advice for letting 2 bed flat

want2bmortgage3

hello everyone, i am considering letting out my 2-bed maisonette later in the year. i've been told it could fetch up to £775 a month. so if i could find an all-in room in shared house for half that i'd be making a good profit each month, close to £400 possibly! i will either do this is rent a bedroom out, as i realise you can do this tax free up to about £3500 a year.

i just wondered if anyone else lets out their property and if they have any tips? for example i've got a combi condensing boiler, would i need to get cover for it? it had a few probs (mostly due to the bad fitting of it) and the company sent me a letter offering cover for 8.99 a month. i havent yet compared other companies.

currently the place would be unfurnished except for white goods, oven & hob. so i would also have to weigh up whether to provide any more furnishing.

also the estate agents will do more of the work for a bigger share.. i'd definitely like them to collect the rent and pass it on to me each month, but is it worth paying them any more for maintenance? i think i'd rather not as they would probably use expensive tradesmen which i could find cheaper.

anyway interested if anyone else here lets out their property for long term money saving purposes???

moneysavinmonkey

so, if I have got this right you are proposing to move out of the 2 bed flat you own + rent it out so you can live in a share house for half the cost??

Bit extreme even for this website!!- do you really want to give up your home to live in shared accommodation??

By the time you factor in rental voids, agents fees, landlords insurance, switching your mortgage to BTL, making sure your property complies with regulations, etc etc. + making sure you comply with relevant housing/tenancy laws e.g. notice periods, tenancy deposit schemes, not harassing your tenants etc.
Quite a lot of time + money + effort.

The rent a room scheme sounds like it would give your just about the same income with much less of the hassle. If you have a lodger rather than tenants you also have much more rights over your home and can ask them to leave with much less notice than if you take in tenants.

moneysavinmonkey

the lodger option also has potential tax advantages - you can receive up to £4200 tax free.... see here http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/MoneyTaxAndBenefits/Taxes/TaxOnPropertyAndRentalIncome/DG_4017804

want2bmortgage3

thanks for the link. i'm considering this because i work 12 miles away and the fuel alone is costing £100 a month, i could rent a room near work then not have to pay so much for transport.

i suppose i dont feel that much of an attachment to my property especially as its a mess at the moment but i'm doing it up and should be pretty tidy in a few months.

jennifernil

I would stay in your own place and get a lodger. That way you are there to see what is happening to your property. You say you are not attached to it, but I think the advantages outweigh the cost of your 12 mile commute.

Our daughter is a student and has her own flat, she used to have a lodger (he was fine). The amount of stuff we have had to fix/sort out in the flat even with her there made me realise I would hate to be a landlord!

pinkshoes

want2bmortgage3 wrote: »

thanks for the link. i'm considering this because i work 12 miles away and the fuel alone is costing £100 a month, i could rent a room near work then not have to pay so much for transport.

i suppose i dont feel that much of an attachment to my property especially as its a mess at the moment but i'm doing it up and should be pretty tidy in a few months.

My fuel costs £100 a month and I work 18 miles away. What do you drive?!?!

I would go with the lodger option, and rent your spare room out. If one room is nicer/bigger than the other, then you should take this one, and get maximum rent for the other. This option would be SO much less hassle than letting the whole place out! Plus if you don't like your new housemate, you can kick them out and get someone else in, whereas if you move into somewhere and don't like your housemate, then it'll be you that has to move out!

Could you sell your car (saving on tax, insurance, MOT and petrol) and use public transport? Or buy a more efficient car?

want2bmortgage3

i drive a golf 1992 1.8 engine. mpg around 30, could find something more economical but its value is only £250 so i'd have to pay more for a newer car. no chance of using public transport where i work, nearest station is on a different line.

moneysavinmonkey

want2bmortgage3 wrote: »

thanks for the link. i'm considering this because i work 12 miles away and the fuel alone is costing £100 a month, i could rent a room near work then not have to pay so much for transport.

i suppose i dont feel that much of an attachment to my property especially as its a mess at the moment but i'm doing it up and should be pretty tidy in a few months.

12 mile!!! that not really that much of a commute is it??
Your fuel shouldn't be costing £100 - what kind of car do you drive?
Is there a possibility to car share with a co-worker or perhaps use public transport some days?

How much of a 'mess' is your property? Is this not going to make it difficult to rent out?

With the info you've given us so far, I would defiantly say just rent a room out. Renting a room in a shared house can be fun if you get on well with everyone but it can be annoying at times - even more so if you've been used to having your own space. The idea of moving house, living with people I don't know in a shared space, setting up a rental + managing the rental all appeals a lot less than a 12 mile commute.

PasturesNew

For the Rent a Room, you HAVE to be living IN the flat.
So you can't rent out each bedroom in your flat, claim the tax amount and move out somewhere cheaper.

Why not just move into your smaller room and have one lodger. Same money, it qualifies as Rent a Room, no tenants trashing the place as you're there.

suki1964

If your car is drinking petrol at that rate - you have a leak

Buy a bike - 12 miles is nothing and before you ask I used to cycle that distance every rush hour through London

One other thing, on a previous thread you say

i have a mortgage of about 108k, which works out about 640 a month and i have about 3 1/2 years left at 4.89% fixed rate.

Now Im no mathematician but even i can see that 770 a month isnt going to cover the mortgage and the rental of a property for you and give you a profit of 400 + a month.

Unless of course Im missing something in that case apologies

want2bmortgage3

seeing as i work as a postman i think cycling 24 miles a day as well as my job i'd be shattered!!!

i'm currently struggling each month as mortgage + building insurance (no contents) + council tax+ water/gas/electric+mobile+car ins+car tax + fuel + food all comes to 1094 a month. my pay (without overtime) is 1077 a month. so you can see its tight, plus i havent allowed for anything going wrong or for going out or buying clothes..............