Take in a lodger... official MoneySavingExpert.com discussion

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  • puddings_2
    puddings_2 Posts: 1,889 Forumite
    Errata wrote: »
    My niece in London lives in a one bedroom flat which she's buying. She's taken a lodger by turning both the sitting room and the bedroom into 'bedsits', she has one and the lodger has the other one.
    Wow, that is quite extreme - living in a bedsit is a whole different ballgame to a 1 bed flat!
    Saying that...I knew a bloke with a two bed house who rented out both bedooms to lodgers whilst he slept in a camper van on his drive. He had an electric extension cable from the kitchen window to the camper and shared the house facilities with his guests.
    Not surprising - his gf left him!
  • Errata
    Errata Posts: 38,230
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    Hard times require hard solutions !
    .................:)....I'm smiling because I have no idea what's going on ...:)
  • Don't ever agree to a lodger when the person is a friend of a friend and you are rather drunk down the pub. This is an absolutely cardinal rule. I know because I did it. He probably cost me far more than I got in rent. Long phone calls home to Manchester, absent-mindedly kicking the wallpaper as he gazed out of the living room window, scorched work surfaces, ruined non-stick pans, broken garage door, I could go on. I found out later that he has an aunt and uncle in this town but they won't have him in their home after he left the bath running until it overflowed and then shorted out the house when he tried to vacuum up the water with an ordinary machine. Take note.:o
  • i have my mortgage with abbey and my insurance too

    i took in lodgers a few months after moving in so at the time i have a residential mortgage but now they know i have lodgers they told me its considered a commercial mortgage. as i have a 2 year fixed theres nothing they can do about changed the rate of interest i pay but when i come to remortgage they will be more flexible than if i try to remortgage with another lender. i want the best rates and first direct said they wouldnt offer me a mortgage as they only do residential ones!!! i had no idea telling my mortgage provider that i had lodgers would cause any problems (i thought they would be glad in this climate that i had a regular extra £700 a month coming in) but a mortgage adviser told me im better off not even mentioning it as i would get a better rate of interest on a remortgage

    If you are due to remortgage soon wait till youve done that before getting lodgers.

    P.s you can get landlords insurance which will cover for accidental damage that youre normal household insurance wont cover with lodgers
  • Hi - thanks everyone for their input. has really helped me to decide that I WILL take in a lodger once my spare room is decorated (bare floorboards and plaster walls at the moment!)

    Does anyone one know the legal side of things re: telling your mortgage provider about taking in lodger? I can see why it would be needed for insurance firms but not sure what mortgage peeps would need to know it for.
  • Don't ever agree to a lodger when the person is a friend of a friend and you are rather drunk down the pub. This is an absolutely cardinal rule. I know because I did it. He probably cost me far more than I got in rent. Long phone calls home to Manchester, absent-mindedly kicking the wallpaper as he gazed out of the living room window, scorched work surfaces, ruined non-stick pans, broken garage door, I could go on. I found out later that he has an aunt and uncle in this town but they won't have him in their home after he left the bath running until it overflowed and then shorted out the house when he tried to vacuum up the water with an ordinary machine. Take note.:o

    Absolutely agree! I have been having lodgers for nearly 8 years with great success - all complete strangers - vetted/referenced of course!! EXCEPT one who was 'a friend of a friend' - so not referenced......:eek: . He started with major energy abuse (leaving on an oil radiator all day when he was out! when I have perfectly adequate central heating. Leaving computer and lights on for hours when not in use and slobbish behaviour (smelly fry-ups and going to 'work' leaving washing all up everyday etc) then culminating in just stopping paying the rent for no reason given. I thought at one point I was going to have to have him forceable removed by the police - I did call the police and they agreed to come to the house but he then eventually left. What a dreadful nightmare - I felt violated in my own home. I not only lost him as 'a friend' (no great loss!) but lost a group of mutual friends who I do miss - as he was best friends with one of my girlfriends husband - so they were not at all supportive to me - which i was gutted about as I treated him very well - he probably told them a pack of lies and they believed him? Never again! it is not better the devil you know in the world of lodgers!!
    Coupons Rock! :j
  • Does anyone one know the legal side of things re: telling your mortgage provider about taking in lodger? I can see why it would be needed for insurance firms but not sure what mortgage peeps would need to know it for.

    I asked my mortgage provider but only by telephone, not in writing, and was told it was OK so long as I didn't do anything to create a tenancy of any kind - eg not put a lock on the door of the room to be let to the lodger. When the time comes, I will also tell the Norwich Union (for house contents insurance) because I know that they will want to introduce an exclusion (eg not insuring for loss of cash left lying around).
    YouGov: £50 and £50 and £5 Amazon voucher received;
    PPI successfully reclaimed: £7,575.32 (Lloyds TSB plc); £3,803.52 (Egg card); £3,109.88 (Egg loans)
  • Hi,
    I am going to need extra income shortly and am thinking about a lodger. I have a nice double room which I would happily rent out, and enough space left to get away if they were in the sitting room (have a dining room and study as well).
    My biggest thing is how much I could charge. The room is recently decorated, and is big, and will have a TV etc and access to the wireless broadband I have.
    In order to make ends meet, I need an extra £300 a month, but not sure this is realistic as I live about 30 minutes from Glasgow, although there is a good bus service & train link, or I would consider driving to work and doing a car pool.
    Does anyone have any ideas, and would I have mortgage issues?
    thanks
    Vicki
  • rozeepozee
    rozeepozee Posts: 1,971
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    It depends upon your area so I'd suggest searching gumtree for comparable rooms near you.
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