General Chat

Rose - there was no probelm with the way my property was looked after - my tenant kept it better than I ever did myself!!!!! and im quite tidy - the problem was getting rid of the tenant - only because I wanted to sell and extend my other property. The fact my tennant had changed to DSS halfway through wasnt an issue at first either - but trying to sell with a DSS tenant regardless of your contract - bad, bad, bad oh and the council refused rent increases as well. My tenant was a well to do single man not a family.

Hi Igor and Maddie thanks for that...I know there are many DSS tenants who look after their rented property as well as anyone could and no disrespect intended ...but certainly if it were a family I would be quite wary. Sounds awful but I have seen some horrendous cases where lovely homes have been trashed.

xx

I did for many years and had the 'perfect' tenant. All started when I wanted to move from the 'City' to the country and wasn’t sure about the move. I changed my mortgage to Buy to Let and got a tenant straight away who was perfect and I rented a place in the West Country.

Within 6 months the place I rented went up for sale and I wasn’t ready to move so bought it - this and the other property went along fine for several years.

My tenant was made disabled a few years ago and the council took on the rent - perfect for paying on time and my tenant amid other things had OCD so my place was always perfect ...... until I decided to sell.

Getting rid of a DHSS tenant is not easy - even if you choose not to rent to DHSS doesn’t mean their circumstances can’t change and they then become DHSS.

The council advised them to stay put and be evicted as they couldn’t get another place unless they were homeless - a lot of time and money for the owner particularly if you want to sell!!!

The eviction order was completed (at my expense) but still the council advised him to stay on until physically moved - he sent me the letters from the council to show the predicament he was in. Eventually due to some paperwork I had drafted with the utility companies before I let the property I managed to turn the gas, water and leccy off and the tenant then chose to move free will - but it was 18 months of hell from when I initially decided I wanted to sell. I sold almost 2 years ago and am still involved in litigation - although for my benefit.

Thanks Karen, very helpful advice there...I would need to cover the mortgage with the rent but wouldn't look for a profit on that , just looking very much for a bargain lol that I can improve a bit ready for resale when prices rise again
( hopefully!) .

Rose xx

Everyone seems to have covered all aspects very well, but I'll throw in my two penn'erth for what it's worth!! LOL.

We have Buy to Let mortgages, which are at a higher rate than a regular mortgage. The building societies got wise a few years ago and changed the law, it's now looked upon as a business, so you pay a business rate. You'll probably find your Life Assurance on a Buy to Let mortgage is a little high too, ours is sky high because we live in the middle east (considered a high risk area!).

I'd say don't bank on making profit from the rent on letting, the advantage being that the value of the property will increase in time, and THAT'S where you stand to gain.
Be prepared for paying out......all sorts of maintenance jobs here and there, as well as gas and electricity inspections, plus safety certs, and your buildings insurance will be higher too, with a Let property.

Personally I would never again Let a house furnished. Too much can break down and/or get broken, and you, as landlord, have to replace things. It's one long line of paying out!!
It is so much simpler to Let an unfurnished property...carpets and curtains.

Apart from one tenant (part fault of the Agent), we have always been lucky and had some lovely people in our properties, one family has stayed put for 9 years so far!!

As for Letting Agents, well you win some, you lose some. I threatened one with court action as they were happily taking the 10% p.month for 12 months and doing sweet nothing (they knew we were abroad which didn't help).
Otherwise we've been lucky, ours charged 10%, then when we put more than one property with them they lowered it to 8% each property, that's for Full Management which includes quarterly inspections with report.

You can offset quite a bit against tax, have a chat with a tax advisor.

Be prepared for no rent coming in if/when the property is empty. This could be overcome by going to an Agent who does this scheme (guaranteed rental scheme) where they take the property for ,say, 12 months and pay you a regular income. The Agent bears the brunt if they cannot let it and the property stands empty for any length of time, but you are guaranteed a regular monthly income. You take slightly less rental this way. My step-daughter does this as she's overseas and it takes the headache out of it.

One final word. Before you go ahead, look into the possibilities of having to pay CGT if/when you come to sell.

Good luck.

K

If you go with an agent Rose, negotiate the fee, we only pay 5% but hubby does know the chap, with the letting agency,socially, but it's still worth a try to get it as low as possible.

Barb xxx

Thanks DET, I am going to print thread off so all advice will be to hand. I am renting here myself so have seen it from the 'tenants' side re paying bond and credit checks etc , also because they had to do repairs prior to tenancy have a reasonable idea of what has to be done .

Will really go into all the options carefully and see if it is feasable money wise, it is something I have always thought of doing....we'll see!

Rose xx

Thanks so much for all your answers :)

Hope you find somewhere nice in Cornwall Barbara Ann ( I used to live in Looe).

thanks Lady Barbara, great to hear from someone who has done it :)

Joy I probably would go with the agency that dealt with my renting this place, have a feeling that they are rather good at matching tenant to property.

Rose xx

it might be better to let through an agency hun
you get that extra security

Hi Rose

We have 5 flats and a house purpose bought for buy to let, the house has been brilliant because we have had the same tenants in for the three years we have had it and they really look after it, plus Its just round the corner from where we work so I park outside every day and can keep an eye on it.

One of the flats, likewise, we have had the same tenant in for a few years and have had no problems.

