Fingal Long Term Rental Opinions

txt_mess

So am currently getting geared up to buy a new house in the new year and am left with the choice of selling current home ( Not in negative equity ) or renting it out.

While we may make a minor profit if we sell I am thinking if we hold onto it and rent logically the sale price should increase in the long term 5+years.

Having looked at rentals I don't fancy the headache of actually looking after the day to day myself so I am thinking about the Fingal long term rental scheme for 5 or 10 years.

Has anybody ever rented to the council on one of these long term leases? if so was/is the experience positive?

the_syco

Why do you think the price of it would rise?

Gumbo

When I enquirer in March this year, it wasn't worthwhile. Market rent at the time was €1400 for my home and they offered €1100 for 10 years.

handlemaster

kceire wrote: »

When I enquired in March this year, it wasn't worthwhile. Market rent at the time was €1400 for my home and they offered €1100 for 10 years.

But with the long term lease they look after the maintenance of the property and you have peace of mind rent will always be paid.

txt_mess

the_syco wrote: »

Why do you think the price of it would rise?

Generally speaking assuming the property wasn't over paid at the start property prices increase over time at a rate that should work out better then the rate I have on my mortgage so should run out to be a better deal.

txt_mess

handlemaster wrote: »

But with the long term lease they look after the maintenance of the property and you have peace of mind rent will always be paid.

That was my thinking the property gets looked after and i have a guaranteed rent so no hassle for the duration.

April 73

kceire wrote: »

When I enquirer in March this year, it wasn't worthwhile. Market rent at the time was €1400 for my home and they offered €1100 for 10 years.

I can see why people go for this though. It's €300 below market rate. (I don't have a crystal ball to know where rents will go over the next ten years)
So that's €3600 a year below market rate. If you're a higher-rate tax-payer you could pay tax of 51% on that leaving you €1764 worse off than renting at market rate. Having one month's void, a full paint job, a troublesome tenant could easily wipe this out every year anyway.

This is ten years of guaranteed payments with no upkeep. It would suit people who don't actually want to be a landlord but have an investment property(ies).

kceire

kceire wrote: »

When I enquirer in March this year, it wasn't worthwhile. Market rent at the time was €1400 for my home and they offered €1100 for 10 years.

Would the new 100% of interest against tax for letting to the council, rent allowance etc narrow the gap much do you think?

murphaph

handlemaster wrote: »

But with the long term lease they look after the maintenance of the property and you have peace of mind rent will always be paid.

35k over ten years though is a hell of a price to pay though, using kceire's property as an example.

Gumbo

handlemaster wrote: »

But with the long term lease they look after the maintenance of the property and you have peace of mind rent will always be paid.

Day to day maintenance is covered, it also has to be fully furnished i believe, but im not sure what exactly is and is not covered. Wouldn't mind finding out tbh.

April 73 wrote: »

I can see why people go for this though. It's €300 below market rate. (I don't have a crystal ball to know where rents will go over the next ten years)
So that's €3600 a year below market rate. If you're a higher-rate tax-payer you could pay tax of 51% on that leaving you €1764 worse off than renting at market rate. Having one month's void, a full paint job, a troublesome tenant could easily wipe this out every year anyway.

This is ten years of guaranteed payments with no upkeep. It would suit people who don't actually want to be a landlord but have an investment property(ies).

They review the rent every 2 years, so it could go up or down. Fingal offer up to 92% of market value, while Dublin City offer up to 80%.

Alessandra Mango Bay wrote: »

Would the new 100% of interest against tax for letting to the council, rent allowance etc narrow the gap much do you think?

Yes possibly, I personally was using the letter of offer as a means to satisfy the bank that the rent on this house was guaranteed by the LA should I not rent privately.

Would I consider it in the future, yes possibly as the house is not there for a cash flow as such, its a long term investment so it doesn't matter to me as long as the rent covers my mortgage and taxes and repairs.

Dublin City Council will maintain the property internally for the term of the lease.
This includes boiler maintenance.

The owner of the property will retain responsibility for the structural
maintenance and repair of the property. Therefore the owner is responsible for
insuring the structure of the property.

The Landlord is responsible for insuring the structure of the house, but not
the contents. In case of an apartment it should be part of the overall Management
charge.

The property will be returned to the owner at the end of the term in good repair
and condition save for normal wear and tear.

April 73

murphaph wrote: »

35k over ten years though is a hell of a price to pay though, using kceire's property as an example.

Some landlords could potentially pay half of the €35k out in tax though. It's potentially a better deal for higher-rate tax payers with low write offs on their property.

April 73

kceire wrote: »

They review the rent every 2 years, so it could go up or down. Fingal offer up to 92% of market value, while Dublin City offer up to 80%.

That makes it more attractive, especially in Fingal. You're not locked into 2015 prices for ten years. Especially if the market rates move upwards.