Managed Let or DIY - which to go for?

[Squiz]

As our house sale is taking to long to go through and we need to move now we have decided to rent our house out. Bearing in mind we will be about 400 miles away would it be best to do a managed let or just use a finders service. We do have family near to our house and possibly neighbours that could help if there were problems with the house as we're wondering if the letting agents are worth their monthly fee? Any advice on this issue of renting your house out would be really welcome. Also the couple who are wanting to buy our house still want to buy it even if we have to rent it to someone else for 6 months (It is their buyer that is causing the hold up!)how does it work if you keep the house on the market whilst it's been rented - is that possible, or can we only do that after someone has rented for 4 months?

I let out my house in Cornwall whilst living abroad, and I have a managed service. It costs, but the lady is worth every penny and then some. I go back to the UK once a year and see the house and work out what if anything needs to be done and take it from there. She inspects regularly and lets me know of any problems.

you can rent whilst it's on the market i am sure. you just have to have a shorthold tenancy of 6 months. they have to stay for 6 , you have to let them stay for 6.

we rent ours in the uk and had the same dilemma as you. considering the good area and potential tenants, we decided it would be easy to manage ourselves (well our neighbours oversee it for us - but they do nothing except the odd call to the boiler man etc). we used an agency to find the tenants and draw up the contract, then after 6 months we took all reference to them out of the contract - literally with tippex - photocopied it and put in new dates and signatures and renewed with that. we are now putting it on the market and having see this 6 months through before we can get them out. they have to have 2 months' notice though. but if it doesnt sell, we're just keeping them in there - on what is called a periodic agreement - no contract per se, its just the law.

there is a good website for landlords here where you can download a contract if you decide to do it totally yourself. also great advice anyway

hth