Renting out a Property...landlords help!!

[alicemummy]

Hey girls, hope your all good

So now me and the ex are getting a divorce (yes I am calling him the ex from now on ) we cant decide who gets the house, and isnt a good time to sell, so we are going to rent it out and split the rent between us.

Just a couple of problems
-How much should we ask?! The house in Balham, South West London (SW12). 4 bed, 3 bath (master bedroom is ensuite)
-How can I trust the ex to give me my half?! We said we were going to get a seperate bank account in his name- i think it should be in mine, but I could do without the argument?! Is there some sort of contract i can get him to sign to say he will pay his half? Or can it be sorted in the divorce??
-What will our responsbilities be as landlords?? I am just starting to rent myself, and never rented before so not entirely sure.

Any help would be much appreciated

Thanks girls

 

[DarlingMe]

Can you add this all to the divorce? The judge should be able to put it in writing so you are court ordered to get half. You could write up a small agreement in the meantime. You should also decide who will deal with problems and put that in writing.

I have never rented anything out but I have family that does. I know they are responsible for anything that goes wrong and any appliance repair. Usually in your area there is a time period in which you have to fix things, likely the heat goes out you might have 48 hours to fix it but if a light goes out maybe 2 weeks. Some tenants will fix small things themselves, others call for everything.

You can find renters agreements online that will say what the rents are expected to follow, painting, hanging pictures, pets. For a rental price, they used to say take 10% of your house worth and this is what you can expect to get in one year for rent. So divide that number by 12 to get your monthly rent. (240,000 house, 10%= 24,000 monthly rent is 2000) You can always get a real estate company to help with paperwork and finding a renter too. Good luck!

 

[Mrshoffie]

Don't know about the legal side of things, I suggest you consult a solicitor but to check the value for rental invite a couple of local estate agents round, they can tell you what they could rent it for furnished or unfurnished

 

[2ndtimeluckyX]

Hi

we have another house that we rent out. I couldn't say how much you should charge, it would depend on the house size, whether it's furnished, what condition it's in, does it have appliances etc etc. In order to rent ours out we had to get permission from our mortgage lender and the mortgage has to changed to a 'buy to let' mortgage, so make sure you speak to your lender. Another major thing is the landlords gas safety check! Make sure you get a corgi registered plumber to do this before anybody moves in and then every 12 months after that.

In regards to the rent money, could you maybe ask the tennant to pay 50% to you and 50% to the ex? Either that or get it agreed in the divorce that he is to pay 50% to you periodically.

HTH

 

[2ndtimeluckyX]

Also, another thing to remember is that if you decide to provide appliances in the house then you have to replace these asap if they ever break! It's easier not to provide them and for tennants to use their own

 

[bimbojo]

WSS

dont provide white goods it is such a hassle. it may be easier for the sake of your divorce to have a lettings agent handle it for you. ours charges 12% but they find tenants sort references, take care of the deposit scheme and will do your annual gas checks, pat testing etc etc whatever you may need. they will handle maintenance but will call first to check with you on cost etc or if you want to handle it. and they can pay into 2 bank accounts. ours is worth the price as we live 400 miles away.

 

[bimbojo]

oh and change your buildings insurance too

 

[Cattia]

We rent out my old flat. We use an agent who found our tenant for us. She charges 10% but it saves the hassle. We are responsible for any repairs that need doing and the agent will contact us about these. As PP said, you need to change your mortgage and insurance details. We provided White goods as these were in the flat already but it says in the contract that we won't repair or replace them. Our agent took care of the contract for us but if you ate doing it yourselves you definitely need a proper one drawn up. A solicitor will do this for you or you can buy or download DIY ones.

 

[summer rain]

I'd honestly look on rightmove to see rents for similar properties in the area; in my understanding that area of London is very expensive even compared to other areas of London xx

 

[Lisa1981]

You've had some good advice. Firstly I agree with those who state that a letting agent may be the best route for you especially since the flat rental would be a shared responsibility between you and your ex and it doesn't sound that you've had the most amicable break up. A letting agent will save you a lot of hassle but will obviously cost you for the convenience.

Letting agent will advise you with regards to going rate for your property but I'd say that your best bet is to look at your local rental Market and see what similar houses in your area are going for. Also look at your local housing allowance rate which you'll find on your local councils website for a good indication.

Do you have a mortgage on the property? If so you'll need to make sure your ok to rent it out? You may be required to change your mortgage. Also you need to make sure that you have landlords insurance?

If you decide not to go down the letting agent route then it's definitely doable on your own. There's lots of sources of good information online and also you could seek assistance for the private rented sector at your local council.

Good luck.

 

[mwah_xx]

As the others said - I'd use a letting agents to sort it all out!

With regards to the mortgage - you can request a "consent to lease" from your bank, this will allow you to keep your current mortgage and they will run this for 12 months. This should give you time to change your mortgage to a buy to let/sell the property etc.

With regards to Balham; I live in Clapham at the moment, and rent is HIGH. Depending on whereabouts in Balham you are (i.e. generally how close you are on foot to the tube) can depend on how much you get, without knowing what your house is like, I'd say a rough guide would be £600 PER ROOM, possibly more if you have a 4 bed, 3 bath house. The house I used to live in in Clapham South (also SW12) was 4 bed, 3 bath, and was £600 per week rental. The letting agents will be able to advise you, but you really are in a rental market down here!