Any letting agents around? Opinions on very dated house sought...

[Tandissimo]

We're considering buying the house of an elderly relative in a lovely UK town which we'd like to live in when we return to the UK from overseas in about 4 years. The house is VERY dated: warm, clean, everything works, extremely well situated but SO old-fashioned. It's a 4 bed Victorian detached house in a 1970s/80s timewarp with some nice original Victorian features!

We'd need to let it out until our return. I think there's no way to do this without a complete redecoration, new kitchen, bathrooms, flooring, lighting, the lot... But it would be very hard to do this properly from where we are living now, and I only want to do it once as it will become our family home, not a buy-to-let property. DH thinks that somebody would rent it in its current condition - not for the maximum price, but that we'd find someone who'd consider convenience and location over style.

I'd love some input into this. Does anyone have any experience or advice? Thank you.

not an agent, but a landlord.

what's the market like in your area? If you are in London where people will rent dirty ratholes for high prices, fine; anything will rent. Otherwise, you'll probably find that tenants like modern houses that they can put their own (temporary) stamp on. They also want a modern bathroom, a decent kitchen, good insulation, toilets that work without tricks - all the things everyone else wants.

they may not be too keen on carpets up walls, floral everything and so on. They need extractor fans in bathrooms, places to dry washing etc etc.

you also need to think how you'd feel if those original features get trashed. It can happen.

Thank you for your reply special subject. Not London, but home counties commuter town (with university.)

Everything works - oven, heating, toilets, laundry room etc etc - just looks as it did in the 80s (although fridge/dishwasher/washing machine/boiler much newer than that.) No carpets up walls, not all floral - but more William Morris/stripes!

Original features like tiled hallway, fireplaces, ceiling roses.

I just don't know whether there's a market for living in an 80s time warp, stylistically if not practically...

sorry, you did say it wasn't London - must pay attention!

sounds quite pleasant, actually - but people can be put off by non-white bathrooms, and you do need to think how well they will stand up to hard use.

fireplaces; block them off and make it clear they are not to be used.

the features sound lovely but as I said, be prepared for them to be damaged if you get wrong 'uns. Most tenants are of course decent people but not all. Get solid insurance including malicious damage.

Everything will rent if at the right price! It sounds fab, obviously it may appeal to a smaller section but if it's a uni town there may well be a good demand for this type of house. I would love it

Bear in mind though, (ex property person) you will have to have a gas safety check and also an Energy Performance Certificate. The electrical wiring and appliances will also have to be safe, so you would need an electrician to carry put these checks. So if any works need doing to upgrade gas and electrical supply/appliances this may be costly, if any rewirimg needs doing this could have implications on decor/cosmetic too.

Could you ask a local letting agents to visit and advise you? Make sure you use a member of ARLA as they will be up to date on all legislation and are regulated.

good advice but be warned: ARLA is a voluntary organisation and there are limits to their regulation. You are protected if they go bust with your money or run off with it, but it is NOT a guarantee of service or standards.

had a large agent who was an ARLA member. Utterly useless and clueless. New agent is also in ARLA and is excellent. No guarantees, it seems.

you do need an EPC but that's £50 or under and lasts ten years. Apparently no-one ever looks at them - which is a shame because they can be quite revealing.