Looking for advice from landlords please.

good vibes

Hello there.
I'm looking for some advice from landlords please.. I've recently received an inheritance and I'm looking to buy a house in Dublin so I can invest my inheritance.. and I'm also I'm looking to move abroad,I'd like to buy & then let.. I have a couple of questions.

1. Is buying and letting a full house out a good idea ? Are the costs and taxes too much for a good financial return ?.. is it a bad idea to let these days with bad tenants not paying rent ect ?

2. I'm also considering becoming an owner occupier, is this a better idea? Would I make a better financial return ?
I was thinking about buying a 3 bedroom house in tallaghtand turning a sitting room into a bedroom...
I'm aware you're allowed to be an owner occupier and rent out rooms and be tax free up until €14,000

If I rent out two rooms @ €14000 a year.. is it possible then to rent out another rooms ?

My idea would be to have a log cabin in the garden for my own residence.

Thanks in advance lads...

Any advice will be greatly appreciated....

Good vibes.

Caranica

Becoming a landlord? Don't do it! Happiest day was the day we sold.

Rent a room, max limit is 14k all in, go 1c over and the total amount is taxable.

Log cabin, next to no chance of getting planning permission and won't qualify you for rent a room.

Gatling

Would you get €1200 a room per month in tallaght ,
You might get €800 -900 for 2 rooms.

good vibes

Gatling wrote: »

Would you get €1200 a room per month in tallaght ,
You might get €800 -900 for 2 rooms.

I could rent 2 rooms to 4 people at 400 a month....

good vibes

Caranica wrote: »

Becoming a landlord? Don't do it! Happiest day was the day we sold.

Rent a room, max limit is 14k all in, go 1c over and the total amount is taxable.

Log cabin, next to no chance of getting planning permission and won't qualify you for rent a room.

You don't need planning permission for a small log cabin..thx

XsApollo

You do if you want to live in there.

amcalester

XsApollo wrote: »

You do if you want to live in there.

Probably not an owner occupier either if he’s living in a separate dwelling.

good vibes

XsApollo wrote: »

You do if you want to live in there.

I looked it up... there's certain sized log cabins that you would need planning permission for but the two smallest ones you don't.

good vibes

amcalester wrote: »

Probably not an owner occupier either if he’s living in a desperate dwelling.

Sorry ?? I don't get that ?

Caranica

good vibes wrote: »

You don't need planning permission for a small log cabin..thx

And this shows how important it is to do your research. Mistakes like this can be very expensive. As is pointed out above, if you want to live in a structure in your garden it needs planning permission.

I've been a landlord, and am currently a rent a room landlord. I know what I'm talking about. Thx

Gatling

good vibes wrote: »

I could rent 2 rooms to 4 people at 400 a month....

Double bunks ?

good vibes

Caranica wrote: »

And this shows how important it is to do your research. Mistakes like this can be very expensive. As is pointed out above, if you want to live in a structure in your garden it needs planning permission.

I've been a landlord, and am currently a rent a room landlord. I know what I'm talking about. Thx

Ok thanks... Are you an owner occupier landlord do you mind me asking you ?

good vibes

Gatling wrote: »

Double bunks ?

No ...2 single beds to a room.

Samuel T. Cogley

It's a much, MUCH better idea to have your own place sorted and rent rooms than it is to rent yourself and become a Landlord. You're already trying to 'get creative' with the log cabin which wouldn't be a good idea on a number of levels. If you try and get creative with LL and Tenant law you would find yourself with a criminal record and huge fines.

You're certainly unlikely to make c.14K after tax from a single dwelling by renting it out.

Samuel T. Cogley

good vibes wrote: »

Sorry ?? I don't get that ?

Read desperate as separate.


I agree with that assessment also. You need to rent out rooms in the dwelling you live in. You also need planning if you're using the Log Cabin as a dwelling regardless of size.

Gumbo

good vibes wrote: »

Hello there.
I'm looking for some advice from landlords please.. I've recently received an inheritance and I'm looking to buy a house in Dublin so I can invest my inheritance.. and I'm also I'm looking to move abroad,I'd like to buy & then let.. I have a couple of questions.

1. Is buying and letting a full house out a good idea ? Are the costs and taxes too much for a good financial return ?.. is it a bad idea to let these days with bad tenants not paying rent ect ?

