House letting advice wanted

[glassestashthunderflash]

Hi folks, I shall be letting my house soon on posting, I have found a tenant (a neighbour who has split from his wife), where do I need to go know? I'm guessing I need to see a solicitor and get a contract drawn up. I also hope to claim Refund of Legal Expenses to pay for this, have any of you used this? Ta.

 

[Digzster]

Renting out

Renting out

GTT,

I let a house 5 yrs ago so I can inform you what I did then.

1. Q- Are you going to be remote from the house? If so, you should look at getting an agent to look after the property on your behalf. They will do inspections on a regular basis ensuring it is not trashed. Downside - they normally charge for this service.

2. Ensure that you get a damage deposit from the renter and it is enough to cover the worst case scenario.

3. When setting up the rental agreement, ensure that you include a "Notice to quit" clause (this eliminates squatters rights and protects you as a serviceman in the event that you return to the house).

4. Ensure that your rent covers not just your mortgage, but also a bit for repairs that you will be liable for as a landlord.

5. Ensure that the tenant pays for running costs of the property (electric,gas,water,rates etc). Make sure that you take readings on meters and get them to sign as such, then tell utils company yourself!

6. I found it best to get an accountant to do my tax return as it is no longer a straight forward matter as you get "unearned income" from the rent. Good news is that after the first year, you can claim their fees back against tax! They also know exactly what you can and can't claim for.

It can be a minefield, so get advice from all sources not just the forum.

Hope this helps.

 

[welshjpc]

You could always use a local rental agency, they will source tenants (not a problem in your case), and look after your property. My house is covered this way and even though they take 10% of the rent, it still covers my mortgage and its a bit of peace of mind really.

 

[Albert Park]

You could always use a local rental agency, they will source tenants (not a problem in your case), and look after your property. My house is covered this way and even though they take 10% of the rent, it still covers my mortgage and its a bit of peace of mind really.

You must inform the Building Society/Bank/Lender of your intentions.

 

[welshjpc]

My mortgage is with Barclays / Woolwich. I simply phoned them up and told them that I was no longer living in my house and was renting it out, they started tutting and then when I mentioned that I was in the RAF they just said "OK, you do not need a buy to let mortgage as you're forces. Thanks for keeping us informed". There were no charges, no additional fees or any payment hikes.

I thought this was too good to be true so I spoke to my Barclays bank manager who confirmed this, finally found someone who did something for the forces! Yaay!

 

[Mickwreay]

Hi folks, I shall be letting my house soon on posting, I have found a tenant (a neighbour who has split from his wife), where do I need to go know? I'm guessing I need to see a solicitor and get a contract drawn up. I also hope to claim Refund of Legal Expenses to pay for this, have any of you used this? Ta.

Hi, also make sure your home insurance both buildings & contents covers you for tenants.
The TAX side is not too difficult but remember to keep all your receipts for anything to do with the house or anything that could have been used on your rented house!!!!! I would agree it is worth using a tax agent who should charge no more than £100 for the service.

The biggest thing is to make sure you get a proper legal contract drawn up, be it from an agent or solicitor, cos no matter how well you get on with this bloke now if things change you need the law on your side.

You also will need to ensure you have gas & lecky safety certificates & I believe you need to also now have an energy efficiency certificate.

I let my home for many years & had very few problems, but I never got involved directly with the tenants, emotional black mail is easy to succumb to if you are not a business man/woman. It would be best to have the rent paid direct to an agent or solicitor, that way he cannot call you & plead poverty when his ex makes things difficult.

It may also be worth taking out a British Gas utilities policy to prepare for the inevitable breakdowns of plumbing or heating etc. These are all things you can offset against your tax.

Good luck