there's always someone you forget to tell, so paying for 2 x 6 month redirection makes sense.

Slinky

Securing a 6 month rental is likely to be more of an issue than worrying about paying 2 lots of postal redirection if what I read on these boards is anything to go by.

ognum

I agree, really hard to get a 6 month rental, cost implications for LL means many have a minimal let of 12 months.   Maybe an air bnb but more pricey 

DayDreamerandGeneralWaster

Third above. But as air bnbs are much less popular now it will be possible to get a deal. 

Sapindus

ognum said:

I agree, really hard to get a 6 month rental, cost implications for LL means many have a minimal let of 12 months.   Maybe an air bnb but more pricey 

That's alarming.  My son rented a flat earlier this year and didn't seem to have a problem getting a six month tenancy.  I've just put my house on the market and was going to go into rented because I'm going some distance and don't want to be rushing into buying somewhere just for the sake of not losing a buyer. Is my whole plan fatally flawed??

ognum

Sapindus said:

ognum said:

I agree, really hard to get a 6 month rental, cost implications for LL means many have a minimal let of 12 months.   Maybe an air bnb but more pricey 

That's alarming.  My son rented a flat earlier this year and didn't seem to have a problem getting a six month tenancy.  I've just put my house on the market and was going to go into rented because I'm going some distance and don't want to be rushing into buying somewhere just for the sake of not losing a buyer. Is my whole plan fatally flawed??

You know your area, check RM and see if anyone is offering 6 month rentals.  As a LL I never would but maybe some in your area will.  Research  research  research!

RHemmings

ognum said:

Sapindus said:

ognum said:

I agree, really hard to get a 6 month rental, cost implications for LL means many have a minimal let of 12 months.   Maybe an air bnb but more pricey 

That's alarming.  My son rented a flat earlier this year and didn't seem to have a problem getting a six month tenancy.  I've just put my house on the market and was going to go into rented because I'm going some distance and don't want to be rushing into buying somewhere just for the sake of not losing a buyer. Is my whole plan fatally flawed??

You know your area, check RM and see if anyone is offering 6 month rentals.  As a LL I never would but maybe some in your area will.  Research  research  research!

Most things are amenable to negotiation. I wonder if there are landlords who insist on 12 months, but would accept 6 months for an increased rent. Might require a fair chunk of premium over the 12 month rent however. 

propertyrental

I'm not convinced. Many LLs prefer an initial 6 month AST (which is the minimum period after which they can serve a S21) so they can see what the T is like and evict if they are not happy.

(one of the reasons the gov wants to remove S21 notices!)

Cairnpapple

You could possibly just do one postal redirection if you were able to redirect from the original house to e.g. a relative's house and then make sure to change everything important on each move (avoiding the need for a redirection from rented to the new house). Or if you're local and your buyers are friendly they may be willing to hold odd mail for you if you've changed the bulk of it. But given all the other costs of moving, the double redirection is a pretty small consideration. 

Not what you asked about but having done a couple of similar moves into rented, I'd recommend boxing up anything that isn't essential and keeping in storage (or garage/spare room) between the first and second move. When you finally open the boxes it's easier to declutter anything you didn't miss.

For our last move we did 4 bedroom house -> rented 2 bedroom flat + storage unit -> 4 bedroom house. Flat was nice and under Scottish tenancy laws we didn't even have to stay a full 6 months. Bit of an overlap on each end allowed us to clean and to book movers for less busy days of the week. 

Albermarle

ognum said:

I agree, really hard to get a 6 month rental, cost implications for LL means many have a minimal let of 12 months.   Maybe an air bnb but more pricey 

However if the OP is waiting for a completion date from a developer, then delays are quite common, so could well end up renting for up to 12 months anyway.