2. I'm also considering becoming an owner occupier, is this a better idea? Would I make a better financial return ?
I was thinking about buying a 3 bedroom house in tallaghtand turning a sitting room into a bedroom...
I'm aware you're allowed to be an owner occupier and rent out rooms and be tax free up until €14,000

If I rent out two rooms @ €14000 a year.. is it possible then to rent out another rooms ?

My idea would be to have a log cabin in the garden for my own residence.

Thanks in advance lads...

Any advice will be greatly appreciated....

Good vibes.

If your moving abroad you can’t do rent a room scheme or am I missing something here?

Gumbo

good vibes wrote: »

You don't need planning permission for a small log cabin..thx

YOU NEED PLANNING TO SLEEP IN IT.

Small log cabins are garden sheds. You cannot build a shed and use it for habitable accommodation.

good vibes

Samuel T. Cogley wrote: »

It's a much, MUCH better idea to have your own place sorted and rent rooms than it is to rent yourself and become a Landlord. You're already trying to 'get creative' with the log cabin which wouldn't be a good idea on a number of levels. If you try and get creative with LL and Tenant law you would find yourself with a criminal record and huge fines.

You're certainly unlikely to make c.14K after tax from a single dwelling by renting it out.

Hi thanks for that... Could you elaborate a little please and what you mean by having your own place sorted and rent rooms?

... I'll only have the one property.. if I had a three bedroom house I could rent two rooms
..& I would have one room for myself..
I could rent the two roons to three or four tenants for €14000 a year....would that work ?

Thanks.

Caranica

good vibes wrote: »

Ok thanks... Are you an owner occupier landlord do you mind me asking you ?

For rent a room yes. I rent out one room to one person and including bills come in well below the rent a room limit.

Previously we rented out another property, between stress, and damage and tax it was truly not worth it. Sold the property recently, a happy day.

There are investment opportunities that are far less stressful.

filbert the fox

Recent signs are indicating a softening of property prices around the country. You seem unsure as to whether you want to live here or abroad. As a landlord if you live abroad the tenant/agent deducts 25% of the rent in tax. If you live here the tax is at your marginal rate less expenses etc.

This rent a room scheme looks good on paper but i suggest that it is designed for a certain type who wouldn't mind having their home continuously occupied by a stranger.

in essence you may be better off waiting to see what the government will do for the private landlord in the Budget. Then decide - but if you are the type 14000 euro per annum tax free is very attractive.

Gumbo

good vibes wrote: »

I looked it up... there's certain sized log cabins that you would need planning permission for but the two smallest ones you don't.

Based on this I’d advise you seem professional advise and not advice from friends or chancers. They is no exemption for log cabins. Not even the small ones. If you sleep there then you are in breach of the planning regulations.

Log cabins rely on class exemptions. That’s for sheds, Stores etc but there’s a small portion that states that the finish must match that if the main house.

You are in serious trouble of the rest of your RESEARCH is similar to the planning research you’ve carried out.

amcalester

good vibes wrote: »

Sorry ?? I don't get that ?

If you’re living in a separate standalone dwelling then you don’t qualify for the rent a room scheme.

Samuel T. Cogley

good vibes wrote: »

Hi thanks for that... Could you elaborate a little please and what you mean by having your own place sorted and rent rooms?

... I'll only have the one property.. if I had a three bedroom house and rented two rooms I would have one room for myself and rent the two roons to three or four tenants for €14000 a year....would that work ?

Thanks.

You suggest in your opening post that you don't currently own. I would sort that situation out and rent rooms. You should be able to get €400 for a single €550 for a double and around €750 for an en suite in Tallaght depending where and spec etc. I have a very modest place in Kilbarrack and can get €575 for a double. I doubt you'd need four people to be honest.


I rent out a full apartment for over €1150 per month with a small mortgage and the amount I get from that doesn't generate a positive cashflow. The hassle - even though we know the tenants - isn't worth it either.

good vibes

Caranica wrote: »

For rent a room yes. I rent out one room to one person and including bills come in well below the rent a room limit.

Previously we rented out another property, between stress, and damage and tax it was truly not worth it. Sold the property recently, a happy day.

There are investment opportunities that are far less stressful.

Thanks for that Caranica..

