Renting out my house
Discussion
I've let a flat for a couple of years now and my only advice is DO use a letting agent. It's not that expensive and everything's watertight on the legal front. Plus you get all the niceties like rental guarantee, landlord's insurance, property inspections, inventory, electrical safety checks etc.
If you are a first time landlord I'd say don't even think about a do-it-yourself job. There will be many, many things you've probably never even heard of that you need to do.
Additionally any agency fees are an allowable expense on the income tax side, so you get part of it back for free! Well if you weren't charging you'd have fewer deductions anyway. I work full time and don't really want to be bothered attempting to run a single property portfolio at the same time - in my case it was just set the thing up and forget about it. I haven't even been there in the years I've been letting.
If you are a first time landlord I'd say don't even think about a do-it-yourself job. There will be many, many things you've probably never even heard of that you need to do.
Additionally any agency fees are an allowable expense on the income tax side, so you get part of it back for free! Well if you weren't charging you'd have fewer deductions anyway. I work full time and don't really want to be bothered attempting to run a single property portfolio at the same time - in my case it was just set the thing up and forget about it. I haven't even been there in the years I've been letting.
MagneticMeerkat said:
I've let a flat for a couple of years now and my only advice is DO use a letting agent. It's not that expensive and everything's watertight on the legal front. Plus you get all the niceties like rental guarantee, landlord's insurance, property inspections, inventory, electrical safety checks etc.
This! Although ours doesn't include rental guarantee (but then it's not mortgaged). It saves getting phone calls at 3a.m., chasing the rent, etc, etc, which are all things you don't want when we both work full time and have a four year old!
andygo said:
I have someone that wants to rent my house. I don't really want to go through a letting agent, but one thing I need to know is what to do with the deposit. I understand there is a tenants deposit scheme, but how do I initiate it?
Friend of ours chose to rent their house looking for extra cash via a direct agreement. It cost them £40,000 to put things right afterwards.My sister rented her flat to a friend of a friend. Similar story.
There is an subclass of tenants (at all rental levels) that are off book for a reason. Be diligent in taking up references!
Find a well respected agent, outline who you really want in the property. Make sure you ok them with the agent before they sign or move in, get all the references checked. If you are considering moving back into the property at some point understand it will never feel like your original property (it's a personal feeling).
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