Advice for first time landlord?

patsypantaloni

My husband and I are in the process of renting out our house, we bought it in 2007 and have lived here ever since; we have outgrown the house but unfortunately the negative equity means we can't sell it, so we'll be renting it out for the foreseeable future.

Had the first viewing on Friday, good bit of interest so we've offered it to a couple, meeting them on Tuesday to sign lease and take deposit.

We will be managing the letting ourselves, ie no agent, but will be doing it by the book in terms of tax, PRTB etc.

I'm nervous though, not sure how it will all work out; so to those on the forum with experience as a LL, what practical tips would you pass on to a first time landlord? Any words of wisdom you wish you'd been told when you were starting out?

(Mods hope this thread is ok,0 here, feel free to move if not)

athtrasna

Vet your tenants carefully, and do periodic (agreed) inspections. If you're letting yourself and not using an agent make sure the tenants have a contact number for you but stress for them that it's for house emergencies, leaks etc. Early notice can mean a small leak can be dealt with before it causes serious damage.

If you get on with your neighbours, keep in touch with them. I'm not talking about spying on the tenants, more that if something dodgy appears to be going on, you know sooner rather than later (we had 4 people move into our house but three weeks later there were 20, wouldn't have known without the neighbour).

And finally, get landlord insurance. Best of luck!

PS If possible, lodge their deposit into a separate account so that you won't be under pressure to come up with it when they move out.

No Pants

Depending on your mortgage, your mortgage provider may be interested in finding out that the house is no longer your PPR.

patsypantaloni

No Pants wrote: »

Depending on your mortgage, your mortgage provider may be interested in finding out that the house is no longer your PPR.

As i stated in my original post, we're doing this above board and our bank is well aware of our plans. Does anyone have any helpful tips?

No Pants

patsypantaloni wrote: »

As i stated in my original post, we're doing this above board and our bank is well aware of our plans. Does anyone have any helpful tips?

Nice.
I wasn't implying that you were up to anything dodgy. I was merely pointing out that your mortgage holder may wish to change the type of mortgage that might be more suitable for BTL and may be more expensive.

Little Miss Cutie

patsypantaloni wrote: »

Does anyone have any helpful tips?

My tips comes from a tenant perspective - provide an inventory when they move in. We are moving out after 5 years and struggle to remember what is ours and what was here.

Our Landlady has been abroad for the majority of tenancy and one thing that has really helped is she keeps in touch. Every so often she lets us know that she has changed number or is only available by email for x number of weeks.

We have had plenty of "emergencies" washing machine flooding, pump breaking, boiler acting up and the one thing I can say is that she was always quick to respond and understand that is urgent when we do contact.

edanto

From reading through this forum, you'll get an idea of the types of disagreements that tend to come up, and try to mitigate them as much as possible. Most people are nice, but it pays to cover all the bases.

Troublesome tenants; Vet them as much as possible. Make sure they are who they say they are. Get a reference from their stated employer (just to confirm they they actually work there, nothing more). It might be worth getting a phone reference from a previous landlord, but they are easily faked.

Deposit disputes; An easy way to agree the state of the property at the start of the lease is to take a bunch of photos (lots and lots, including details of any obvious pre-existing damage) and email them to the tenant at the start of the lease, with the lease stating that the property is agreed to be in the condition shown by the photos and then if you're having a debate at the end of the lease it might come down to the definition of acceptable wear and tear, instead of something more serious. Similarly, it's worth doing a full inventory of furniture etc in the property, again recording any serious damage. Helpful for both tenant and landlord.

Be a good landlord; Make sure the property/appliances/heating/water are in good condition at the start and respond promptly to any maintenance.

Tax; It sounds like you've researched this, so you are unlikely to be surprised by having to pay about 50% of the rent in tax (after legitimate rental expenses like service/bin charges)... but one thing to watch out for in the first year is that you may have to pay preliminary tax for 2015 at the same time as paying your tax for 2014. This can double your tax bill in the first year. (only applies IF this is the first year you are doing a tax return).

implausible

When it comes to tax and accounts, unless you're really good at that sort of thing, it's worth getting an accountant to do it the first year. You can write their fee off your tax bill. I did and after going though the accountant's work, it made it easy to do myself every year since.

