Renting out privately or via an agent

shiraz99

Can someone give me the brief pros and cons of renting out a home privately vs using a management agent?

A family member is considering renting out their home whilst they live abroad for a year and they think it's a simple task to do it privately and get one of the family to manage it for them. I'm not so sure that's the case so I'd like to know whether it's worth the hassle.

Mark_d

Renting out privately can be a simple task if you know what you're doing.  But you need to spend time doing the contract and checking tenant references, check-in/inventory, addressing issues as and when the tenant raises issues, registering the deposit. There are also lots of things that can be done to help things go smoothly - things that you might not realise or understand, but a professional agent would.

Maybe the AirBnB route might be worth exploring

Mutual_GB

In that scenario I would use an agent to manage the property as the owners will be abroad. They can also opt for guaranteed rent, if the tenant defaults they still get paid. Plus they will have to serve notice on tenant, if the owner wants to resume occupancy. The tenancy agreement should note the need for possession, one year later. Gas and electricity certificates, thermal values and advising utilities of new bill payer can all be handled by agent, but use an established local management firm.

They will organise the statutory tenancy deposit holder.

Bookworm105

legally, as the owner will be abroad, they must provide a UK address at which "they" can be contacted by their tenant

pro and cons of family member v letting agent is a fruitless comparison as we know nothing about the level of knowledge of the family member re tenancy law
The family member may have in-depth knowledge, but have useless interpersonal skills and so be unable to deal with tenant requests
Letting agents often show only superficial knowledge despite claiming "professional qualifications" and are always acting in their own interest first, landlord second.

has the owner registered for the (HMRC)  non resident landlord scheme?

_Penny_Dreadful

shiraz99 said:

Can someone give me the brief pros and cons of renting out a home privately vs using a management agent?

A family member is considering renting out their home whilst they live abroad for a year and they think it's a simple task to do it privately and get one of the family to manage it for them. I'm not so sure that's the case so I'd like to know whether it's worth the hassle.

Use a letting agent. Unless the family member is well versed in tenancy law and willing to accept phone calls 24/7 it is a terrible imposition to put on them. 

_Penny_Dreadful

Bookworm105 said:

legally, as the owner will be abroad, they must provide a UK address at which "they" can be contacted by their tenant

That depends on the location of the rental property. In Scotland a UK address is fine for a PRT but in England an AST specifically requires an address in England or Wales for the serving of notices. 

Bookworm105

_Penny_Dreadful said:

Bookworm105 said:

legally, as the owner will be abroad, they must provide a UK address at which "they" can be contacted by their tenant

That depends on the location of the rental property. In Scotland a UK address is fine for a PRT but in England an AST specifically requires an address in England or Wales for the serving of notices. 

the sooner Scotland leaves the simpler it will be on these boards
the point I was making is the LL cannot do it from overseas

Grumpy_chap

shiraz99 said:

Can someone give me the brief pros and cons of renting out a home privately vs using a management agent?

A family member is considering renting out their home whilst they live abroad for a year and they think it's a simple task to do it privately and get one of the family to manage it for them. I'm not so sure that's the case so I'd like to know whether it's worth the hassle.

Which member of the family will manage any issues while the property owner is abroad?
How much will that family member be compensated for their time and effort?
How will the family member, or the property owner, respond to a call at 11 pm on Christmas Eve that the boiler has broken and the property has no heating and no hot water and an instant solution is demanded?
Has the property owner considered the tax declarations that are required for an overseas LL?

The property owner would be far better to engage the services of a professional Letting Agent on a fully managed basis to take care of everything while the property owner is out of the country.
This will provide a better service to the Tenant.
This will avoid the risk of family dispute if the family member that is looking after things doe snot act in the way the overseas property owner would have done.

IMO, the AirBnB suggestion above would be even more effort.

_Penny_Dreadful

Bookworm105 said:

_Penny_Dreadful said:

Bookworm105 said:

legally, as the owner will be abroad, they must provide a UK address at which "they" can be contacted by their tenant

That depends on the location of the rental property. In Scotland a UK address is fine for a PRT but in England an AST specifically requires an address in England or Wales for the serving of notices. 

the sooner Scotland leaves the simpler it will be on these boards
the point I was making is the LL cannot do it from overseas

Scotland leaving the UK wouldn’t help because there would still be Northern Ireland in the UK. 

propertyrental

There are a multitude of laws and regulations that a LL must comply with. Get one wrong and evicting the tenant at the end of the year might become very difficult/impossible.

Of course, if the family member knows what they are doing, or is prepared to learn the ins/outs of tenancy law and tenancy management - fine.

If not it's a risk. Now read

Post 7: New landlords (1):advice & information :see links in next post

Post 8: New landlords (2): Essential links for further information

Post 9: Letting agents: how should a landlord select or sack?

(all assuming the property is in England...)

Bookworm105

_Penny_Dreadful said:

Bookworm105 said:

_Penny_Dreadful said:

Bookworm105 said:

legally, as the owner will be abroad, they must provide a UK address at which "they" can be contacted by their tenant

That depends on the location of the rental property. In Scotland a UK address is fine for a PRT but in England an AST specifically requires an address in England or Wales for the serving of notices. 

the sooner Scotland leaves the simpler it will be on these boards
the point I was making is the LL cannot do it from overseas

Scotland leaving the UK wouldn’t help because there would still be Northern Ireland in the UK. 

brave man ignoring the Welsh when making such a comment