Renting a property - any advice on how to avoid major pitfalls?

I've let property for years and never used an agent, but then the property is part of our main residence anyway, so we are always on hand to deal with any issues. If you don't live near the property, then yes, I would use an agent.

Oh yes, would do it ourselves if we were close at hand.

Dinahmo

Some friends bought a nice house in a nice Suffolk town to let out. They chose not to use an agent. The man who rented it paid the first few months rent and then stopped. He was apparently comfortably off and had a BMW. He stopped paying the rent and it took several months and solicitors to get him out.

Same happened for a friend in Devon. A nightmare.

You just need to bear in mind that it will be a business and no longer your holiday home.
Emotional attachments need to put to one side or you are bound to be disappointed, upset etc by the way the tenants live.

In your contract you may stipulate no children, pets, smoking etc, don’t be surprised if your tenants circumstances change …….

We let our house in London for 18 years when we went to the Netherlands. We let it furnished but used a reliable estate agent who vetted tenants and ensured the upkeep as we were abroad.
At first they only let to foreigners as they said they were bound to leave in the end but latterly we had an English family living there for the last 10 years. When we gave them notice that we were coming back they left without a problem.

Our tenants were always families who I think possibly treat the place better.

My DD let her flat in London for 5 years and also employed an agent. At one stage she had 5 nurses living in it and she used to send them food parcels as it was during the pandemic. She didn't really have any problems either.

We were extremely lucky. A flat above the office where I worked came on the market. My employers (a charity) were looking to expand but could not get a grant to purchase. meantime DH reached retirement age and received substantial funds from an endowment policy, so we bought the flat and rented it to the Charity. Some years later the adjacent bigger flat was for sale or rent and the Charity rented it, leaving us with an empty flat.

At this time there was a change to the rules for rental landlords. The local council organised an evening meeting to explain the changes for landlords. DD and I attended. At the end of the meeting the Council's head of housing explained that the Council urgently needed 'scatter flats' for homeless persons if anyone had suitable properties. We talked to him, he visited our flat, said it was perfect for their purpose and long story short, we rented the flat to the Council. They dealt with the tenancies, inspected and refurbed and paid us directly each month at the then rental rate for tenants on benefits - We had no direct contact with the tenants - Win Win.

When we eventually needed a cash sum (for DD's new home) we sold the flat for 3x what we had paid for it.

Recently , I tried and failed to advise a friend not to do what I did - I let my house at a really cheap rent to my long term friend's thespian son and his friend .

What a complete disaster .

Suddenly, there was a girlfriend there as well .

His pets gnawed the new curtains and deposited faeces and food pellets everywhere .

They switched the CH off prior to going on holiday during a cold snap . And decided not to pay rent during that period !

The entire house was grubby and greasy .
It stank of frying .

Stuff in storage was being taken out and used .

When I phoned my friend up to ask if there could be an improvement and to ask the girlfriend to go .

I thought that I'd give him another chance as I'd known him since babyhood and was genuinely fond of him .

She told me to f--k off .

So now my friend ,who isn't that well is to-ing and fro-ing to her home , which is miles away and dealing with walls used as dart boards ,smashed windows and unsanctioned plumbing bills .

Please get a proper letting agent and a landlord insurance .

Good luck .

Yes landlord insurance is a must. Direct Line do a very good one.

Esmay, we lived abroad for 13 years and during that time let our house via an agent - corporate lets only, probably easier for us in outer SW London.

We had no trouble with tenants - German, French, Japanese - except that someone - we never did find out who - nicked all dh’s treasured Dinky Toys out of the loft! 🤬

There was quite a hefty percentage to the agent, IIRC 17.5% - who saw to all maintenance issues, and several expat friends told us we were daft, we were paying through the nose - they had let theirs to friends or family, no agent to pay.

Without exception, all of them later had trouble - either the friends or family refused to leave when they needed the house back, or they stopped paying the rent, or they trashed the place.

Granny23 When we eventually needed a cash sum (for DD's new home) we sold the flat for 3x what we had paid for it

Indeed.

