Letting out house while its for sale?...

Letting out house while its for sale?...

Author
Discussion

D1on

Original Poster:

802 posts

185 months

Friday 21st November 2014
quotequote all
I currently have a house for sale, Its a 3 bedroom semi detached in a reasonable area, Its also a reasonable price.
Its been on the market since august with a few viewings but no offers, The current estate agent is useless, I have sent off my 14 day cancel notice period and having it listed with a new estate agent in a fortnight,

I do want to sell the property, However the estate agent rang last week saying how desirable this property would be to let out, Would be worth around £600 a month AND "it can be let while its still for sale". Is this an option to consider? Or would it be best just sitting a sale out?

Thanks.

Sarnie

8,025 posts

208 months

Friday 21st November 2014
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Assuming you have a mortgage, you'd need to ask their permission to do so. If they say no, you'd need a BTL mortgage......

What figures are involved?

D1on

Original Poster:

802 posts

185 months

Friday 21st November 2014
quotequote all
Sarnie said:
Assuming you have a mortgage, you'd need to ask their permission to do so. If they say no, you'd need a BTL mortgage......

What figures are involved?
No mortgage on it, It was part of an inheritance...

MitchT

15,788 posts

208 months

Friday 21st November 2014
quotequote all
As a tenant who experienced having to move out of my previous home when it was sold out from under me I wouldn't touch a house to rent with a bargepole if it was also listed for sale, so good luck finding someone.

PurpleMoonlight

22,362 posts

156 months

Friday 21st November 2014
quotequote all
A few potential problems immediately spring to mind.

1. You would need to effect an AST of at lease 6 months, so would a buyer wait.

2. What if the tenant didn't leave at the end of the term?

3. The tenant is entitled to peaceful enjoyment of the property, so viewings might be difficult.

MitchT

15,788 posts

208 months

Friday 21st November 2014
quotequote all
PurpleMoonlight said:
2. What if the tenant didn't leave at the end of the term?
The tenant is served notice and has to leave by the end of the notice period.

PurpleMoonlight said:
3. The tenant is entitled to peaceful enjoyment of the property, so viewings might be difficult.
They are, but they are obliged to allow access for viewings in the event of the property being for sale.

LordHaveMurci

12,034 posts

168 months

Friday 21st November 2014
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Friends of ours bought a house a few months ago, the house was rented & they came to an agreement that they would purchase in X amount of months when the tenancy expired so it is possible. Not sure I'd want to do it though.

Don't expect the tenants to be helpful with viewings, house would probably be a mess, dogs & kids running around etc.

PurpleMoonlight

22,362 posts

156 months

Friday 21st November 2014
quotequote all
Tenants don't always leave when they are legally supposed to, and the court process to evict them isn't quick.

Rude-boy

22,227 posts

232 months

Friday 21st November 2014
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PurpleMoonlight said:
Tenants don't always leave when they are legally supposed to, and the court process to evict them isn't quick.
This.

When selling a tenanted property it is always sold subject to the tenancy or I STRONGLY advise clients not to exchange until the Tenant is out.

LordHaveMurci

12,034 posts

168 months

Friday 21st November 2014
quotequote all
PurpleMoonlight said:
Tenants don't always leave when they are legally supposed to, and the court process to evict them isn't quick.
Plus the house may not be left in a good condition leaving you to spend money to bring it up to saleable condition.

MitchT

15,788 posts

208 months

Friday 21st November 2014
quotequote all
The more I think about it the more I think it could make things difficult. If you let the house out the fact that it's for sale could put off prospective tenants while the fact that it's tenanted, if you do get someone in, could put off prospective buyers. In the OP's situation I might consider taking it off the market and renting it out.

s2sol

1,223 posts

170 months

Friday 21st November 2014
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I rented a house in similar circumstances. I negotiated a substantially reduced rent and allowed the agent access at any time to accompany viewings. I, the agent and the property owner had discussed and agreed almost everything before I entered into to the tenancy.

The one thing we hadn't discussed was what would happen if a buyer wanted possession before the end of the AST period. Sadly, that's what happened. The property owner tried everything (except bribery) to get me out after 4 months. Eventually, I suggested bribery, which worked very well for me.

anonymous-user

53 months

Friday 21st November 2014
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MitchT said:
The tenant is served notice and has to leave by the end of the notice period.
WRONG. A section 21 is a request for the return of the property, nothing more. If the tenant ignores it, the landlord will need to apply to the courts for a possession order to evict.

