Renting my house - charges

[sjp63]

I'm thinking of renting out my house - the agent wants 12.5%/month to manage it (I will be out of the country)
Anyone here rented out their house - is 12.5% reasonable and do they negotiate?

[AlexanderV8]

sjp63 said:

I'm thinking of renting out my house - the agent wants 12.5%/month to manage it (I will be out of the country)
Anyone here rented out their house - is 12.5% reasonable and do they negotiate?

Yes, 12.5% is about right. I managed to get 10% since I've sold houses through my agents though.

[eldar]

If you are out the country check what they will actually do. 12.5% seems reasonable if they will actually provide s service (some do, some don't..).

[audidoody]

12.5% is good. Usual rate for full managed is 13% and above

[princeperch]

if it's in mortgage check if you need your lenders consent....

[Wings]

Usual rate is about 10%, then you have VAT on top, plus any repairs etc. etc. When I started out on BTL I used a letting agent to manage the properties, but I found it was not so much the 10% management fee, but the huge repair charges for simple electrical and plumbing repairs. One such repair was a sticky thermostat valve/pin on a radiator £120, plumber drove 15 miles to fix, spray WD40 to release the pin.

[AlexanderV8]

Also check that your buildings insurance company will continue cover when tenanted. They will probably cover you with a slightly higher premium, but if not, you may need to find a specialist firm.

[AlexanderV8]

Don't forget repair bills, maintenance, insurance, tenancy set-up fees, management costs, interest on any mortgage and any other costs associated with running your 'business', are tax deductable.

[audidoody]

10% for fully managed? Can I have their number please.

[Hoppy2008]

If you have any friends in the building/plumbing/maintenance game, be sure to give their details to the Managament company.
That way you know you will get a good rate for repairs instead of getting ripped off by using the Management Companies preferred tradesmen.

HTH

Hoppy

[Eric Mc]

Do you intend to move abroad permanently or semi-permanently?

You will also need to be aware of the Capital Gains Tax implications of relinquishing what used to be your main residence.

[yorky500]

I too paid 10% for a company to manage my property, + VAT (killer).

[Dupont666]

What do you get for the 12.5% a month?

I maybe doing the same quite soon?

[Eric Mc]

If you are abroad, you do need to have someone on hand to monitor your property for you and to ensure that the tenants are behaving themselves and paying their rent on time.

The agent also may have a tax collection role as there may be a requirement for them to deduct tax at source on the rent and pay it over to the Revenue on behalf of the landlord.

[D_G]

After a terrible experience with a letting agent, don't focus on the money so much just make sure the agent is genuine and honest about what they are going to do. It's unbelievable how some don't care about your most expensive possesion.
It took me nine months to sort out the mess left behind, my new tenants are great now though and I manage them myself. If you can find a trusted person here, you'd be better off paying them, and make sure you look into the tenants history as deep as possible before letting them through your door.

Dave

[Dupont666]

do they guarantee rental income? For example if they are not letting the flat out they themselves pay for it?

[fatboy b]

Eric Mc said:

Do you intend to move abroad permanently or semi-permanently?

You will also need to be aware of the Capital Gains Tax implications of relinquishing what used to be your main residence.

You have 3 years before you need to worry about that.

[fatboy b]

Dupont666 said:

do they guarantee rental income? For example if they are not letting the flat out they themselves pay for it?

Hmmm, be careful what they mean there. Our agent advertised that. It actualy meant that if the tenant stopped paying the rent, they'd keep paying us, and then start the ecviction process

[Eric Mc]

I know that. That is why I enquired about how permanent the move abroad was.

[sjp63]

We wanted to sell but obviously thats off the table given the market. Moving to Italy (im already here) for approx 5 years (or more). The agent will deduct 12.5 % plus VAT and tax at source unless the inland revenue tell them otherwise in writing. Need to tell my mortgage lender although Im worried in case they look at this as buy to let (which it isnt) and increase the interest rate or worse. Need to tell insurer as well.