Mid-Life Crisis...HELP!! - Page 3

Bulletguy · 20-11-2009, 23:53

Quote:

Originally Posted by Heyupluv

And I know to our cost,

many times (with property we have rented out) I have rented out properties for about 20 years.

Don't go on looks
Don't go on good quality clothes
And don't go on references
Do a lot of checking do your home work well?
As there many good looking smartly dressed crooks with references to die for...all bogus
These people go from one rented place to another,
And getting them out of your property is not easy, they only decide to move when the bailiffs arrive and that takes months up to about 12 months, they have the law on there side and are advised well by free legal help, and they know the system.
Listen to what other funsters have said they speak wisely.
At the end of the day, it is your property and your money you are loosing.

Renting out my property was an option I was considering......until a friend of mine told me about a friend of his who had had very bad experiences. He's lost thousands in sorting damage out, unpaid rent, solicitors fees and court costs in getting tenants out of his home. As you say, the law is on the side of the tenant.....not the landlord.

It's made me think twice!

vwalan · 20-11-2009, 23:59

i find its better to let someone you know live in it free whileyou are gone . they usually thank you .if you rent out it just costs you lots. its amazing how easy it is to get carefull people for free i think it puts them under an obligation. when you charge they think they can break everthing . been there tried it.

derekfaeberwick · 21-11-2009, 01:49

Mid LIfe Crisis! I wish I was young enough for one of those .

Heyupluv · 21-11-2009, 07:10

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bulletguy

Renting out my property was an option I was considering......until a friend of mine told me about a friend of his who had had very bad experiences. He's lost thousands in sorting damage out, unpaid rent, solicitors fees and court costs in getting tenants out of his home. As you say, the law is on the side of the tenant.....not the landlord.

It's made me think twice!

What happened to Bulletguy's friend happened to us several times....and don't think like I did "I am well insured".........wrong........as I was told a few times.........covered for breaking... in....not breaking out.......you tread a very fine line with insurers what clause they can find in the small print why you should NOT be paid.....new properties trashed you would think the third world war had happened....so what do you do, you grit your teeth wipe the water out of your eyes and start again out of your own pocket (yes they can make a grown man weep)...Jeckle and Hide...springs to mind

Then you go onto heating, every year it must be checked by a (used to be) corgi registered heating firm...they must give you a landlords report, and because they know you must have one these reports,.... boy do the Corgi men know how to charge for that report, and when they are servicing your heating are they worried about breaking anything on the boiler, no, because you will pay.............

IF you do rent out at the end of the day, empty your place leave a bare shell carpets and curtains is classed as furnished ...then you are not liable if something goes wrong or breaks...e.g. electric cooker, (that would have be checked every year if gas) shower, plumbing leaks, the list goes on.
The tenants will ring you if a light bulb goes or a rubber sink plug leaks.....one tenant I had for 3 years you would think they had eaten all there meals on the carpets instead of plates...

This is what happens a lot of the time

Or you could get some nice caring tenants who will look after your property like there own !
But the when you come back and you want to live back in your own property, can you get the tenant out!........not very easy….
Renting is not just filling your pockets…..if you are a good landlord…you have obligations and responsibilities by law.

Mel

There a lot of landlords out there like the bad tenants………

there are good people out there but most of them will own or are buying there home...

atakd · 21-11-2009, 10:50

If you rent I would try and get a guarantor, who is a house owner, for the tennant . It is much easier to get £ off them as they are less likely to vanish and they will act as an unpaid property manager if its their offspring renting.
I'd agree with a budget ~£1000 / month for a reasonable standard of living, money goes further if you're somewhere warm.
Best of Luck
Andy

Sundowners · 21-11-2009, 12:02

We are now on our second time around living in our fifth wheel 24/7.

When we were in our early thirties we spent 6 years travelling around Europe, sold the house as we were planning to move abroad (a long story, but it never eventuated). House prices went sky high and when we came back to settle, mainly to put the kids into school to finish their education. We did get back in owning our own house again, but it was not easy. At that time of life we could start afresh, but not so easy as you get older, so we decided that this time we would keep our house.

Because of our circumstances we have been renting out our house for the last 7 years, but it is to American servicemen, we would not even consider renting it to others because as has been said, the landlord has no protection over tenants. If our tenants do anything anti-social, any damage or mis-use of premises whatsoever, even default on the rent, we only have to contact the USAF base and they will deal with them and not too kindly.

Our daughter looks after it for us, for a small fee, so if we need a new tenant or problem fixed, she organises that. This gives us peace of mind.

We always like to have what we call a 'y' road, so if something doesn't go to plan, you always have another option available to you.

Living as we do is not a dream, it is a way of life (which to us is as close to a dream as it can be), but it does have it's pitfalls, and does take a lot of planning. But to us it is our prefered option of a lifestyle at this moment in time, having experienced it before, we are already aware of the highs and lows of this type of lifestyle, please don't anyone go into this way of life with rose coloured spectacles, you will learn a lot along the way, make mistakes which can all be over come, as long as you have the right mental approach, and this you learn with time.

If you are able to try this type of lifestyle, given your circumstances, give it a go, but do not burn all your bridges and remember it's not a holiday, it is a way of life. You are still young enough to start again should the need arise, but as you have already had the experience of renting out your property you are already aware of that side of things and you will always have somewhere to come back to.

Good luck in whatever you choose.

Nigel and Pamala

vwalan · 21-11-2009, 13:27

sundowners ,you put it much better than me. i agree with every word you say. i dont like to put people off but sometimes they do think the grass is greener. cheers alan. heep on smilling.

Johns_Cross_Motorhomes · 21-11-2009, 16:14

There are some letting agents, part of large established estate agents who say they guarantee rents.

Obviously tied to a letting management agreement, but presumably that takes all the possible agro out of letting.

Might be worth investigating.

Peter