House renting.
Discussion
There is no one answer to that question.
Renting out a property can be worthwhile - obviously you must find tenants and you must find the right tenants, for you. You have to decide whther you are going to administer the rental activities yourself or appoint a management agent, who will charge for the priviledge, of course. Depending on the type of tenants you chose, and the type of property, you may find that you will have to comply with local fire and safety regulations
Once you have sorted all that lot out, you will need to ensure you prepare rental income accounts covering the tax year so that you can complete your Self Assessment tax return.
Finally, you will need to consider the longer term tax implications of owning a property i.e what impact will it have on possible Capital Gains Tax liabilities or Inheritance Tax Libilities at some future date.
Just a few thoughts.
Renting out a property can be worthwhile - obviously you must find tenants and you must find the right tenants, for you. You have to decide whther you are going to administer the rental activities yourself or appoint a management agent, who will charge for the priviledge, of course. Depending on the type of tenants you chose, and the type of property, you may find that you will have to comply with local fire and safety regulations
Once you have sorted all that lot out, you will need to ensure you prepare rental income accounts covering the tax year so that you can complete your Self Assessment tax return.
Finally, you will need to consider the longer term tax implications of owning a property i.e what impact will it have on possible Capital Gains Tax liabilities or Inheritance Tax Libilities at some future date.
Just a few thoughts.
Do you want or need the cash?
It looks like the property market in general has slowed (even to the stage of prices falling), but one thing about owning a property is that in the long term it will always increase in value.
If house prices do fall rental charges still tend to stay fairly static, yet as prices rise so do rental charges.
I rent a property which is now worth 3 times it's purchase price. I won't sell it until I retire, as I think it is a better investment than a pension scheme.
There are pitfalls though. Many people do the rental themselves. I prefer to use an agency. A good agency is worth a lot. If you do not have a tenant for any time, (if mortgaged) you still have to pay the mortgage. Insurance is a must, just incase your tenant decides to up and leave one night or leaves with half of the house. The agency I use also do a guaranteed rental scheme, where you get the rent whether you have a tenant or not.
If you do need some money in the furure you can always take equity from your property.
Hope this helps
It looks like the property market in general has slowed (even to the stage of prices falling), but one thing about owning a property is that in the long term it will always increase in value.
If house prices do fall rental charges still tend to stay fairly static, yet as prices rise so do rental charges.
I rent a property which is now worth 3 times it's purchase price. I won't sell it until I retire, as I think it is a better investment than a pension scheme.
There are pitfalls though. Many people do the rental themselves. I prefer to use an agency. A good agency is worth a lot. If you do not have a tenant for any time, (if mortgaged) you still have to pay the mortgage. Insurance is a must, just incase your tenant decides to up and leave one night or leaves with half of the house. The agency I use also do a guaranteed rental scheme, where you get the rent whether you have a tenant or not.
If you do need some money in the furure you can always take equity from your property.
Hope this helps
After the probs i have had with tenents last weekend i would say NEVER let unless you can afford to do it through an agency. I had to have a day off work, change the locks and scrub and i mean SCRUB the place after they had left it.
And of course replace all the broken stuff.
Far too much grief for me so the property is being sold instead.
And of course replace all the broken stuff.
Far too much grief for me so the property is being sold instead.
I manage the tenants of about 5 buy-to-let houses for my father including my own. It is very simple, if you can afford to have the capital tied up, the rewards in the long run are very comfortable (especially if you end up working to the proposed age of 70) Going through an agent in my opinion is thoroughly unecessary and a waste of money. Where abouts are we talking here as my knowledge is only of the London markets.
There is an added twist when using a property you own already to do a buy to let. If you remortgage the property you are going to rent to fund the purchase of a property you are going to live in you can't claim the interest on the mortgage against taxable income. Check with an accountant/lawyer before you sign the deal to check what is deductible and what isn't.
The main reason for doing the "let to buy" is that the transaction costs are lower - no stamp duty, no agents fees for selling, lower legal fees. I did one a couple of years ago and overall the saving on our deal was about £10k. That can offset a lot of tax.
An additional reason for doing one in a rising market is that you can still get the benefit of main residence exemption from capital gains tax for up to three years after you move out. If the property is still making money take it tax free - there aren't many times you can get away with that these days!
An additional reason for doing one in a rising market is that you can still get the benefit of main residence exemption from capital gains tax for up to three years after you move out. If the property is still making money take it tax free - there aren't many times you can get away with that these days!
Gassing Station | Business | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff