Renting our home and finding good tenants?

[atonofwashing]

Hello.
There is a slim chance we may be moving abroad for a few years so would need to rent our home.

We love our home and take care of it. Will soon be putting in a brand new kitchen and damp proof course. So it will be in tip top condition should we go.

I have read a few estate agent's websites and it mentions discriminating against people looking to rent. We would be looking for a family or young professional couple. Do estate agents take the first offer that comes along or would we, the home owners, have the final say about who takes our home?

I have not asked any agents yet for fear of being Pestered. I do appreciate we should not be so emotional about this, but I don't really want to have tenants in who are going to wreck the place. Also appreciate that not everyone wrecks rented.

How can we discriminate without discriminating, IYSWIM. Has anyone dealt with this?

Thanks for any advice.

I use Gumtree too; the only disadvantage I have found is that potential tenants often think private landlords will be "softer" and accept tenants that agencies won't ie smokers, pets, no proof of income etc.

So I take all the phone calls, ask relevant questions & then do open viewings with carefully-selected potential clients to meet them. Then ask them to fill in an application to verify references etc.

I've been doing this for 10 years now & have always had good tenants because I've selected carefully.

Suggest you vet/meet the tenants yourself and ask some very specific questions.
The neighbours living abroad wouldn't be too happy to know that the 'two professional couples' the estate agent rented their house to are actually 4-6 adult sharers (boyfriends/friends regularly staying for long periods), some of whom are home most days.

The house is a tip. Not because they've purposefully tried to trash it but because there's a lot of wear and tear from 6 adults frequently home.

We rent our house out, and we've been very happy with our agency, who manage everything for us.
They are a big Estate and Lettings agent, very efficient and professional. We pay them 13% to do pretty much everything for us.

They found our tenants (but we could have said no and waited to find others). We've had 2 long term tenants, and the agents were very efficient with the changeover, inventory, cleaning etc.

When there are any maintenance or repair issues, they let us know straight away, and once we have OK'ed it, they sort the repair immediately.
They do a regular check of the property and send us photos of its condition, and they flag up any maintenance or repair issues at that point as well.

It costs more, obviously, to have an agent, but it is definitely worth it from our point of view - and from the tenants' as well I would assume. No way we would be able to sort out any problems for them so quickly from abroad. Agents have their own contractors, and any routine repairs are usually actioned very quickly.

We've found open rent to be good if you do go the private route.

Thank you for your imput.
Will take a look at open rent.
Mixed views on agencies which is interesting.
Without going too off tack, when some of you have had tenants who have " trashed" your rental properties, what experiences have you had?
I have family who rent out, and they are quite strict about properties becoming really messy. They are close by, but will ask for a tidy up when they arrange a visit.

Thanks.

Sorry, I meant to say they are close to their own properties, not ours, sadly.

I'm afraid you can't ask tenants to tidy up, or clean to your standards. It's their home & they are entitled to "quiet enjoyment" of it.

Tenants have loads of rights & legislation is very much in their favour.

They ask tenants to tidy?? Cheese is right, they're not allowed to do that.

if the tenant wishes to live with piles of clutter everywhere that is entirely his/her choice. As long as the mess is not damaging the property (E.g. stopping ventilation so causing mould, attracting vermin) and is all cleaned and removed at tenancy end, it is nothing to do with the landlord.

lotsofcheese / specialsubject

It's really interesting to read that; we've had a couple of occasions when the letting agent has come around to do a periodic inspection where there has been (clean) laundry piled on the dining table or the washing up hasn't been done from the night before (because we both work full-time and don't have the time to do it in the am if we've eaten late!) or maybe we haven't hoovered and they have mentioned these things in the letter to the landlady, which we get a copy of. Not specific things, but a comment about the 'untidiness' of the place.

Now, I'm no Anthea Turner but the house is clean enough, if not always immaculately tidy. I took umbrage at the comment to be honest! Especially as it was copied to the landlady; God only knows what she was imagining...

If they do it again, is there some sort of tenancy code of conduct I can refer to to tell them that it's none of their beeswax whether we choose to wash up/hoover every day or not?

the trouble is that the landlady may indeed be imagining the worst! The agent should have the intelligence to tell the difference between your situation and someone who is letting the dirt pile up and the rats get in.

the big thing is your right to 'quiet enjoyment', which means you have the same rights about how you live your life as if you owned/had a mortgage on the place. This includes the fact that no-one can enter without your permission except in an emergency. (Although it is a good idea to let the landlord/agent in every few months to check the PROPERTY for things that need fixing.) Like an owner, you pay for damage you cause. Unlike an owner, you don't pay for wear and tear.

as I said, as long as your lifestyle isn't damaging the place, no-one has any right to tell you how to fold your knickers or how often you do the washing up.

...you see there, you used the words 'agent' and 'intelligence' in the same sentence...

ps before the landlord-haters jump on this, the two big differences are smoking and pets, both of which can be problematic in rentals. Both can cause damage (smoking indoors WILL cause damage) and hence the landlord needs some way of being compensated for that if these two items are allowed.

re 'intelligence' - yes, tell me about it...

We were you a couple of years ago, moved abroad for 2 years and rented out our own home. I wouldn't do it again.

If you do though, definitely get an agency. If you're abroad, there will more than likely be a time - zone difference, which makes it tricky to get anyone sorted if there was an emergency that needed repaired etc.

Also, agencies look after the tenant more than they do the landlord. The tenant has more protection than you do, which was hard for me to come to terms with because we own the property and wanted to return to it being our family home again.

It can involve a lot of heartache, even if you do have a decent tenant.

karma, yes, I was thinking about that.
And yes, I am aware that tenants have rights to a quiet life etc and not to be moaned at about their laundry piles.

My family member has been a successful landlord for about 40 years, so they are clearly doing something right. when I questioned her about asking to tidy up, she said she just made a quick comment along the lines of, 'its a bit too messy, would you mind doing a quick tidy round'. Of course they arrange visit times with tenants, so one would assume that you might do a brisk whip round before your landlord came over. I know I did that when I used to rent.

Indeed when I was visiting, a tenant called about a washing machine fault and our visit was over as she zoomed off to sort it out.

The machine had caused water to come round to the flat below and those tenants had no idea who to contact , so they asked the tenants above, who called my family member who sorted it out.

as a private landlord their tenants know exactly who to contact for any issue. The tenants below were either completely hapless or renting via an agency who showed little interest.

My family members have had tenants who have become life long friends, and others they were more than happy to see the back of. Any yes, they've had a rat problem, due to food left all over the flat. Tenants seemed surprised by that . Until it was pointed out that the flat was relatively close to water and, if you do leave food everywhere, you might just end up with a rodent issue.

So lots of pros and cons then. It's really interesting to get the opinions of others, so thank you. Communication is vital it seems as would be leaving no stone unturned.

We are in your position and currently renting out our home. The agents have been great but make sure you get a personal recommendation. If you are paying for marketing it's usually a months rent vs 10 to 12 percent for full management and we have had annual changes of tenants so are getting good value for money . It is hard to see my house not exactly looked after the way I would and you do need to detach which might be helped by having an agent to manage it.
We have been very fortunate with our tenants but have a good house in a good area and I am sure that really helps.
I definitely wouldn't put a new kitchen in... and if you do don't put any appliances in. We literally left the oven, hob and central heating to minimise maintenance costs and so far it has worked well for us. But to be honest we have never known any expat friends go back, you just don't however much you think you will. People either stay overseas or come back and sell to move elsewhere (differebt house or relocation)