Any advice on renting out my house ...

[Rachelle]

I am trying to work out all the figures and decide whether renting my house and moving out of the city to somewhere a bit cheaper might make sense. I would like to know whether people think I should pay an estate agents to manage the lettings for me. I think they charge 10 percent of the rental income to do this. Or whether I should got it alone and become the landlord ready to answer any queries or accidents that go wrong. Any other steps that I need to take before renting my house out that are going to cost me lots of unforseen money that I haven't thought about? I know I'll have to get a certificate for the boiler - anything else I've forgotten about? Thanks.

[TracyG]

It may be worth enquiring with an agent in the first instance, and get as much information as you can from their free consultation, not just about their charges and what you would get for your money, but also about any insurances, certificates etc that you will need, and any regulations that you need to be aware of. Once you have all this information it may help in your decision.

[Georginazn]

If you go with an agent, they will help you with all the relevant safety checks and certs, and it will be them who field the calls for repairs, although you will have to pay! I think it depends on how far away you intend to move. If it was not too far I would manage it myself initially, with the proviso that an agent could be taken on if it got too much. Of course, vice versa applies too! I have friends with a rental property half way across the country and it has worked well having an agent, however it has not been without problems. A tenant recently moved out and the agents did not pick up on the fact that council tax was not being paid, so my friend got a summons. He sorted it, but it was a hassle.

[Rachelle]

Thanks for your thoughts. If I move it won't be too far away so maybe I should see how I go and go it alone without the agent. Probably a good idea to get them to find the tenants in the first place though ... anyway, still all pie in the sky stuff at the moment ...

[happywriter]

Although letting via an agent is more expensive it can, and should, reduce your problems.
If you are dealing with tenants they know that you are the owner, and treat you as such. If tenants are dealing with an agency they are far more likely to conform with their obligations, as they know that the agency will keep to the contract - regarding paying any damages, etc.
There are agencies here that are garanteeing the payment of rent, even if the property is unoccupied - I guess they are pretty sure of being able to rent properties.

[Chutzpah]

I have to disagree happywriter - I've heard many experiences of totally shoddy agents who charge excessive fees to BOTH parties.

e.g. one friend damaged the lampshade, so they replaced it with something of a similar standard. When they did the check out, they were informed that it would need to be replaced (as it was different to the one on the inventory). They were going to charge something like £50 - for new lampshade, fitting costs and 'admin'.

The charge was only dropped when the landlord got involved and told them not to be so bloody stupid.

Many tenants get a bad rep, whereas in reality I think there are far more dodgy landlords and agencies. As long as you check your tenants out properly you should be pretty covered. I've also heard many a landlord moan about their agents.

This advice is from someone who has rented for over seven years, and had six different landlords in that time. I've had to deal with recruitment agencies, hated it every time, but also private landlords where I get a much better deal (problems fixed sooner, less hassle, much cheaper all round).

I've never had ANY money deducted from my deposit (even in my uni years) and every single landlord has happily given references as to my suitability. All about homework.

[Chutzpah]

Should note, six landlords in seven odd years does sound excessive, so I should explain:

Property one (six months) - uni managed house, left at Christmas as I didn't get on with my house mates. Let's just say they were like lads on holiday every night of the week
Property two (six months) - another uni house, but with a very hands-on landlord who dealt with all the maintenance/letting issues himself
Property three (one year) - same landlord, just the house next door. He had just done it up and wanted to keep the older house for uni freshers
Property four (one year) - my uni placement year in another city
Property five (one year) - I moved back to the second property [still following?!] for my final year at uni
Property six (18 months) - took up my graduate job (same employer as my placement year) so had to move to another city again
Property seven (eight months) - I decided on a career change so we moved to another city. However, my wife and I got homesick and were starting a family so decided to finally return to our roots
Property eight (13 months so far) - back home! With a private landlord that lives next door but has only set foot in here once since we've lived here

[happywriter]

Sounds like you have had luck. It depends on the agent. We have just finished a five year rental on the same property - rented via an agent. Everytime something went wrong, within a day or so it was repaired. We paid a decent rent and had no hassles, nor did we give any.
When we left we got a very direct letter, itemising everything which had to be cleaned and how all furniture had to be in the original positions etc. At the time we felt it excessive, but in hindsight I can see how it was necessary to deal with the average clients.
We did all the cleaning and got our - very high - deposit all back within days.
Properties give problems, having an agent always available to resolve problems was good from our viewpoint as tenants.

But that was one instance. Yes, there are many bad agents, who do not really act in the best interests of their clients - just themselves.
So, as with many decisions. There are positive sides of using an agent, and negative ones. Finding out from other owners about their results with an agent will help, before making that decision.

[Chutzpah]

Out of interest, did you have to renew your contract every year? That's one of the biggest cons. You get to the end of your fixed term and they tell you that the "cost to draw up contracts" is something like £80... and all you get is a photocopy of the same contract you signed in the first place.

Pray tell... what is the admin and legal cost there?

[happywriter]

I have never had that by our agent, and I would not have agreed if it had ever been sent to me.
Your contract is with the owner, not the agent the agent is just that, an agent. Let their client pay the agent's bills, you should pay for the property rental only.