C2RL R
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Registered: 28th Mar 02
Location: Redcliffe, QLD
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Hi all. Some of you may recall that i have been selling my house for the last 2 years with no success. in the first 18 months my estate agents had found 8 buyers but all of them pulled out for one reason or another. every time, it got passed the survey stage so i know they weren't pulling out because the house is dodgy. anyway, the last 6 months i've had no offers at all due to the economy at the minute.
i have been thinking about renting the house out until the economy changes and people start buying again. i had the rental dept. of my estate agents round last night and they said i could charge £550/month.
i am now trying to decide if i should rent it out through the estate agents or do it myself. has anybody got any experience of this as i haven't got a clue? the £550/month only just covers what it costs me for mortgage and building insurance. if i go through the letting agents then they charge 10%+VAT per month, leaving me with £477.50/month. is it worth paying them the £72.50/month for what i get in return?
there is also the point that the house is newly renovated atm. it has not been lived in so everything is brand new. i still want to sell the house in 12 months but if its had tennants in then it will not be like new anymore.
i know if the tennants trash the place then it's up to them to repair it but they could just do a Dexys and i'd be left to fork out for repairs.
sorry for the essay but any advice you guys have would be great. basically if you could write how you rent yours out and the pro's and con's of each.
thanks in advance
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AK
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Registered: 5th Jul 00
Location: Aberdeen City
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just rent it out yourself..... Paying the agent mounts up, and is actually money for nothing.
You'll have a months deposit to potentially cover repairs.
Get references, and view/vet the potential tennents yourself.
We did ours this way.... no real problems bar the muppets repaiting/touching up a bedroom in the wrong shade and painting round the furniture. An easy fix but a bit of a hassle.
We charge 750 a month at the moment for a 2 bed flat.
We also did some short term leases during the Edinburgh Festival..... they were a bit mesier, but to be expeceted. We charged about £500 for a week.
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dannymccann
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Registered: 9th Aug 06
Location: Doddington, Lincolnshire
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As AK said if you vet the tennents yourself you can turn away all the ones that 'look' like they will cause trouble. £550 sounds good for a newly renovated place, what size are you talking? We are renting a 2 bed mid terrace new all inside for £450, but on driveway / garage, not the ebst area of town etc
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C2RL R
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Registered: 28th Mar 02
Location: Redcliffe, QLD
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its a 3 bed semi. ex council. 2 car driveway with average rear garden.
what's this i've been hearing about landlords having public liability insurance? someone mentioned it to me the other day but i've never heard of it. well i have heard of it, but not in this situation.
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stubbsy05
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Registered: 23rd Oct 02
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Whats the house value?
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C2RL R
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Registered: 28th Mar 02
Location: Redcliffe, QLD
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it's on the market for £119,500 atm. reduced from £125k due to current market.
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AK
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Registered: 5th Jul 00
Location: Aberdeen City
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Do you have to move/sell just now? If ou dont I'd just sit it out for a while and see how things go.
BUT
if you cant afford to rent it out (you need to be able to pay the mortgage if no tennets are in ..... in reality) and move on/buy another place.... do it.
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C2RL R
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Registered: 28th Mar 02
Location: Redcliffe, QLD
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quote:
Originally posted by AK
Do you have to move/sell just now? If ou dont I'd just sit it out for a while and see how things go.
BUT
if you cant afford to rent it out (you need to be able to pay the mortgage if no tennets are in ..... in reality) and move on/buy another place.... do it.
so you reckon do it all private then so long as i vet the renters properly?
there is some kind of survey you can pay for i believe that will verify the state of the property before renters move in, so that you can prove that they have caused any damage. you ever heard of that?
[Edited on 18-11-2008 by C2RL R]
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AK
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Registered: 5th Jul 00
Location: Aberdeen City
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nope 
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Fee
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Registered: 16th Nov 05
Location: With AK
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A conditions survey.....you can get them done professionally but I think that is mainly for commercial properties.
You can type up an inventory yourself....
List everything that is in the property, take photos of rooms, any existing damage, etc. Pass it to the tenants, give them the opportunity to examine everything and then it gets signed by both parties.
You then have signed details of the condition of the property when it was rented.
Depending on the length of the lease though, you have to allow for fair wear and tear
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C2RL R
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Registered: 28th Mar 02
Location: Redcliffe, QLD
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yeah that is to be expected really. i was thinking more if they trash the place, which they shouldn't do if i get references and what not.
another question i've just thought of.....the kitchen has; fridge/freezer, cooker, washer/dryer and dish washer...do i have to have the appliances tested? also, who is responsible to replace/repair them if they break?
thanks for the help btw...as i said before, i have no experience of renting properties so this is a big help.
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stubbsy05
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Registered: 23rd Oct 02
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Is it not worth dropping the price by anoth 5k for example to get it shifted?
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C2RL R
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Registered: 28th Mar 02
Location: Redcliffe, QLD
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nah i don't think so. if i rent it for 12 months it'll near enough pay for itself while i wait for the market to improve. i can look at selling it again 12 months when things maybe looking better.