MitchT said:
They are, but they are obliged to allow access for viewings in the event of the property being for sale.
WRONG. They are not obliged; they are asked for permission. Failing to give a tenant the right to peaceful enjoyment could lead to landlord prosecution for harassment.

BoRED S2upid

19,641 posts

239 months

Friday 21st November 2014
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Not worth the hassle IMO how would you organise viewings? I have to make an appointment with the tenant to gain access it's my house but their home it would be even harder to sell.

Squirrelofwoe

3,181 posts

175 months

Friday 21st November 2014
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MitchT said:
As a tenant who experienced having to move out of my previous home when it was sold out from under me I wouldn't touch a house to rent with a bargepole if it was also listed for sale, so good luck finding someone.
Same experience here, not something I would ever want to go through again. I'd have thought such a potential short-term occupancy would require a pretty special set of circumstances.

On the subject of access rights for viewings we were told that the estate agents were required to notify us at least 24 hours in advance, and they still required our agreement as to whether the day/time was suitable for us. Sounds fine in theory.

In practice the estate agents who were selling the property (and were also our rental agents) went from being extremely helpful to us, to treating us like nothing more than an inconvenience the moment they got the job of selling the house. They would frequently call us asking for viewings only an hour (or less) in advance, and when we refused them citing the lack of notice they would turn up with the clients anyway, usually with the line 'oh they only wanted a quick look anyway'.

On more than one occasion we were outright accused of lying by the estate agents, when they insisted they had left voice mail messages / emails about viewings when we had received nothing. One lady even told me (in front of her client) she had spoken to me on the phone that morning to arrange a viewing and when I informed her I had been in bed all morning with my phone off due to working late the night before she just said that was impossible!

Our hitherto excellent relationship with our landlord also deteriorated over this issue as they were getting increasingly frustrated that the property wasn't selling (despite it being massively over priced). Our landlord even offered us the ridiculous proposal of agreeing to let us move out of the property early, so long as we paid them the rent for the full tenancy period! rotate

In the end the house got sold and we got stitched up for an extra month's rent due to what we saw as the deliberate withholding of information by the estate agents. To me it just seemed an absurd conflict of interest for the estate agents. It felt like their duty of care towards us went out of the window as soon as they began marketing the property for our landlord. I was tempted after the event to try and take things further, but with these being one of the biggest estate agents in the area I figured I would probably stand to lose more than I would gain, so chalked it up to experience.

Renting a house that is for sale is certainly something I will never do again.


Sir Bagalot

6,463 posts

180 months

Friday 21st November 2014
quotequote all
You're not a Landlord are you.

MitchT said:
The tenant is served notice and has to leave by the end of the notice period.
If only it were that easy.

The tenant is served notice and then decides if they want to leave. If they do all is well and good. If they don't then the LL has to decide if they want to go down the eviction route, this can range from the tenant simply wanting an extra week or two to sort things all the way through to a full high courts messy eviction taking 2 more months and the tenants wrecking the place.

MitchT said:
They are, but they are obliged to allow access for viewings in the event of the property being for sale.
It's in the contract that they must allow viewings.

But it's not enforceable. They can simply change the locks and not allow you in. It is after all their home.

OP. The house isn't selling as it's up for too much money for the current market.

Either leave empty and sell it, or let it.

Letting it you will need landlords insurance, gas safety certs and by the sounds of it a decent agent.

Simpo Two

85,147 posts

264 months

Friday 21st November 2014
quotequote all
Sir Bagalot said:
But it's not enforceable. They can simply change the locks and not allow you in. It is after all their home.
- that doesn't belong to them. I'd suggest that changing the locks is pretty contrary to anything in the contract.

But whatever, yes, don't even consider it. Far too much hassle and potential aggro.

gregf40

1,114 posts

115 months

Friday 21st November 2014
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Don't do it.

D1on

Original Poster:

802 posts

185 months

Friday 21st November 2014
quotequote all
Going to carry on with the sale then!
Already reduced it by 10%, Hopefully the new estate agent will help!



Edited by D1on on Saturday 29th November 15:01

Simpo Two

85,147 posts

264 months

Friday 21st November 2014
quotequote all
Hmm, how about spending a few bob making it look more appealing? The kitchen in particular isn't helping. Think Phil & Kirsty...