I'd second getting on well with a neighbour, just to have a second set of eyes on the house. A bottle of something at Christmas is a good idea to say thanks.

Pawwed Rig

Don't be friends with the tenants. Treat it as a business relationship.
Don't listen to sob stories as you will be the one that pays (sounds harsh but it is true).
Put everything in writing.
Read and understand the PRT act.
If late with rent immediately issue an arrears notice.

See how you get on with the first tenancy but longterm I would consider engaging a good letting agent. If paying income tax at the higher rate the cost of the letting agent is quite small in an out of the pocket sense considering it is an expense.

A poor letting agent is a waste of money but a good one is great value for money and good offers great peace of mind from my experience.

CIARAN_BOYLE

If your own furniture is nice don't think you have to leave it for the tenants.

emeldc

If they are late with the rent, nip it in the bud after a day or two. Dont allow it to drag on.
Never ever allow the tenant use the deposit as the last months rent. Anytime this has been tried with me I just tell them I'll be over in an hour to watch them pack. No rent, no flat. They always pay up. If you're holding a deposit, it's the only chance you have of getting your house back in clean order.
If they don't clean up properly, offer another 24 hours rent free to get the job done or you'll start deducting it from their deposit.
Having said all that, most tenants are OK. Good luck with it.

pwurple

If you can, rent unfurnished. In my experience you get a different group of tenants looking, usually more settled, slightly older. They don't tend to wreck their own furniture.

Santa Cruz

Pawwed Rig wrote: »

Don't be friends with the tenants. Treat it as a business relationship.
Don't listen to sob stories as you will be the one that pays (sounds harsh but it is true).
Put everything in writing.
Read and understand the PRT act.
If late with rent immediately issue an arrears notice.

Could not agree more.

This is a business.The tenants are your customers not your friends.Keep it professional.
Vet your tenants carefully. Are you sure that they will be in a position to pay the rent on time. Don't listen to sob stories about inability to pay. That's the quickest route to making a loss
Have the name of a good electrician and plumber. Any maintenance issues get them attended to promptly.
Keep receipts for every item you provide (even a can of paint as it will reduce your tax bill), PRTB cost, Advertising etc. Get an accountant to do your tax returns. It will be cheaper in the long run.
Complete inventory and retain signed copy with the tenant holding copy also.

Provide tenants with a copy of the instruction manuals for appliances and have record of the warranties for same
Arrange landlord insurance to cover your property in the house and house owner liability. (It's another cost to be put against tax)
Check irishlandlord.com for more tips

Eldarion

pwurple wrote: »

If you can, rent unfurnished. In my experience you get a different group of tenants looking, usually more settled, slightly older. They don't tend to wreck their own furniture.

I'm honestly surprised this is the exception rather than the norm here in Ireland. Seems like a far better deal for all involved.

odds_on

Download a copy (pdf) of the Residential Tenancies Act 2004 and read it thoroughly. Then read it again and again.

If you have a pdf reader like pdf XChange viewer, you can add your own notes, comments, highlight text etc.

filbert the fox

athtrasna wrote: »

Vet your tenants carefully, and do periodic (agreed) inspections. If you're letting yourself and not using an agent make sure the tenants have a contact number for you but stress for them that it's for house emergencies, leaks etc. Early notice can mean a small leak can be dealt with before it causes serious damage.

If you get on with your neighbours, keep in touch with them. I'm not talking about spying on the tenants, more that if something dodgy appears to be going on, you know sooner rather than later (we had 4 people move into our house but three weeks later there were 20, wouldn't have known without the neighbour).

And finally, get landlord insurance. Best of luck!

PS If possible, lodge their deposit into a separate account so that you won't be under pressure to come up with it when they move out.

Does Landlord insurance mean third party as part of the house insurance?

odds_on

filbert the fox wrote: »

Does Landlord insurance mean third party as part of the house insurance?

RTA 2004, Provisions regarding landlord’s obligations, Section 12,
(c) subject to subsection (3), effect and maintain a policy of insurance in respect of the structure of the dwelling, that is to say a policy—
(i) that insures the landlord against damage to, and loss and destruction of, the dwelling, and
(ii) that indemnifies, to an amount of at least €250,000, the landlord against any liability on his or her part arising out of the ownership, possession and use of the dwelling,