Is it a complete and utter ball ache to rent out your house? Come and explain CGT to me. And what if they wreck it??!! Landlords come and help me please

[Oliveoil]

We are selling our house to emigrate, however it appears no fecker wants to buy it.

Have lopped 10% off, still no go.

So. Dh says lets rent it and go anyhoo, chomping at bit.

Leaving aside the fact that I want all my lovely equity and now will not have it () to swan about in Oz with, what do we have to investigate?

we will use letting agent so do they do refs etc?

tax implications? we will have to do form for Oz [deep sigh], is this a pita any expats amongst you (Califrau?)

if we don't sell in 3 years we are liable for CGT is this right? I have no idea

also, does the house have to be pristine (our cooker has seen better days!) lol

thanks!

I didn't know you were moving to Oz

we used a letting agent and they did it all for us - nay bother.
don't know specifically about Oz though as we were in Canada. depends on what the agreement is between the two countries...
letting agent did everything.

get with the program MamaG

Romy7 - did they come round to your house and say you had to do any work? I have mooched about and seen stuff about fire doors (??)

Only fire doors I think if it is a house in multiple occupation - i.e. let to seperate people and more than 3 storeys but your letting agent will be able to help.

Re cooker, it might just reduce the price a bit but shouldn't matter otherwise. If its faulty though the lettings agent will probably bill you for a new one.

house is in good state genearlly, but kitchen if we stayed would be redone but I can't be faffed tbh

I think I will get agent round and advise

no - working smoke alarm on each floor, but no mention of fire doors... (!)

we let ours furnished (in the UK), but tbh that was more of a faff as we had to get inventory lists drawn up and check-in/outs for tenants etc.

we're in the opposite situation now - we own a a rented property o'seas (and have furniture etc in storage o'seas) and are tenants here - i do think we're not quite with the program ourselves sometimes lol!

get a couple of agents round - they do vary and even a couple of percent off the managements fees is worth negotiating.

CGT has changed recently and you get allowances , so in present market your libility is likely ot be minimal. You register with the Inland Revenue Non Resident Landlord's scheme based in Nottingham who issue a tax form as required. You can offset certain costs such as mortgage interest, agent fees, maintenance costs(inlcuding safety checks) against any rental income. You need to tell the mortgage company (who may insist on changing terms) and insurers. Also think about what happens if it is unlet for periods - can you afford to carry the cost of the mortgage, council tax , utilities etc in the meantime ?

The standard you leave it is rather defines what tenants you may attract and how they treat the property. A new more basic cooker may be a better bet than a fancy manky one. Be prepared for damages and having to agree to replace things whether you think it is genuine or not. Let unfurnished to minimise the risk of this and bear in mind various regulations apply to furnishings which are too much of a faff to make it worthwhile.

Agents can charge up to 15% full management so make sure you get your money's worth and can trust them.

Letting agent do refs I suspect they are worth little and how much will depend on how good agent is!
I believe since you are overseas your tax will be deducted in advance
Don't know about CGT sorry
Quality of property will affect quality of tennants we chose this one partly because it is poor (small dcs) however I'm getting a bit fed up and want to move.
You are responsible for maintenance.

Don't forget to ask agent how much less than comparators it will be worth once ex rental I reckon around 20% due to poor maintenance etc.

Olive, you will definitely need to leave some funds to cover all the unexpected costs that pop up. Also, our mortgage company insisted on changing the terms to 'buy to let', which increases your monthly payment somewhat (this is even though we are just expat-ing and planning to return to our house).

I think in the current market you can be quite picky as to which tennants you accept, but it is ALWAYS a risk. We have been very fortunate, had the same family of 3 in our house for the duration of our time away so far (nearly 3 years) and they have taken good care of our house. We also have a very responsible and organised best male friend who over-sees our house instead of agency, which has saved us a great deal.

I have just been talking to Tax lawyers about selling my house in the UK. They said you get 5 yrs before you have to pay CGT (on the difference in what it sells for and what you paid for it).

I did not have to change to a buy-to-let mortgage because it is my home and where I intended to return.

oh it sounds all complicated and I wanted a clean break

bum

thanks all, will talk to dh about chopping more money off, I really don't want to deal with this from so far away

[stressed]

Since prices are falling I would further reduce the price now and make the sale

Where are you OO?
I let out my flat and am in the process of helping friends let their house, which I will manage when they move to the States next month.

Apart from working smoke alarms, you will need an annual Gas Safety Certificate for gas supply and any gas appliances you provide. You are also supposed to have NICEIC electricity checks at "reasonable intervals" - every 5 years is probably fine. A decent letting agent will sort it all out for you and should take references. They are usually more reliable if they use a credit reference agency (such as Maras) as they will obtain information relating to CCJ's, salaries etc., as opposed to just a letter from some friend random stranger saying that they'd "make a good tenant"

If you go down the letting route I'd recommend putting some effort into finding a good agent - talk to a few and see if they inspire you with confidence, and don't necessarily go with the cheapest.

I let my house out for 3 years a while ago through an agent - they went to some effort to find me 'nice' tenants as they knew it was my home (and not a studenty buy to let or something) and on the whole they did a really good job of collecting references, finding good tenants and collecting the rent. They also managed all the repairs etc.