Becoming a LL for the 1st time (possibly!)

lukebav1982

Hi,

Sorry if this has been covered before.

I am looking to rent out a 2 bed cottage in the village of Wootton Beds.

I'm currently balancing up the option of employing a management company to find tenants and let out the property - at a charge of 10%.
Or doing it all myself :eek:

What is involved in doing it all buy yourself? From seeking the tenants to sorting out any problems? And what is this likely to cost me?

Any help would be much appreciated!

Thanks,

Luke

barnaby-bear

lukebav1982 wrote: »

Hi,

Sorry if this has been covered before.

I am looking to rent out a 2 bed cottage in the village of Wootton Beds.

I'm currently balancing up the option of employing a management company to find tenants and let out the property - at a charge of 10%.
Or doing it all myself :eek:

What is involved in doing it all buy yourself? From seeking the tenants to sorting out any problems? And what is this likely to cost me?

Any help would be much appreciated!

Thanks,

Luke

Depends if you are a good landlord - the rubbish amature ones often get "professional tenants"..... do it badly and you can get prosecuted for not meeting gas, HMO fire door/alarm systems; or have several months going through the eviction process which will be lengthened if you don't know what dates and when you can do your section 21s and 8s etc... tenant tricks for fooling the credit referencing agencies, how they can get awarded 3times their deposit if it isn't registered at the right time, if you don't have an agent you have to give them your address and be the contact for repairs, emergencies; if you don't do a proper inventory (or know what would hold up in court) then you won't be able to keep the deposit etc...if you get the wrong tenant and can't handle it can be £10k loss - guess it depends how much you know and how competent you and the professional landlord body you accredit to are....

terryw

barnaby-bear wrote: »

Depends if you are a good landlord - the rubbish amature ones often get "professional tenants"..... do it badly and you can get prosecuted for not meeting gas, HMO fire door/alarm systems; or have several months going through the eviction process which will be lengthened if you don't know what dates and when you can do your section 21s and 8s etc... tenant tricks for fooling the credit referencing agencies, how they can get awarded 3times their deposit if it isn't registered at the right time, if you don't have an agent you have to give them your address and be the contact for repairs, emergencies; if you don't do a proper inventory (or know what would hold up in court) then you won't be able to keep the deposit etc...if you get the wrong tenant and can't handle it can be £10k loss - guess it depends how much you know and how competent you and the professional landlord body you accredit to are....

Very good advice from Barnaby. At the moment, don't even think about Housing Benefit tenants as there is too much uncertainty about the new rules and how they will work out.

terryw

clutton_2

employ an agent, spend 6 months reading books and https://www.singingpig.co.uk as well as this site, join the National Landlords association - then have a go yourself - it is NOT the doddle it looks

Spire128

Hi

Well I am a Landlord and do everthing myself and I do the following

1 Decide on Furnished or Unfurnished (I do infurnished less things to go wrong)

2 Get a Tennant, I advertize in the Local free rag, a line advert and I have had a couple of estate agent type signs made and put them up on the property.(Time needed to show the prospective Tenants around)

3 Get the Tennant to fill in an Application Form, Bank details, Employment References etc.

4 Check out the Referneces and Employment etc.

5 Prepare a Tennacy agreement they are avialaible on the net if you google, and prepare an inventory of the house contents and the condition of the contents, then get the Tenant to sign the Agreement and the Inventory after showing the tenant the around the house and pointing out the condtion of the items on the iventory.

5 If you take a bond or deposit against damge to the property, then you will have to protect the deposit using one of the prescribed schemes within 14 days of the Tenancy Agreement start date, and advise the Tenanat which scehme the Bond is protected with in writiing.

6 Get the Mandatory gas check carried out by a corgi registerd gasman, and Electricity check, altho electricity check is not currently mandatory, it's advaisable.

7 All being well sit back and collect the rent and deal with any issuses that arise.

tbs624

If you do a search of the forum you'll find quite a few threads on this topic. Whether acting for yourself or using an Agent, the best thing is to do all your research thoroughly before you take your first tenant on.

