Letting our property- renovation grants.

[Maybee]

Hi,
Jobs have come up in N Ireland that me and dh hope to apply for. We'd love to move there as it is where I'm from and my family are there. Unfortunately I know we would lose money if we tried to sell our house and since we've been here for a few years that would mean we would end up with no deposit to buy a new home.
Should we let our current house? It's ok but has windows that get steamed up and smell foosty in winter. Would I be eligible for a local authority renovation grant to make it more appealling?
Both jobs need someone to start asap so that would mean a real rush to sort out the house and get it rented before we leave. We'd be happy to rent in NI for the forseeable future. Can anyone advise me on the pitfalls/complications of renting out your house? Thanks

I believe there was a warm front grant available to pensioners and people on benefits to claim to keep their houses warm, whether you could sleep at night taking money from your local authority to tart up your property in order for it to become a business venture is between you and your conscience I guess.

I'm sorry, but your post made me a bit cross. Why should someone who is able to own their own home (and not in financial need or having health needs) qualify for state support to renovate their houses so they can rent it out for their own financial gain??!! OK if you are old and infirm, etc etc etc, but honestly!

Ok I don't mean at all to do anything dishonest or opportunistic. In any case we won't gain financially we will not even break even by renting our house, rent will cover half of our mortgage. At the minute it might not be fit to rent out due to some of the windows being faulty. I'm not complaining but we simply cannot afford to replace our windows and I'm not sure our property would be 'fit' to rent out just now. We have been v slowly doing it up room by room and would continue to do so until I saw the possibility of moving house to be closer to family. I was just posting to see what other people might have done as there must be lots of people in similar positions out there. If my post implies that I'm looking for state support thats not the case I can't help feel hastily judged here.

"Would I be eligible for a local authority renovation grant to make it more appealing?"

It doesn't imply it does it, but anyway in the short to medium term it'll cost you a small fortune whether you move out and sell the house or rent it so it comes down to how badly do you want to return to NI ?
We did something similar and have lost around £100k in doing so but then saved that amount I hope by having better schools locally.

We have a few houses that we rent out and have never had any issues
How much realistically would it take to get it sorted? I would get a quote and see.
Would certainly be faster to rent it than sell it.
Also, google some landlord sites though as there are certain regulations you have to keep to regarding boiler servicing/smoke alarms etc; more so if you are planning to let furnished.

Thanks Jacks.
We would probably let it through an agency as we will be living too far away (if we even get the jobs) I mean the house has been fine for the 5 of us to live in for the last 3.5 years. We fitted the kitchen and bathroom shortly after we moved. The windows are probably the biggest issue/expense as our bedroom window is leading to a dampness problem. A good lick of paint would probably do wonders. Is it wiser/easier to let a house furnished or unfurnished do you think? If we rent in NI we won't need our furniture for a long time. Most of our furniture is IKEA or 2nd hand anyway. I'm not even sure how long we would hope to let it for but at least 6months to a year I should think.

I let my house unfurnished. What we do is to put all the rent money into an account and use it to do things to the house. I have had windows replaced when the seals have gone on the double glazing, and new doors made, work done outside etc.

Have a look at the HMRC website and see what the tax regs are for lettings and see realistically how much you'll have to pay in tax to see if it's a worth while exercise.

Unfurnished is easier; otherwise you have to be responsible for wear & tear/upgrading the furniture, also electrical items like fridge freezer/washing machine.
If it's not worth much you could sell it on ebay or even offer to sell it to the tenants so you are not responsible.