Renting out own house when posted abroad

[Pandorasbob]

Just that really . We are not buy to let people , just that DH job may take him abroad (across the Atlantic). If this were to happen , can anyone advise me about what we need to think about ? At some point we will want to come back to our own house . We will not be close enough to "pop over" and sort out any problems .
So managed let (I'm guessing a no brainer)
furnished / unfurnished (I suppose I take EA advice )

Is there anything I have not thought of - I am guessing there is loads.

If anyone could give me any advice I would be grateful.

PB

[Bowlersarm]

Let your mortgage company know.

Managed let, definitely.

[SavoyCabbage]

We do this. You have to tell your mortgage company and you should find a good agent. That's the most important thing.

We went to see about five before we found one that was not an arse.

We put ours on for slightly under what we could have got as for us getting a tenant in before we left and keeping them was important.

I would put all your things in storage and rent unfurnished. Firstly it is more complicated to rent furnished. Everything has to be safety checked and you have to get things fixed if they break and secondly it's your home and emotionally it could be hard.

[Pandorasbob]

Thank you both

Good advice
Obviously I will research , but good to hear from people who have done it .
Does it work ? Is it OK ?
I'm grateful for your quick and good answers
So I need to find a decent letting agent and talk to our mortgage company

Oh and by the way Savoy it's my house you get it - Money aside - I am not a landlord in the sense of a business - it is just to facilitate a family move for a couple of years.
Thank you both SC and Bowlers


PB

[HerRoyalNotness]

We've had our tenants for 5.5yrs now, we haven't put up he rent and they're happy to stay. We have a property manager who takes care of repairs etc on our behalf, deducting it from the rent.

You need landlord insurance also and to submit a yearly tax return for the income less any expenses, interest, agent fees, insurances. You may or may not make enough to pay some tax on the income.

[Pandorasbob]

HRN
Thank you
We are not bothered about making a profit - we just want to make sure that we can keep hold of family house for when we return .So if the whole arrangement washes its face - we're happy . But thank you for saying about landlord insurance - it is on my list - Thank you
Oh and also Tax return - gosh - this is harder than I thought , but doable as long as you know what you have to deal with .

Thanks , this is really helpful.
PB

[buffersandbumpers]

I rented a flat out for over 10 years and didn't bother with landlord insurance. You don't have to have it.
I figured if a tenant was going through an agency (who do certain checks) and paying a month's worth of rent as deposit then they were likely to be higher up the decent scale and not turn into squatters. I was right in my case. But if you want peace of mind then get it I guess.

[BillieViper]

You might not need landlord insurance but you absolutely need property liability insurance which usually comes as part of the package. If you do not have that and have risked it then if the tenant is injured in your property by fire, faulty wiring, carbon monoxide etc for example then you are opening yourself up to a lawsuit.

You have to let your mortgage lender know or you may invalidate your mortgage/buildings insurance. You also have to let them know if the property is empty longer than 30 days (can happen in between tenants).

You have to have an annual gas check - letting agent usually organises.
You have to to have deposit in proper tenancy deposit scheme - letting agent will organise. If not you lay yourself open to losing it automatically/legal action.
I personally would install carbon monoxide monitors -quite cheap to do, as well as smoke alarms.

You have to work out in advance the tax agreements between UK and where you are moving to...tax exemption form needs to be filled out in advance or it will be taken by agent at source.

I would rent unfurnished as then you are not liable for maintenance of fittings and furnishings and their safety as mentioned above. You will need to offer cooker, decent heating and a fridge is usual (although I did not leave the latter, but I did leave vaccuum and mower and gave them to first set of tenants to keep so again not responsible for replacement).

You would be advised for landlord's insurance if you are relying on the rent to break even with the mortgage -the rental figure must be 125% on your usual monthly payment. The bank usually has to convert to a buy to let, standard variable or adding a per cent on as a load if you are renting out. You can choose not to tell them but that would be really unwise. Be aware they can be arses wrt tenants on housing benefit - some banks insist on no students, no DHSS, no pets etc Others sometimes accept a guarantor for your tenant.


