Rent out house when away in MH

Warmleys

Guest
We hope to retire in a couple of years and maybe tour Europe for say , 6 months. Has anyone every rented out their house whilst they were away and if so did you have any bad experiences?
 
For the last few years we've spent an increasing amount of time in europe in our motorhome. We initially had relatives and family members staying in our house but that didn't work out too well so this summer we went home, cleared the house, redecorated and did the necessary so we could let it out. We used a letting agent, we've had a tenant in for 4 months now and so far, so good.

Pat
 
Warmleys said:
and if so did you have any bad experiences?
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I'm not sure what assurances, if any you want from this?
Most houses rented out have no real problems, but there will always be problem tenants, you can use an agent, but this still won't protect you 100%.
I'm renting out a property, as it's not my main abode It becomes a straight business decision and if there are problems, whilst upsetting, I know I can go back to my home at night just as I left it. I have let someone stay in my house whilst away on a round the world trip, but this was someone I knew and trusted.
 
I have a second house which i rent out,be very careful who you rent to,do you know them etc.
You can be lucky most of the time,i have had to make excuses to some clients when they arrives as the body odour would have killed at a 1000 yards,the last one i turfed in the street never mind what the law says as he turned the house into a factory for growing the weed.
After a deep clean new carpets wallpapering etc its back to good again with a nice chap in it,do beware.
 
Yes

Re-decorate etc and use an agent !

You will also need to either
a) redirect your mail to a relative
b) change your address to them (Driving Licence Bank etc etc!)
c) Or use a mail-forwarding agent (such as boatmail)

The main problem is what to do about your doctor !

6 months is a short let so you may choose not to do any of the above.

But you may not get a tenant !

Good luck
Take care with the house insurance !!!!

You will have a lot of startup costs
Electric check
Gas check
Energy check

So these and other items will probably exceed any income.
Then there are the risks !

Depends where you are as well !
We are in our 4th year of renting.. ALL VG so far.
We have a good tenant and so we do not raise the rent...Better to have full occupancy.
We use Letsure for insurance . Good value with other safeguards
 
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A worry

seems like a lot of risk and maybe a lot of worry. Didn't even think about insurance. Thanks for your replies
 
When you plan ya try to cover all bases.

In the unlikely event of needing to get back quick, for whatever reason, where would you go ? Can't kick yur lodgers out. For 6 months I wouldn't bother, but upto you after weighing it all up.

HTH

Chrz Mul
 
The converse to the situation is if you don't rent out there are things that need to be considered if the house is left empty e.g. ordinary house insurance policy would not cover you on an empty house for that length of time.
 
Unfurnished

Agree with most of the comments above ... especially use an agent and let for longer than 6 months.

We took the plunge and let initially for a year. Loved our travels so much we have carried on letting. BUT in Year 1 we let furnished. And to what seemed like a really lovely lady with 3 kids. Fortunately we were back staying locally to sort out the damage when she left ... drawing pin holes in expensive wall paper, marks on furniture (some antique), and quite a number of items stolen. The deposit only partly covered the costs to us. We have been letting another house unfurnished for years with no major headaches, so we piled more 'stuff' in my parents bulging attic, partitioned off the half the double garage and put the antiques into proper storage.

Just go for it.
 
Clunegapyears said:
Agree with most of the comments above ... especially use an agent and let for longer than 6 months.

We took the plunge and let initially for a year. Loved our travels so much we have carried on letting. BUT in Year 1 we let furnished. And to what seemed like a really lovely lady with 3 kids. Fortunately we were back staying locally to sort out the damage when she left ... drawing pin holes in expensive wall paper, marks on furniture (some antique), and quite a number of items stolen. The deposit only partly covered the costs to us. We have been letting another house unfurnished for years with no major headaches, so we piled more 'stuff' in my parents bulging attic, partitioned off the half the double garage and put the antiques into proper storage.

Just go for it.
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We rent out 4 properties , NON via an agent , they offer a service, at a price, and the price they charge for the service they provide does not warrant using them in my opinion.
When push comes to shove, if you have problem tenants, agents have NO more clout than you do.

For 6 months I really doubt it is worth the hassle at all, especially your own HOME. We rent out houses with no emotional connection, not our home, Very different.
 
No Agent ! That may suit you

yeoblade said:
We rent out 4 properties , NON via an agent , they offer a service, at a price, and the price they charge for the service they provide does not warrant using them in my opinion.
When push comes to shove, if you have problem tenants, agents have NO more clout than you do.

