Does Anyone Rent A House Out?

[simonas]

I;m planning on renting my house out as I can;t sell it and I;ve found a house I want to buy

Seeing a financial advisor tomorrow regarding moretgage figures etc

Can you give me any tips warnings etc

Also if you do this do you have a specific mortgage for the renting can you give me info about that?

cheers Simon

 

[rdp50734]

I let my house out Number one rule always get a gaurentaur spelling. You have to ask for it but it is free! If the tenants default on the rent or damage you seek the monies from both parties they both get taken to court. With both of them receiving CCJ's if the court rules in your favour! Upon their departure make sure you test everything while they are still there. My tenants broke the washing machine, tumble dryer, microwave and a TV but I could not claim off them as the letting agents had checked them out without testing any appliances! They also smashed my £1500 sofas to pieces! Carpets were filthy and one of the beds had maggots in the base and on the mattress! Make sure you are there and Photos are take of all damage! Videos of appliances!

Make sure the deposit goes into a deposit scheme like the tenancy deposit scheme or similar. Its a legal requirement!

Get a buy to let mortgage if possible, if you are on a residential mortgage at the moment the lender will usually let you lease the house for a fee (over 12 months- £200) Buy to let mortgages are usually a bit higher on the interest rate but you get more legal protection.

Put the tenants on a 6 month rolling contract! They get to many rights if you put them on 12! And remember you have to give them 2 full calender months notice that you will not be renewing their contract from the date the tenancy starts ie the 10th of the month!

Get professionals! And leave the house unfurnished! You have to leave them a cooker and a fridge with freezer I think.

Get landlords insurance and something like british gas homecare! It has saved me a fortune!

Gas and Electrical safety Certs will be needed! As it is your first rental property I would use an agent. Fees are 10% plus VAT. If you use an agent it is against the rules that they contact you direct! DO NOT GIVE THEM YOUR NUMBER! It only leads to trouble!

 

[simonas]

brilliant cheers for the advice
its a desperate measure to move and not something I would want to normally do

The only big issue I have is our combi boiler is rubbish and may not get insured

going to see financial advisor about mortgages

the house we;ve seen is a 6 bed victorian with lots of room for tanks so I really want to move!!

 

[Tolak]

My Dad owned a pair of two flats years ago, in what was not the best of neighborhoods. That boiler may be to your advantage, check up on it every once in a while, observing the condition of your property. Act like a smoke detector freak, check them every couple of months, test with a bit of burning newspaper.

The renters always present themselves as fine upstanding folks, this is not always the case once they move in.

 

[rdp50734]

brilliant cheers for the advice
its a desperate measure to move and not something I would want to normally do

The only big issue I have is our combi boiler is rubbish and may not get insured

going to see financial advisor about mortgages

the house we;ve seen is a 6 bed victorian with lots of room for tanks so I really want to move!!

The boiler will not be an issue if you take out the homecare package! They will service it and maintain it and do any breakdowns etc....The cover I have is homecare 400 which covers home electrics, boiler, central heating, waste pipework to the edge of the property, cold water pipework and gas pipework.

Remember that the rent might not cover the whole mortgage and when there are no tenants you have the whole mortgage to pay! My property was empty for 6 months due to the damage that was caused!

 

[simonas]

the mortgage is only £172 a month at the moment

I can;t do it anyway as I can;t get the eqquity out of the house for a deposit on the next house. I;ll have to wait till it sells before I can move which is a blow unless I find £20k somewhere soon!!

 

[rdp50734]

Thats a shame.

 

[Ludwig Venter]

Well.... I am joint owner of my parents' house which we inherited in March/April this year, and it's been standing empty since...... painting out and fixing a few things have cost us a package, but proved to be beneficial at the end of the day..... In SA, it is a major risk to have any property standing vacant for any period of time..... vandals just move in and "Occupy" the house and if they stay there for more than 3 months (without us noticing) they may claim legal residence and taking steps to remove them requires costly legal action. At least with the upgrading, we now found a guy who is prepared to rent with an option of buying.... At least now we could use his rentals to do further upgrading and not from my back pocket.

 

[simonas]

Blimey Ludwig that sounds pretty heavy!!!

I'm disappointed that I;m stuck in my small house till it sells but the market is so slow that we may be waiting a while!!

 

[rdp50734]

its not as slow as you thing. the average 3 bed semi is still selling well. 90-130K range. Depends on your property and location!

 

[Gill]

Mmmm Its a hard market at the moment.

LV Been there got the court orders and had them thrown out. One of Grans Flats was occupied by squatters and it took years to get them out. Lots of wasted time in courts and paying fees. She wishes she had just had them beaten up and thrown out, but went thru the courts system.
Another Aunt had people refusing to pay rent so she just waited for them to go to work and threw all their belongings out of the house and padlocked the front and back doors.

 

[simonas]

problem I have is its a 3 bed detached which is the same price as the larger 3 bed semis on a housing estate a half mile away

I know if I had the cash I;d go for the larger house but at the time I bought it I was just happy to have a detached. You live and learn eh!