WRT 'bad' tenants that will end up in court anyway irrespective of the insurance - added legal will help but won't stop tenants outstaying notice as long as the council refuses to offer help until they are evicted (otherwise the poor buggers are deemed to have made themselves intentionally homeless): also there are excesses on things like malicious damage BUT insurance packages are brilliant when it comes to things like burst pipes...they will cover the tenant in hotels during repairs (whilst they continue to pay your rent) OR if you lose the tenant due to flood then they will pay your rent to you and the tenant is released from the contract. So you don't have the property being repaired for months whilst paying the mortgage as well as your current rental (we ae not professional landlords either and in 7 years have always broken even or made a loss but wanted to be able to come back if needed with 3 months notice to tenant obv.) Be aware of the complex rules of capital gains tax if you should decide to sell after all while you are away or if you come back (you will need to check the details with gov. online as I am hazy).

Finally accept your house is no longer your home and may get trashed, flooded etc Channel Elsa and Let.It.Go.
Accept you may have periods without a tenant and no rent coming in or that you have multiple tenants and have to pay the agent each time.
Accept the agent will be charging a percentage plus VAT simply for being there so you don't have to...so make sure it is someone you trust who knows their stuff.

Have done it for 7 years, same agent, 1x left in shocking state/deposits company upheld in our favour, 1x burst pipes (make sure yours are lagged or tenant agrees on ambient temp even if away but hard to enforce or prove).Our insurance paid for damage and loss of rent (tenant wanted out rather than hotel, fair enough). Have had 5 tenants in 7 years so 1250 quid in additional fees for vetting/contacts etc BUT my agent is bloody brilliant (pm me if you are in the North West).

Good Luck xxx

[Pandorasbob]

BillieViper
Thank you - this is great .
I can see such good things to think about in your post. I need to assimilate it .


Thank you - good advice and I appreciate it - not being flippant but I need to read and absorb it properly - I really appreciate you taking the time to answer. I need to take the time to read it properly.

But thank you so much for replying - I really appreciate it - I will be back ......
PB

[specialsubject]

you would be INSANE not to have proper landlord insurance. There was a case on here where the tenant burnt the house down and there was no landlord insurance. Guess what?

you need

• mortgage company permission. Ignore this and the place could be repossessed.
  
• buildings and contents insurance
  
• malicious damage cover (not in all polices)
  
• legal cover for evictions/non payers
  
• possibly rent guarantee cover
  
• emergency cover for boilers etc
  

you need a competent agent (good luck with that one) who will inspect regularly to spot problems (tenants may not report them, happened to us) and report to you. You need to check up on them, so get one that will answer emails.

you need an annual gas safe certificate, deposit protection. You need to be prepared for maintenance and repairs which will cost a lot more as you can't do them.

if the garden is any more than a square of lawn, pay for a competent gardener if you still want plants alive and not grossly overgrown on your return.

you do a tax return. Set up as a non-resident landlord or the agent will have to take 20% of the rent upfront.

remove all possessions and furniture, if you will be away for more than a year sell it. Do not pay for storage for longer than that. Try to sweet-talk relatives with attics if at all possible for small things. Downsize big-time. Fix everything, leave instructions, make sure place is immaculate. Doesn't mean you'll get it back in untrashed but increases the odds.

as someone else said - dissociate. There WILL be wear and tear from people living in it.

oh, and you must return to the house afterwards, otherwise it could attract CGT when you sell it.

did it for 8 years, 3 sets of tenants. Some problems but went very well in all.

btw there is no shame in being a landlord. Lot of vicious bile on mumsnet about it, ignore.

[MelanieCheeks]

Lots of great advice up thread already - just adding another voice to the "I've done it, it's not a problem".

Check if you need to be registered as a landlord (we do now in Norn Irn, not sure how UK wide that is)

[addictedtosugar]

We looked into this when DH might have gone abroad with work.
The company were very specific - they would either pay for accomadation in new location, but we weren't to rent our house out, or we could rent our home out, and pay for our own accomadation. There would have been some maths to see what was the best option - it depended on which part of the world we went to! So check the terms of the secondment, if that is what your doing.

[EmGee]

oh, and you must return to the house afterwards, otherwise it could attract CGT when you sell it

Special - is this right? I thought there was no CGT to pay if the property was your original primary residence rather than a BTL. DH sold his house (rented it out for 7 years after leaving UK to work abroad) and paid no CGT. He had owned the house for 15 years though - maybe this is why?