Renting out my house - advise please

loopyloulou

Hi,

Im looking to rent out my 2 bedroom house in Drogheda in the next month or so and was wondering if i should go through a letting agency or just rent it out myself. I kind of dont want the hassle to be honest so was moving more towards the agency but they charge 6% of the yearly rental income, is that good or bad? Ive no idea whats involved!!
Thanks
Lou

The_Conductor

loopyloulou wrote: »

Hi,

Im looking to rent out my 2 bedroom house in Drogheda in the next month or so and was wondering if i should go through a letting agency or just rent it out myself. I kind of dont want the hassle to be honest so was moving more towards the agency but they charge 6% of the yearly rental income, is that good or bad? Ive no idea whats involved!!
Thanks
Lou

You could always try putting it up on DAFT- there are a lot of Drogheda properties already- so its obviously an established place to local lettings. Have a look at what other people have up to get an idea of whats required.

You will need to register the tenancy with the PRTB and comply with all aspects of the 2004 Residential Tenancies Act. Going via a letting agency does not mean they will fulfill your duties in this regard.

Glittergirl

Hi
We have an apartment in Dublin city center and I honestly have to say that our Management Company are very good and I couldn't think of doing it ourselves! Nearly every two months, there is a busted pipe, heater needs to be fixed, leak in the building etc. etc. The Management Agency just go ahead and fix the problem asap. It would be such a hassle for us to be getting phone calls at all hours and trying to contact plumbers etc.!! Nightmare.

It just depends on whether you get a good management company. I think they are well worth it!

Also, if you rent it out this year, then by Oct 2009, you will also have to submit your income tax (Form 11). You can find it on the Irish revenue commissioners. We went through accountants first, but we do it oursevles now. But that's another thread!!

See ya and good luck!!

Emerald Lass

Lou, absolutely 100% do it yourself. And in particular avoid the letting agency called Turnkey in drogheda or Balbriggan. Several negative posts on here and I personally have experience of their incompetency.

As for whats involved, its actually fairly straight forward - it just seems intimidating at first. Believe me, its a lot less intimidating and time consuming than dealing with a letting agent who is not doing their job right!

Go to the Irishlandlord website. It is really useful and has all the info you will need, including sample letters/notices, tips etc, and even a lease template which is in line with PRTB guidelines.

You need to register the tenant (when you find one) with the PRTB for €70.

As for hassle, honestly if you use your common sense and pick a good tenant, then the hassle will be minimal. Dealing with the agency gave me WAY WAY more stress and hassle than doing it on my own. I now rent it myself, and chose the tenant myself. A few teething problems, but nothing major. Plus I know exactly what is going on with the tenant and my house - when the agent had it they told me NOTHING, and when I did enquire they told me what they wanted to, and not necessarily the truth.

Seriously, do it yourself, go to Irishlandlord and have a look see. Loads of tips and advice there. Also do a bit of web surfing - you will be amazed at how much info you get. Once you have the correct info, and a solid lease agreement, then you can do no more really.

Also bear this in mind - most letting agents, dont actually have any 'qualification'. In my experience they are useless if an issue with the tenant arrises. So you are paying a yearly fee and then when the sh!t hits the fan they are useless. If you are lucky and have a good tenant with no hassles, then why pay someone else 6% to merely move the rent from their bank acc to yours? Basically, I know that we have all heard the horror stories of nightmare tenants, but if you think that using an agent will save you if this happens, then you are misinformed. The agent will be of no use to you with a bad tenant - because at the end of the day YOU are the Landlord, not them, so when it suits them they can simply walk away - all you are paying them for is to collect rent, do the odd inspection,act as an intermediary should the tenant wish to make contact, or if there is an emergency (like a burst pipe) arrange for the work to be carried out. But be under no illusion, they are not available 24hrs a day, and some of them (most of them) are about as useful as a chocolate teapot when you really need them. All they are really interested in is for the tenant to send the rent to their account each month, then taking their cut. And if you are lucky they might then send on the remainder of the money to you - but only if you are lucky!

If you do use an agent, don't beleive everything they tell you - I have heard of people who have had agents do an inspection and say all was well, only to find out that the tenant had actually annihilated the place! Likewise I've heard of tenants who have had bad dealings with agents, but they always end up having to seek out the LL to sort the problem. So the LL ends up with the hassle one way or another! At the end of they day they are only your agent, you are the LL and as such cannot avoid hassle should it arise.

Finally, if you do decide to go for an agent, DONT pay the management fee for the year up front - pay them per month. Don't pay them in advance for a job they have not done yet - otherwise they get complacent, cos they already have your money! Also, get the tenant to pay the rent into YOUR bank account and then you forward the management fee to the agent. This is the only way to know if your tenant is paying their rent. Some agents will balk at this - if they do it is a sign that you should use another agent.

Last but not least, good luck

Emerald Lass

oh also Lou, just regarding the point you made about wanting to rent in the next few months - if I were you I'd start advertising now, as typically Nov-Jan are quiet periods for getting tenants due to Christmas/new year. Things tend to pick up again Feb, so if you want to rent before New Year you would need to get your skates on!

TriciaDelicia

You also have to decide if your going to accept applications from people on social welfare. (They pay rent for unemployed people 1 single person gets €520 per month, while a single parent with one child would get €950 per month). On the one hand your guaranteed your monthly income there'll be no 'sorry I lost my job' stories off them. On the other hand you could end up with all sorts scumbags, drug addicts and the dreaded foreigners*.


* word used to describe a boogieman family with never-ending numbers 50 children & 16 adults in one house/apartment.