Check out the RLA, and NFRL (both have websites) and join up for access to lots of useful support, plus discounts on LL insurances. Some local LL associations are affiliated to the national ones. Look also at Landlordzone website, firms like Tenant Verify for credit checks, the HMRC website for the Land & Property S105 forms& guidance and here: http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/MoneyTaxAndBenefits/Taxes/TaxOnPropertyAndRentalIncome/index.htm for the tax situation.

Don't be tempted to DIY your Tenancy Agreements - it can be a legal minefield. You can use standard AST forms from Oyez (legal stationers) or try here : http://www.lawpack.co.uk/landlord_and_tenant.asp or check out the links from the RLA etc.

Info on gas checks can be found at the HSE website, you can find info on Tenancy Deposits here: http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/TenancyDeposit/index.htm and general L & T guidance here: http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/HomeAndCommunity/BuyingAndSellingYourHome/LettingYourHome/DG_4001391

Good luck.:)

terryw

Spire128 wrote: »

Hi

Well I am a Landlord and do everthing myself and I do the following

1 Decide on Furnished or Unfurnished (I do infurnished less things to go wrong)

2 Get a Tennant, I advertize in the Local free rag, a line advert and I have had a couple of estate agent type signs made and put them up on the property.(Time needed to show the prospective Tenants around)

3 Get the Tennant to fill in an Application Form, Bank details, Employment References etc.

4 Check out the Referneces and Employment etc.

5 Prepare a Tennacy agreement they are avialaible on the net if you google, and prepare an inventory of the house contents and the condition of the contents, then get the Tenant to sign the Agreement and the Inventory after showing the tenant the around the house and pointing out the condtion of the items on the iventory.

5 If you take a bond or deposit against damge to the property, then you will have to protect the deposit using one of the prescribed schemes within 14 days of the Tenancy Agreement start date, and advise the Tenanat which scehme the Bond is protected with in writiing.

6 Get the Mandatory gas check carried out by a corgi registerd gasman, and Electricity check, altho electricity check is not currently mandatory, it's advaisable.

7 All being well sit back and collect the rent and deal with any issuses that arise.

A good summary but I think the OP is better to use an agent on a first let.

Well done about letting unfurnished...........damage to and even fair wear and tear of furniture can easily eat up any profit made. Apart from that, it can be a real argumentative point at the end of the property.

terryw

Krisp_3

Hi there

I would use a management company if this is your first time. There is TONS more to do than you might think! I would also think about how much time I have spare to deal with it too, if you're erring on the side of DIY. If you have little spare time or don't want to devote much time to it, deffo get a management company. A good one!

Best of luck!

The_Dangerman

Definately employ an agent. Only DIY if you are VERY expierenced with the legal side of it. Getting it wrong could not only cost you serious money, but perhaps even your liberty if a tennant was killed because of a faulty appliance that wasn't serviced properly.

It's so easy to let an agent do it all. I think I have had one telephone call from my agent in 2 years, the rest of time the money just deposits itself in my account every month and I don't hvve to lift a finger.

Happy days!!

StevenP_2

The_Dangerman wrote: »

Definately employ an agent. Only DIY if you are VERY expierenced with the legal side of it. Getting it wrong could not only cost you serious money, but perhaps even your liberty if a tennant was killed because of a faulty appliance that wasn't serviced properly.

It's so easy to let an agent do it all. I think I have had one telephone call from my agent in 2 years, the rest of time the money just deposits itself in my account every month and I don't hvve to lift a finger.

Happy days!!

Do you not feel the urge to enquire how your investment is doing ?

Just because the agent doesnt get in touch doesnt mean everythings rosey...

The_Dangerman

They send me a report every three months, and log any problems that are developing, and I drive past it every so often.

It's important to use a good agent of couse. I use Belvoir but they are a franchise so the quality may vary. However mine were fantastically helpful when I bought my first BTL, even asking me to hurry the redecorating because they had someone desperate to move in! When they moved out they had a new tennant within 2 days so missed out on no rent (other than deducting the finders fee).

The whole process is superb with an agent, absolutly no stress whatsoever!