OK, so it’s a subjective discussion and different people will experience different things, but always good to gauge opinions etc.

In the process of selling our property, agreed on a new place and all going fine.. but then it fell through and we’re left semi-stranded in limbo. We really want the new place, there are no other alternatives availiable in location, the price is good…

So we’re getting more and more viewings coming up again now after re-marketing, but was quiet until last week due to Xmas etc. However ours is quite a ‘niche’ property and in the middle of no-where, so the realisation sometimes comes that it’s not for the buyer, hence no offers.

It has lots going for it like OFSTED outstanding schools, great community, village location, local pub and log burner and 2 large bedrooms. The Estate Agent believes we can rent it out quickly and easily. The figures all add up well, so no worries there.

It would be a private professional rental, no DSS or that sort of thing, the Agent doesn’t deal with them as it’s quite an up-market agent and that’s their preference, which suits me fine.

Anything you can add feel free.

Do you own a baseball bat?

However ours is quite a ‘niche’ property and in the middle of no-where, so the realisation sometimes comes that it’s not for the buyer, hence no offers.

…… so why would it rent easily unless cheap?

My sister and I have a house that’s been rented to the same couple for the last 8 years. It’s been hassle free but it’s only a small house and when the couple do leave we’ll need to spend some money on a refurb.
Regardless of who rents your house you need to factor in redecorating and maybe carpets (even kitchen) at some point. This is ignoring the financial aspects, such as whether you could stand two or three months of it being empty? If you have a mortgage on the property you may also have to re-mortgage with a buy to let mortgage.

…… so why would it rent easily unless cheap

The village is a hard one to get into, very few properties and the outstanding OFSTED school gives it massive demand for rental it seems, so the price would be good from our perspective, without being ridiculous for prospective tennants.

I’ve spent an hour discussing with current mortgage lender, so no worries on transfer of to BTL. That’s all under control.

We could afford 3-6 months of it being empty in a given year without a massive problem, probably closer to 18 months really if we used up some contingency we have

I reckon you’re far better off renting to a housing association for a fixed term – you get slightly less, but once you take into account agents fees and zero risk (if it gets trashed etc, then the HA have to put it right) its a no brainer

TBH mate, i’m not even sure we have a HA here, there’s certainly no HA properties for rent or assited funding housing i’m aware of in the village.

Add to that the fact that the mortgage company are likely to refuse to swap to BTL mortgage on that type of tennant according to our chat this morning

I’ve been renting two out for 9yrs in an average area & 1 in a nice area for 1 year. Over that time I’ve lost 5 months rent, 3 of which were me refurbing one.

They are all rented out at under market value and I’ve only lost 1 tenant so far. A current tenant is behind by 2 months from 3 yrs ago so in the scheme of things that’s fine by me.

The only tenant I’ve lost got behind by 2 months at the start of the recession but we talkedit through and sorted it in the end.

So my advice is don’t be gready rent wise & in the case of arrears be patient and look at it over 10 yrs not 3 months. Good luck if you go ahead and I accept that eventually I’ll get a bad one 🙁

In my experience, if you have decent tenants it’s a great thing to do. If you don’t it’s a nightmare.

I let my house through two agencies – the first was a sad excuse for a car crash of an agency (run by one of the most revolting women I’ve ever had the fortune not to meet – she wouldn’t even talk to me when I had a problem) and the second were actually quite good.

If it were me I would ask around about the agency you plan to use, talk to the agency about their visiting timetable and – should you go for it – chase them up after their scheduled visit. Also bear in mind that things will go wrong and you’ll be taxed on your extra income.

But otherwise it sounds like it’s the way forward for you.

I don’t really understand why it would be too niche to sell, but in such demand to rent??

If parents are so keen to move to the area for the school, then I would have imagined this would affect the sales market as well as the rental market…

Aside from that I rent out a house, initially used an agent to find the tenant and get references. First tenant was a pain, had to chase her for rent on two occasions, she didn’t ventilate the bathroom, causing a mould problem and left the house in a bit of a state. Now on my second tenant (the mother of the next door neighbours) and all is going well. However it doesn’t take much to wipe out your months rental income. Last month with the gales, I had to repair my own roof, and the rental properties roof… you need to consider this if you are relying on the rental income to pay your own mortgage.

flowerpower – Member
I don’t really understand why it would be too niche to sell, but in such demand to rent??

It’s not ‘too niche’ to sell, but is harder to sell due to small garden and lack of garage, it’s also quite a low priced property for the area, most prices are 2 or 3 times higher, however renters seem to be more up for compromise on certain things. People also seem to want to move to the area on a shorter term basis to get their kids into the school cachement area and onto the list.

I’m sure it WILL sell… but i don’t want to lose the house the wife has set her mind on, she’s in love with the place and if we don’t move to this property we could quite easily be waiting 12 months for the next one to come up.

harder to sell due to small garden and lack of garage

Ahhhhh, that’s better. Seems like the way forward for you then – but bear in mind that it seems the housing market is on the rise and that will probably detract from the rental market at some point.

Buy to let mortgage, professionally sourced and referenced tenants, don’t pay a management company just look after it yourself as long as you are not too far away and all is good.

Our village has a shortage of places to rent or buy, so we have had no trouble so far letting our property out. The last gap between tenants was one week, which we needed to get some work done so it was a good thing.

We’d like two or three more properties to rent out if we could, so I’d say go for it if you possibly can.

Your mileage may vary, of course, but our experience of renting a property out has been very positive (and is a much better return on investment than a savings account!)

I should add, if you’re local you don’t require all the services of an agent (if at all). Certainly negotiate a rate if you can deal with elements they’d normally cover. Again, most agents wouldn’t negotiate with me, but the agency that did were great to deal with (I supplied a tenant, thus doing 80% of the job for them) and I eventually sold the house through them.

I should add: I was living abroad while doing this which added another minor problem.

If you’re still in the same village I thought you were, then there’s loads of HA housing there. I’d of thought youd rent it out easily though. Good access to nearby stations and motorway.

For my half penny opinion. I have had a DSS tenant and they were great, no hassle at all. Because someone is a ‘professional’ there is no guarantee they will not trash your house and fail to pay up. The worst people and most untrustworthy are the Estate Agents.

You need that contingency… I had a series of events where tenants witheld rent for a year to force an eviction. You’d think that would be easy, but no. Got all my money back in the end, and in fact, in ten years of renting I have only had two sets of tenants and about three months vacancy (due to my tardiness). So, it can be good, but be prepared for pain. Also, rental agency? If you live nearby and can handle it, don’t use one. 15% a month for very, very little.