Would you rent out your home?

Is their any landlord members who can give advice please ?

My mum had passed away and now everything has been stitched up probate etc her property has been left to us to either sell or rent. We have not ever wanted to sell the property and have thought about renting it out as a family home.
But we know nothing about renting out a property.are there any members who do rent out and are there a lot of do's and dont's.?
Infact only thing we have been told by a sister in law is that we cannot do any of the jobs ourselves as we must have a certificate from a electrician etc to say they have been done properly.

if so we will stumble at the first hurdle as my other half always did these type of jobs for mum.and everything is up to date
.
Advice appreciated

 

I am a landlord and i decided with my daughter to rent my mothers house out

I Looked at quite a lot of advice and info about renting and I went with simply business for my landlord insurance which they also send me monthly email updates with helpful information.

I do recommend you get a written tenancy agreement contract outlying what is your responsibility and the tenants.


You can do jobs yourself but you must get professionals in to check the work and give you certificates for example the boiler must be serviced every year and a certificate provided plus make sure carbon monoxide and smoke alarms are checked and regularly working


There are many organizations to give you advice and I do recommend you look at them

Also as regards rent again look at sites for your area and see what they charge

i decided not to go with a letting agency but again i suggest you look to see if a letting agency would be better for you or not in all there is a lot to consider so get as much info about renting a house out

 

When the sale of our UK house fell through (4 times) we had no choice but to let it out. It was managed by an agent. The first two lots of tenants were horrendous. After getting stroppy with the agent, we finally got some good tenants. So good that we were able to fire the agent and set up a contract with them.... See here and read thoroughly! Model agreement for a shorthold assured tenancy
All went well for 12 years, until Covid, when things went badly wrong. Fortunately, we eventually got things resolved and sold the house within 4 days of it going on the market.
The laws are changing quite a bit in favour of the tenants (to the detriment of landlords). If you're 'on the spot' and able to deal with potential problems, keep a close eye on the place, it is easier.
Think long and hard whether you want the responsibility!

 

I let out a commercial property so a bit different, but my advice is to let the professionals deal with everything. Solicitors are expensive but worth it, the cheapest is about £300 per hour. Surveyor is maybe £200 per hour. Agents typically take 10% of a years rent if they negotiate for you, that's commercial so I suspect would be different for you. You need things like asbestos survey, EPC rating etc. Also make sure you are well insured for things like loss of rent.

 

I think being a landlord has become so fraught with difficulties now that's it's an absolute minefield. You have no idea what might happen, and how good/bad potential tenants are or can be.
I wouldn't do it again, and I had a fairly good experience.

 

Would think the profit margin from just one property would be at best quiet low when you consider all the hoops you have to go though to make it all legal, though usually the property value will rise over the years.

If it has such fond memories for you, could you cope with strangers living in there doing what they want ?

As other have said, get a bad tennant with the law on their side and you are stuck in a right nightmare - you only have to watch all the daytime tv programs on such situations.

Yes, it was the treasured family home, but short of moving in there yourself, would say sell it and take comfort from the items you can keep to remember those good times.

 

I'm not a landlord but a friend has been renting out her parents former home for many years. How profitable or otherwise is down to the quality of the tenant as much as anything. One tenant was in the house for several years and didn't bother to report a leaking waste pipe under the sink. That resulted in the need to rip up flooring and joists when they left. Other tenants haven't been a problem.

 

I’ve never rented out a property but my sister has. A flat they bought for their student daughter to use, that they subsequently rented out, was ok, as they had good tenants. They then rented out an in-laws house they had been left, and that was a complete disaster. Took a few years to evict the tenants, who among other bad behaviour, wrecked the newly fitted kitchen, broke the shower tray, then managed to break the new replacement within days. When they finally got them out, they had to gut the house before they could put it up for sale. Be prepared for it to cost more money than it makes, and the stress to be more than you might imagine.

 

If you want to keep it in the family, is there a family member who might be interested in buying it? I wouldn't want the uncertainty and stress of renting out a property. Another alternative is to renovate and sell. I suggest you speak to a good local estate agent for guidance on current and future market trends.

 

Zero experience in this field but you might also want to check the HMRC website to see what the tax implications are both in respect of income from letting and potential Capital Gains Tax liabilities if you eventually decide to sell.

I think the CGT threshold is being halved again in the new tax year (next week!) and might then be down to £3000 (not sure without looking).

 

Depends how far away the house is. A friend bought a flat in Aberdeen in its oil booming days. He had to travel from Glasgow to Aberdeen every week end to resolve problems like broken dish washers etc.