For 6 months I really doubt it is worth the hassle at all, especially your own HOME. We rent out houses with no emotional connection, not our home, Very different.
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I guess with 4 properties you save a lot on agents fees. But you have to be around more and spend time to "sort things out"

So if you are travelling a lot and out of the country for maybe 3 months an agent is useful (almost essential) to organise repairs etc.
And maybe a new tenant. Lots of other minor issues where an agent is better (IMO)

You have to pay tax on the income and you "claim" the agents fees and VAT to reduce you tax liability (as well as repairs etc)
 
We have a property we rent out, we don't use an agent, same tenant 3 years now.
 
Warmleys said:
We hope to retire in a couple of years and maybe tour Europe for say , 6 months. Has anyone every rented out their house whilst they were away and if so did you have any bad experiences?
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We are away 8 months of the year and my Mrs would never rent out our property. Unless, you are 1000pc sure you have a reliable tenant. Yes, we did have a bad experience with our sons house a while back. We lost 2 years rent and that is how long it took us to get the sods out. In fact we lost more than the 2 years rent and the hassle was tremendous. Now, every time we come back our home is lovely and clean and a dream to return to.
 
Yes..but it is still easier than organising yourself

Jays said:
An agent will contact you as repairs are required, they do not have the authority to spend your money.
If you as stated do not use an agent, but have a trusted team of workers who can them be contacted to carry out repairs as required, all that is required is a phone connection. In our connected world this is so easy.
The issue of vat, it's only four properties you will never reach the threshold.
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Hi,

My agent has to get authorisation from me (by email ...cheaper than a phone call and more satisfactory in other ways) to spend My money eg on repairs
We spend many months travelling in Uk and abroad. I am rarely without an internet connection
The letting agent has a network of sensibly priced tradesmen.
I assume that they use them for other prpoerties as well so I suspect they are reliable etc
They agent simply organise the tradesman pay them and then reclaim out of the next Months rent NO MARKUP !

I was referring to INCOME tax not VAT. We (as I suspect you) have to pay tax on the net income !
 
A good Agent AND good insurance

Will insist on references and make credit checks on Potential Clients

A good insurance will also give recompense against non-payment etc

Obviously problems can still occur but......

If you leave your home empty there is a greater chance of Burglary Damage and Squatters.

We have kept our good furniture elsewhere and refurnished with good quality secondhand items (eg Age Concern)

The better the house the more likely it is to be cared for !

I fully expect to re-carpet re-decorate etc when we return !
 
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My mother and father rented out their house whilst they toured Europe for twelve months, which turned into 36 months.
They used a agent and had no problems, and the rent money covered their traveling expenses.
Just make sure you use a reputable agent
 
David & Ann said:
We are away 8 months of the year and my Mrs would never rent out our property. Unless, you are 1000pc sure you have a reliable tenant. Yes, we did have a bad experience with our sons house a while back. We lost 2 years rent and that is how long it took us to get the sods out. In fact we lost more than the 2 years rent and the hassle was tremendous. Now, every time we come back our home is lovely and clean and a dream to return to.
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Dont see how it took 2 years to get them out,took me 5 mins 2 chaps and baseball bats:hammer:
I must add i captured all his new stuff like tv bike mp3 player m/wave etc which helped to cover costs,police said you cant do that,i said watch me and if he has any complaints let him come to you and report,fat chance,problem solved.
 
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Warmleys said:
We hope to retire in a couple of years and maybe tour Europe for say , 6 months. Has anyone every rented out their house whilst they were away and if so did you have any bad experiences?
Click to expand...

Depending on your location you should consider holiday lets , check airbnb
 
Whilst I don't use an agent I do believe they have their uses, as pointed out, we save around £4K/yr not using them, however I have used them to get the tenants in the first place and for them to provide preliminary vetting of tenants.

We use British gas Home cover, so, if as what appears to be the the most common problems that occur, plumbing and heating then the tenant calls out British gas, not my worries :sleep-027:.

I have looked into the insurance Guaranteed rent schemes, not something I feel is value for money at all, unless I suppose you are on a very tight budget and if a months rent was missed you'd be up **** creek without a paddle.

Fortunately at the moment I don't have any 'needy' tenants and as we are never overseas too long and I DIY most repairs it suits us.

In summary I want to keep ALL the rent for ME and not share it out to agents and insurance companies - maybe I'm tight!

I would of thought on a 6 month let, as OP asks, with agents fees ,moving in/out coming back to God knows what in your own home it really isn't worth the hassle. A friend calling by to keep an eye on things would be the best option IMO.
 
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