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AK
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Registered: 5th Jul 00
Location: Aberdeen City
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You will be resposible for fixing/repairing your property.
Not sure on the electrical testing/fire reg's - but I think the latter is relevent when you have multiple ocupancy (3 or 4 students for example)
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Colin
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Registered: 4th Apr 02
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Have you bought somewhere else already your staying??
Rentings ok, however if your not going to make a profit there might not be any point, market might not have recovered in 12 months, remember were only just entering a recession now, 12 months time could be no diferent/worse!!.
And as said renting is not guarenteed, it could easily lay empty for months!!
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jrsteeve
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Registered: 3rd Apr 02
Location: Manchester
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What's ur agent charging to setup the tenancy? You'll have 2 options with them, the one you've said above is the managed option. The other is let only where they find tenants and move them in, but then you manage the property yourself. Problem tenants are quite few and far between, but letting the agent do it for you just takes the hassle out for you.
I run my own lettings agency and rarely get problems with the properties we manage but there are insurances out there just to make sure.
Check your mortgage company are ok with it too!
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Bobbie
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Registered: 9th Jun 07
Location: Rainham, Greater London
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10% commission for the agent is quite low, around here most agents are around the 12-13%, i mean we charge 12.5 plus VAT and also a 1 week admin fee for the managed service.
with the let only service you could be quite lucky and get a tenant who would want to stay there for 12 -18 months or so and it would work out allot cheaper than the managed service as most places will charge maybe a months rent plus VAT for that.
but then you could also get someone who moves on after 6 months after you've forked out your fee and have to pay it again, that’s if you can get a straight let with no void period
which ever you do i would say a insurance thing i mean we use a company called HomeLet but there are others like Paragon for instance basically they reference all your people check for address's jobs CCJs etc and all that and if there approved and the person doesn’t/cant pay there rent for what ever reason you get like up to rental 5 payments by which time you've usually got rid of them by some means. That is about £100 i think plus referencing of about £20-30 per adult but pretty much all of our landlords take it as its peace of mind
though there will be additional costs to renting to like EPC and Gas, electricity certs and also if there are problems with the property you will be expected to pay for repair so bear that in mind too.
also make sure the letting agent includes an inventory in the price as some don’t, just basically notes every thing with the property all furnsihings staying, marks blemishes worn carpets or what ever, just so basically the tenant cant be a badger come the end of the tenancy
and atm selling would be foolish just stay where you are or rent it out for year / 2 years or until when ever the market starts to recovers.
hope this helps a little
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VegasPhil
Premium Member
Registered: 16th Jan 05
Location: Fareham, Hants Drives: Octavia VRS
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Let's see your property Carl, you've been trying to shift this for months. Got a RM link??
Corsa 2.0 16v Vegas - Sold
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Andrew
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Registered: 5th May 04
Location: Skoda Octavia Estate, Ford Puma
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Be nice to see some pics 
I'd be tempterd to rent it out private for £600 a month so it will pay for itself and you have a little left over.
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C2RL R
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Registered: 28th Mar 02
Location: Redcliffe, QLD
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quote:
Originally posted by jrsteeve
What's ur agent charging to setup the tenancy?
they charge £350 to set it up. don't know if that is about right as i've only had the one agent round so far.
[Edited on 24-11-2008 by C2RL R]
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C2RL R
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Registered: 28th Mar 02
Location: Redcliffe, QLD
User status: Offline
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http://www.homesonview.co.uk/Scripts/FullDetails.aspx?CID=PEARMANC&AID=PEARMANC&PID=PMP02261
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neoquip
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Registered: 12th Aug 02
Location: Nottm
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our flats been empty since April 08 and on the market since may 2007. no takers for it.
we've worked out that what the agents want us to drop it down to in price (£85k.) from what we'd like to sell at @£99k we could aford to leave the property empty for three years and in that time prices will pick up and people will star buying agin.
We could rent it out, butthat would just coverthe costs. THEN if after 5 months of a 6 months contract the do a runner and have trashed it, all the rent thats been paid would be a waste as the cost to re carpet the whole flat is £1.2k a new kitchen.. re decorated etc, you think is it worth it on something you wan to sell in a good condition.
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C2RL R
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Registered: 28th Mar 02
Location: Redcliffe, QLD
User status: Offline
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that exactly why i haven't rented it yet. as it is everything is brand new. some people say that doesn't make a difference but i think it does. especially in the kitchen. there are all the appliances in there that has never been plugged in let alone used.
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neoquip
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Registered: 12th Aug 02
Location: Nottm
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sit on it till next year then re think.
If you do rent out now you need an EPC, by law...Energy Performance Cirtificate ...these cost about £100 before you rent it out.
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VegasPhil
Premium Member
Registered: 16th Jan 05
Location: Fareham, Hants Drives: Octavia VRS
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Is it not on Rightmove?
Corsa 2.0 16v Vegas - Sold
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