Brilliant reason to keep a property as a rental, appreciates in value to be sold for deposit or mortgage payoff for AC.

Another tale of it all going wrong - a close friend of ours, another expat, arranged for a brother in law to let and manage the N London family home.
The BiL let it all right - but he used the rental income to install his mistress in a flat, and neglected for so long to pay the mortgage, that by the time our friend realised what was going on, the house was close to repossession.
You could hardly make it up!

Would it be easier to sell?

dragonfly46

Yes landlord insurance is a must. Direct Line do a very good one.

I have my landlord insurance with them too and agree, they are very good. We have been very lucky in the main with our tenants and have only had one real problem tenant. She turned out to be an alcoholic who would drink until she passed out and then wet herself wherever she lay - it was so bad that we ended up having to replace not only the carpets, but also the floorboards in some areas. We ended up taking her to court. One current tenant is an older single man who has been in the flat for years and is a perfect tenant - no bother whatsoever and you would hardly know he is there.

Remember not only landlord’s insurance to cover non-payment of rent etc, but also landlord’s rather than owner occupier’s buildings and contents insurance.

Germanshepherdsmum

Remember not only landlord’s insurance to cover non-payment of rent etc, but also landlord’s rather than owner occupier’s buildings and contents insurance.

Absolutely - sound advice.

If you have good quality furniture it is an even greater reason to let the property empty. Even the most careful tenant will not be as careful as you are. Plus if anything goes wrong you will be responsible for fixing or replacing.

We rented for 4 years, 6-8 months each year fully furnished. Slight issues, one tenant stole few bits and one let the garden become a jungle, both were sorted and recompensed via the agent from the tenants deposits. The only things excluded from recompense were the cooker and white goods.

JaneJudge

Would it be easier to sell?

A good question. But we have thought very seriously about it- and no, would not be good idea.

Daisymae

If you have good quality furniture it is an even greater reason to let the property empty. Even the most careful tenant will not be as careful as you are. Plus if anything goes wrong you will be responsible for fixing or replacing.

Good quality but not particularly valuable.

As a keen gardener, I'd hate to rent a house with a garden! This is a flat, 2 beds, 2 bath, on 2nd floor in a modern block in lovely small market town.

I’m sure you’ve checked the lease regarding sub-letting.

In that case Fleurpepper you have to inform and get permission from the free holder.

For years we did without an agent because the flat is annexed to our main house. Now mine since I am a widow.
Over the years we have only had 3 less than perfect tenants.
A couple of chain smokers who were nice people but it was horrible.

The next was a young man who begged to be allowed to keep his kitten. When he moved out there were cat hairs everwhere .
Then another young man who worked as a gardener by day and a folk musician by night.
His DF paid his rent and when DF died our tenant went into a deep decline. He took to drink and brought a very noisy woman in . The rent stopped.
We did nothing for a few months but eventually had to tell him he had to move out as we were and are dependent on the rent to pay house bills.
Even having top of the range agents though can't guarantee an easy tenancy
Friends have an Edinburgh flat which they let through a reputable agent.
It hasn't prevented them being called out in the night to change a lightbulb or having to replace perfectly good mattresses because one fussy lady didn't sleep well.

I am very happy with my present tenant but who knows. Her DGC are coming next weekend to stay and they might be little horrors

Didn't the deposit cover thoroughly cleaning, including pet hairs?

I paid extra deposit to pay for a "pet clean" when I moved into my house, so that I could keep my cats. As the house had been professionally cleaned before I moved in, I know that I will have to pay for another one when I move out. If I don't, it will be taken from my deposit, which is held by one of the official companies.

I've been here nearly nine years, so the landlord is expecting a total redecoration when I move out. In any case, I hoover cat hairs regularly. They've ruined my sofa, but haven't done any damage to the house.

Those were the days when we let the flat DIY style. We took a deposit but returned it when the young man and his cat left. It was only later that we found all the cat hairs, by which time he had moved on and so had we.

Even now, though there's an agent who did background checks, safety checks, produced a brochure etc. Because I am managing the lease, I am supposed to do all inspections myself.