Any tips/advice on renting out UK property?

[leelee53]

Hello,

 

Looks like we will def be renting out our UK property in order to make the move in just under 8wks time, and wondered if anyone had any useful info on this, as it does feel quite daunting leaving our home in the hands of strangers as we jet off to the other side of the world! We are still keeping it on the market and hope it will sell sometime next yr. Is it def better to go through an agent to get a tenant or just do it privately and take out landlord insurance? I've been told that we may get taxed on the rent by good old Inland Rev, and wondered at what rate they will tax?

 

Lisa

[Guest ladyarkles]

We are renting ours out through a local estate agent.

They negotiate the lease and have experience in the field.

They also advertise the property and vet the tenants, those things in themselves are hard to do as an individual.

One tip: do NOT rent to mates without a tenancy agreement. You are going to be too far away to deal with anything that goes wrong; which is where the agency comes into its own.

We have landlord insurance as well, but that on its own is not enough to a) fully protect your rights and b) protect your property.

 

The agency have given us the tax forms to fill in because if you notify the tax-man before you start earning money it will be easier to arrange.

You should be able to get the income tax-free if you meet the criteria as a Non-Resident Landlord.

Here is the link to the official website, it's pretty straightforward:

http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/cnr/nr_landlords.htm#10

 

Anyhow, I'm not any kind of expert in property stuff, but this is my experience in our situation.

 

Good luck and all that!

 

~ Rachel

[JimandBarbinAus]

am i right in thinking though you would still have to declare uk rental income to the taxman in oz as world wide income and tax it over in oz?

[Guest Nick Tuck]

we rent ours out back in UK. Definitely use an agent. You dont need the headache. Although we have family locally that can help with any maintenance issues if they pop up, its still better having an agent as they are the primary contacts.

 

Although they charge a fee, they insure that they get a decent tenant in. We had a couple in for the past 2 years since being here, and they moved out at xmas. Within one week our agent had another tenant to go in. This meant we didnt miss any payments and be out of pocket.

 

So, if this happens, cahnge of tenant or maintenance, its far better having an agent.

 

We actually make a small profit per month on our house but not enough in the year to get taxed on. It would need to be a certain amount to get taxed, but you also offset your fee's and any maintenance against it.

 

The Oz tax office here should tax you on any income made (which is incredible considering the Uk dont) but its up to the individual to decide if they want to tell anyone over here.

[Johnny Kash]

Agree fully with the other two posters, get an agent to handle it fully managed.

 

I got three different agents round and actually chose the most expensive (in terms of their fees) but felt they were by far the most professional and would do a good job. They actually deal mainly in the higher end of market so theyre kind of slumming it with my one bedroom flat

 

Id been in my flat 5 years and had to nothing except change a light bulb. The day before we fly out the boiler breaks down (in Edinburgh, in November!!). One call to the agent and everythings sorted.

 

As a first time landlord, I was very nervous about the whole thing but touch wood, if you get decent tenants in and a good rental agent everything should be OK. Also with the strong dollar over here, when you do start earning here you can always bung a few dollars back to cover anything that needs doing, overpay mortgage or whatever you choose. Thats how we look at it, works for us!!.

 

Best of luck anyway, Im sure it will be fine.

 

 

JK

[Guest rachinadelaide]

Make sure the agant you us is a member of The Property Ombudsman scheme! We have been renting our property with the same agnt for 7 years and for the last year and a half they have been beyond useless - taken money and not spent it where is should have been spent, failed to get things fixed, refused to answer emails or speak to us on the phone... the list goes on. We tried to break our contract with them due to their incompetence and they managed to communicate with us just enough to let us know they would charge us 600 quid for the privilege.... It is now in the hands of the Ombudsman. We have changed agents and have a pro-active and communicative agent and it's a huge relief!

 

Choose carefully. Ask to speak to some current landlords whose properties they manage to get some refererences.

 

 

If you are rentin g in the Derby/Nottigham area pm me and I can tell you the name of the incompetent agents.

[Guest Helchops]

Personally, I think the circa 10% management fee is very expensive considering all they're doing is ringing the company plumber or electrician to fix that leak - you still have to pay for it!

 

The only good side looks to be some of the rent protection schemes that they sometimes offer, however this can be arranged through your insurer (landlords insurance) anyway, so I'm not sure what the benefits of a fully managed package are? Certainly for us, it's not worth £100 + VAT a month.

 

A local relative would be a must though...