Renting uk property out?

[Guest jonny no cash]

Hi all,We have just had our house sale fall through and we are now thinking about renting it out,I would like some feedback if anyone else is renting or has had a kick in the teeth when you least needed it.

Thanks ,Ste

[Guest Stacey]

Hi

 

So sorry to hear that your sale as fallen through.

 

We rent our property out in the UK and have done for the last three years. We initially went through an agency (Belvoir Lettings they are national) who found us a fantastic tenant. After a year we now rent privately directly with our tenant.

 

We just get friends or family to pop round every few months and the tenant keeps in regular contact by email. We were very lucky!

 

I guess if you haven't let a house before you should use an agent because they will check tenants' references etc (although this doesn't always guarantee a good tenant) and also they can inform you of your legal obligations as a landlord (things like gas checks etc).

 

You do hear horror stories about nightmare tenants and it does happen but there are also a lot of very good tenants and landlords who have no problems.

 

I believe there are also insurances you can get now to cover tenant damage and empty properties although I don't really know much about this area!

 

I hope this helps.

 

Thanks Stacey

[Guest jonny no cash]

Thanks for the reply,We have got a very good tenant lined up who we know will look after the house its just one of those things we have to get over but thanks for the advice,i just want to get over there now,my partner flies out today with my two daughters and will be staying with a friend until she finds a house hopefully 6 weeks for me,look out for her on here,her username is mandy.p im sure she will be looking for advice the first weeks.Thanks Again,Take care , ste

[Guest WhatNow?]

Bear in mind that if you are not living in the house yourself, you may not be able to use your normal house and contents insurance - you should check your policy. You can get landlords insurance for less than £200 a year which covers your buildings in the case of damage. I used google to find a few companies and got three quotes then fixed it up online. However good your tenants you need to consider that accidents can happen and make sure you'll be covered. Your tenants have to cover their own contents themselves.

[garyandelaine]

Hi all,We have just had our house sale fall through and we are now thinking about renting it out,I would like some feedback if anyone else is renting or has had a kick in the teeth when you least needed it.

Thanks ,Ste

 

Hi ste,

We are in the same boat, (house sale fell through last week) We are going to rent our house out wiuth an agent (Grosvenor Waterford in Aintree), they take care of the payments , make sure tenants are ok, sort out any repairs that are needed and regulary check the house, they charge 10% of the rent + vat but i think its a bargain as we will not be around to deal with ant problems, we go 2nd dec and are going to moana for 6 weeks first. where are you heading to . Gary..

[Guest browny_oh]

Ours is on the market too, but thinking of renting out. We are going out on a 457 visa (fingers x'd), looking around various posts, I am not sure if we need to keep a property here to qualify for the LAFHA on rental payments once we are out there, I have my employer looking into it but nothing yet.

 

Any ideas? Sell or rent?

[Guest calamitycaz]

Ours is on the market too, but thinking of renting out. We are going out on a 457 visa (fingers x'd), looking around various posts, I am not sure if we need to keep a property here to qualify for the LAFHA on rental payments once we are out there, I have my employer looking into it but nothing yet.

 

Any ideas? Sell or rent?

 

 

What's LAFHA on rental payments? Am in the same boat, market is rubbish in Derbys I face either losing 25K on my house if I sell or renting it out - looks like I'm going to go with Your Move who charge 12% and will keep my British Gas Homecare Insurance too. Makes more sense to let someone else pay the mortgage rather than lose money selling. Does mean I have absolutley no spare cash for coming over tho

 

Caz x

[Guest browny_oh]

LAFHA - Living Away From Home Allowance, in some instances (seems random but I am sure once an accountant gets involved it will be a simple yes/no) you can offset (some?) payments for rental/food against your gross salary a bit like people do over here for childcare vouchers. Some things I have read says it has to be written into your employment contract, and is only applicable on a temporary visa (eg 457)

[Guest Damien]

You need to shop around for agents. We are only paying 8% + VAT in fees. The rent also more than covers the mortgage but you do need to watch out coz the good old taxman will start sniffing about!

[Guest WhatNow?]

Yes that's a lot - I only paid 8% including VAT but that won't be much help to the OP as they have presumably signed a contract by now with the agent. At the end of the day whether the service you get is worth the extra who knows. I have heard of people paying 13% + VAT...for no better service than I got for 8%.

[Prema]

Hi,

 

From my experience, We sold our house a lot less than we wanted, and paid all our debts. We came here with enough to buy a car, deposit on a rental and money to live for a few months.

 

My only regret was that we did not rent our house. You never know what can happen. You come here with all the intentions to stay and create a new life for yourself and your family, but sometimes things happen that are not in your control. I would say it's best to rent, just so you keep some more options open, should you ever need them.

 

Prema

[sueoc]

We are renting ours out in the UK,and have no intentions of selling,as we love the house.We have good tenants in who are very happy with it these past 2 years,and as said previously they cover the repayments on the mortgage,and that's all, because we don't want the taxman involved to any great degree.We have thought of doing away with the agent(literally at times !);)but feel more secure using a reputable Letting Agent.Best luck,Sue.