letting the flat privately - anyone doing it - pitfalls to look out for?

[nightcat]

I am thinking to let my flat privately, is it worth the hassle doing it one-self? Or better via agency? Do agencies really chack references or just their cut?

We aren't renting ours out at the moment but did a lot of research into it this year and were going to go with self-managed option. Agents here would take 10% a month and tbh I wasn't sure what for. Yes they would act as an emergency contact if needed, but we would still have to pay for any repair work needed. Seemed money for old rope to me.

However they also did an introductory service for £500 where they'd advertise and market the flat, run proper credit checks on potential tenants and run all the info past us before we agreed. They'd organise contracts and then once signed it would all be over to us. We could change back to them managing it at any time. Thought this seemed best option as we got the security of tenant vetting plus decent advertising but not the ongoing monthly costs. Maybe worth seeing if any of your local agents do this?

that's a good point, didn't know they can do that only, will check on this

I completely DIY it - it's very easy.

ok, thank you guys, sounds like a sharp learning curve for me then, know nowt about law on this yet

put in the contract that they are not to redecorate in any new colours!

I think it's better to do it yourself. You will get a feel for the tenants if you meet them and can check references yourself.

Our old letting agent approved a tenant for us who earned £12k per year whilst our rent was £750pcm. It illustrated for us how irrelevant their checking procedures were. Plus they have as little power as you if they don't pay which we also experienced.

I do it myself.

I advertise (usually on gumtree as I tend to let to young professionals), get a landlord's and employer's reference and do a credit check online (usually from here www.credit-check-services.co.uk/home.asp)

I've got a standard pro-forma AST and I lodge the deposits with the DPS who also have pro-forma paperwork for you to fill in the blanks.

Most importantly, I always meet all potential tenants. This is why I could never hand over the management to an agency - I'm not sure I could trust someone I've never met to look after my property!

It is really straightforward and it's why agents love to do it - they get money for not doing much!

terrific advice, thank you

Night cat

You'll have to advise both your buildings and contents insurers, if they are different, that you intend renting out your flat as that it a material fact that will effect the policy/ies

you do indeed need specialist landlords insurance, and to tell the mortgage company if you have a mortgage. This will mean you have to convert to a buy-to-let mortgage, which costs more, but a lot is tax-deductible. Keep it quiet and you could be repossessed.

also worth having legal expenses insurance in case you get a trouble-maker who won't leave.

and remember you MUST protect the deposit and provide yearly gas-safe certificates.

not impossible to do alone, but much research required first or as someone else so neatly puts it, teeth marks in the bum time.

thank you all, getting there slowly

We have a rental flat that we manage ourselves.

We have given the tenant our contact details, but after the experience of the second tenants, we have now given their neighbours our contact details with instructions that they should feel free to contact us at any time in an emergency, and to make any reasonable complaints about noise, etc.

You do need to budget for a certain level of repairs when setting the rent, just as you do with your own home.

ok, thank you GM, good point :)

In our last rental, the landlord's agent insisted on all repair requests to be emailed, so there could be no dispute as to what was asked for, etc. This seemed cumbersome at first, but it was good.

Take photos of the place. Have them signed off by the tenant as accurate within 3 days of tenancy beginning.

If you have stripped wooden floors and are renting unfurnished, write into the contract that furniture must have pads/cups on the feet to prevent dents/minimise scratches.

Try not to let your jaw drop when tenant wants the black mould removing from the shower. The mould they let develop by not airing the bathroom. Which could be easily removed by spraying bleach on it. : o

eek ISeeSmallPeople, I just accepted a year's rent in cash up front, should I not have done this?

thank you echt

I also self manage but use an agent for finding tenants as its not practical for me to arrange viewings etc. I arrange landlords insurance and provide agents with tenancy agreement so they don't get to charge for that. Insist on seeing references, do not rely on agents to approve.

Finally, if you decide on this route, make sure you agree a one off fee with agent, or at least a reducing % over each year the tenants stay, otherwise they will try and sting you with 8% or whatever, every year the lease in renewed, for doing nothing.

Oh, also a good idea if poss to have numbers of reliable plumber/electrician/handyman so that when you get that PITA call from your tenant on a sunday evening you can get things sorted quickly. I tend to give tenants the numbers so they can get sorted when it suits them and plumber or whoever sends me the bill, of course tenant needs to keep me informed of what is being done, cost etc. No problems so far.

Yes, indeed to the numbers of the reliable plumber / electrician / handyman.

We also have back-up people for the tenants to phone if we're away and an emergency occurs.

excellent, thank you

Oh I made some bad mistakes with this. After years of great tenants, I made the stupid mistake of allowing someone to pay cash up front and move in quickly. They paid the first month and that was it. I realised my landlord insurance wasn't good enough and didn't cover malicious damage. (be wary of this, insurance company told me on the phone that it did, but when it got down to it, it didn't. My fault for not reading the small print properly.) It took 5 months to get them out through the courts, and that was only because I realised quickly I had made a bad error of judgement. Go to landlord zone and really read everything there is to read. I found them too late, they were great in advising me how to start the eviction process, but if I had found them earlier I may have been more savvy about who I let into my property in the first place. The damage was huge, and I sold it at quite a loss.

What ISeeSmallPeople said in her last sentence.

During the time we rented in Oz, we were also landlords of our UK properties, and so mindful of the reciprocal nature of the relationship, ethically, if not legally. We had good landlords/agents, and hope we have been the same.