The other four flats have been okay up to now, but there is a glut in the market for flats and we have had two empty for two months, therefore no rent. We also have an agent for these flats because the turnover is quite quick. We have had no problem with the flats when the tenants have left because we insist on a bond which we would keep to repair any damage.

We have to have insurance for each property and there are things like pat tests on any electrical equipment, gas safety certificates, and it is worth only letting unfurnished properties, you don't get much more rent for furnished...

Saying all the above, I think it was the right thing for us to do, it will be our pension in the future, one little word of warning, interest rates as you know can shoot up and rents if the property becomes empty, non existance, so don't overreach yourselves with the first property because in this market you just never know.

Hope this is helpful
Barb xx

and thanks Debbie :)

one of my thoughts was that with interest rates so low on savings any money in the bank is doing nothing. even my son's account which was high interest when he opened it last year (5%) has dropped to 0.7% !

xx

Thanks Flump and Daff :) this is giving me a good 'mental picture' before I go any further .

lol re students Flump, this isn't the area for them really but I would avoid anything fancy for them lol... having seen some of their rooms at college !

xx

We bought a second home about 3 years ago when we inherited a lump sum of cash, enough to pay the deposit. We didn't take out a "Buy to Let" mortgage on this second property as the interest rates were higher than a standard mortgage. To get round that we re-mortgaged the house we still live in.

We are lucky enough to be receiving enough rent on the second house to cover all mortgage payments, rates & insurance.

As others have said, make sure you know your legal rights as Landowner and also the rights of any prospective tenants. We do all the leasing ourselves as an Agent would charge a considerable percentage on a monthly basis for collecting the rents.

So far we haven't had any problems with tenants, and our current family have a 5 years lease, so, unless something drastic happens, they are not looking to move.

Not sure how the finance system works with you (I do not live in mainland England), but we can lease to Banks & other Financial institutions. They effectively take over the lease, but they also guarantee rent, even if the property is between tenants or standing empty for a while.

It is the best move we have ever made, but (fingers crossed) we haven't had any problem tenants. I might think again if we had hassle. Certainly you can earn more money in the long run, than on deposite in a bank.

Good luck.
DEBBIE

One other thing...... I would never sell this house, even if I couldn't manage all the stairs/garden etc..... but I would rent out, and use that income to rent or buy something smaller and more appropriate as I got older or more infirm... I was playing around with planning for this (I have RA) before I was diagnosed with AML last October, and when the aches and pains were becoming so that at times it was difficult to walk down the stairs... better since the chemo, lol!!

It is on hold, but I shall start looking at that again, soon..... I think if it is managed well, and you have done your homework, as Flump says, then there should be few problems. Our tenants were on a 6 monthly contract... R was away playing Action Man a lot, and I knew if anything happened to him, I would only have 6 months to stay in my Married Quarter, so needed to be prepared for that, just in case, lol!!

Love

Daff xxxx

Depends on area, and who you would be letting to.There is a lot of legislation that you wouldn't want to fall foul of,also a lot is for your protection.I live in a flat and a lot of my neighbours rent,so it can be a good investment,some place the renting and over seeing in the hands of Agent's this will cost you but may suit you better IE no knocking or phoning when loo blocked etc= 1
If your in University Area and rent to students it pays to put sturdy stuff in,had nephew who tried doing on cheap he was replacing every term! students don't have time to dust n polish,your lucky if they wash tops or hoover( no offence students)=2 If for families it may be better empty and to long let with 2yearly contracts n 6 months inspections.=3 retired. safety paramount, usely take care, may like to use own furniture.= Unfurnished Flats used to have different laws.
not done it myself but members of extended family have been doing for years,Best TIP DO Your HOMEWORK Law wise. Good Luck

Thanks Daff' :) that's really helpful. I'm considering it to get a foot back on the property ladder so might book an appointment with an advisor and see what they come up with .

Rose xx

We didn't set out to do that... but ended up converting our mortgage to one for a few years, (10) when we had to let our house out when hubby got posted away.....

For us, it was at times good, others, bad... we used agents to monitor... the first wasn't very good, the second was fine until the last tenant, and the girl in charge of that account was best friends with the tenant... caused havoc when they moved out and resulted in legal action being threatened, and solicitor's letters being sent out!! But the company was ok... just the one member of staff, who was disciplined and then left.

If I could afford it, I would do the same again... just make sure you are absolutely specific about what you expect of the tenant, and what you will be responsible for. Also the law on deposits has altered now....

Yep, I'd do it again... even though we are now in the position of needing to pay a huge mortgage (well, it feels huge, lol) in 12 years, as a buy to let mortgage was interest only, and the endowment didn't anywhere near cover it... or wouldn't have done, lol...

Oh, and our rent didn't cover the mortgage, once tax at unearned income rates, and the agent's fees were taken off..... but we weren't worried, as we intended to either move back into it when hubby left the army, or sell and use as collateral for a new house if he got a job in another part of the country. And we didn't put the rent up in 10 years, lol... not very business-like!!

I am sure that there is a way of setting it up as a business, if you are acting as the agent..... but don't know enough about it! Tax would be less, I think, then... you'd be classed as self-employed

Love

Daff

if so, was it a good move? if not, would you consider it?

Rose xx