Moving back to Oz after 13 years and 2 DDs in UK - help and advice required

[DottieLottie]

After spending 13 years living in UK I have now convinced DH, dd1 (11), dd2 (2) that moving to OZ is the best idea. We are currently trying to sell our house (hmmm not the best time for that) but if it hasn't sold by September we are going to rent it out and leave anyway so that we have go a definite date rather than hang abut. I'm after some advice from anyone who has done similar, how you found the letting out when other side of the world that type of thing.

Hi not quite the other side of the world but we are in Gibraltar & rent our house in UK.

We rented it with an agent & they take a percentage of the rent to cover their fees. They deal with anything that goes wrong with the house & if its under £150 they go ahead & have it fixed & take it out of the £150 float that they keep aside for this reason. If its above this they let us know the problem & then get the local firm in to give us a quote on the work that needs doing. If I had to do it again (moving back in July) I would say get a local handyman that you trust who would do the work for you at a cheaper rate, the agents tend to get their local guy in who knows the house is rented & over inflates the bill. You are aloud to have your own handyman on the books & they will call him when the work needs doing. Also find out if the tennants want to sign up for a year or more because the agent charges you an admin fee every 6 months to renew the contract

Other wise we do get our rent on time every month in our bank account & a statement to say if any money has been taken out after their fees. Our tennants have stayed in the property all the time we have been away so I don't know who it works when you have to change tennants, but the agent does say that they will advertise as soon as they find out that the old ones are moving. Some companies offer a package where they will garentee the rent will be paid inbetween tenants, but be careful I think they charge you extra on the percentage they take every month to cover this.
Hope it helped a little good luck in your new life in OZ