If I rented two rooms as an owner occupier landlord do I have to pay for refuge and other bills ?
You'll have to forgive me this is all new to me..

What other investment opportunities are there that are less stressful do you feel ?

Thanks again.

Samuel T. Cogley

good vibes wrote: »

Thanks for that Caranica..

If I rented two rooms as an owner occupier landlord do I have to pay for refuge and other bills ?
You'll have to forgive me this is all new to me..

What other investment opportunities are there that are less stressful do you feel ?

Thanks again.

You have to keep everything, rent and bills, under €14,000 or you pay tax on the whole lot. You still need to do a tax return, but under €14,000 is tax free.

good vibes

Samuel T. Cogley wrote: »

You suggest in your opening post that you don't currently own. I would sort that situation out and rent rooms. You should be able to get €400 for a single €550 for a double and around €750 for an en suite in Tallaght depending where and spec etc. I have a very modest place in Kilbarrack and can get €575 for a double. I doubt you'd need four people to be honest.


I rent out a full apartment for over €1150 per month with a small mortgage and the amount I get from that doesn't generate a positive cashflow. The hassle - even though we know the tenants - isn't worth it either.

Ok thanks for that Samuel T.great advice

So it sounds like the best bet is to buy house rent out 3 rooms for €14000 a year... I could always renovate the attic and live in the Attic myself... As an owner occupier do I have to pay for refuge and bills do you know ?

Thanks again... Any other pearls of wisdom would be appreciated 😉

Caranica

You can charge your lodgers a proportion of bills but it counts as part of the 14k as that is the maximum amount you can receive tax free.

Samuel T. Cogley

good vibes wrote: »

Ok thanks for that Samuel T.great advice

So it sounds like the best bet is to buy house rent out 3 rooms for €14000 a year... I could always renovate the attic and live in the Attic myself... As an owner occupier do I have to pay for refuge and bills do you know ?

Thanks again... Any other pearls of wisdom would be appreciated ��

You'd have to pay the bills but I charge them on top of what I get for the room. Including bills the amount taken has to remain under €14,000 though. I'd suggest that if you rent the two larger rooms to singles, keep the smaller room and the living room for yourself (put TVs in the larger rooms) by the time you charge rent and two thirds of the bills you'll be very close to the limit of €14K and be sharing with a manageable number of people.

Gumbo

good vibes wrote: »

Ok thanks for that Samuel T.great advice

So it sounds like the best bet is to buy house rent out 3 rooms for €14000 a year... I could always renovate the attic and live in the Attic myself... As an owner occupier do I have to pay for refuge and bills do you know ?

Thanks again... Any other pearls of wisdom would be appreciated ��

To rent out 3 rooms you then need a 4 bedroom house so factor that into your search.

Your tax free allowance of 14k then allows you to charge €389 per person per room fully inclusive of all extras so mark sure the figures all add up.

If you take money from them for tv, broadband and bins or any other service then this has to be added on.
Make sure the you only earn €13,999 per year total basically.

good vibes

Samuel T. Cogley wrote: »

You have to keep everything, rent and bills, under €14,000 or you pay tax on the whole lot. You still need to do a tax return, but under €14,000 is tax free.

Would it be possible to split bills refuge electricity ect with tenants ? Is that allowed ?

Gumbo

good vibes wrote: »

Would it be possible to split bills refuge electricity ect with tenants ? Is that allowed ?

Once you keep under the 14k your ok.
You really need to sit down and read the replies.

Rent + bills can’t be more than 14k

good vibes

Samuel T. Cogley wrote: »

Read desperate as separate.


I agree with that assessment also. You need to rent out rooms in the dwelling you live in. You also need planning if you're using the Log Cabin as a dwelling regardless of size.

Read desperate as separate ?

Samuel T. Cogley

good vibes wrote: »

Would it be possible to split bills refuge electricity ect with tenants ? Is that allowed ?

Yes absolutely. You still need to stay under 14K though.

good vibes wrote: »

Read desperate as separate ?

He wrote desperate instead of separate, I presume through auto correct.


If you are living in a separate dwelling (the log cabin) you can't claim rent a room relief for the house.

good vibes

kceire wrote: »

Once you keep under the 14k your ok.
You really need to sit down and read the replies.

Rent + bills can’t be more than 14k

I have read the replies... this is all new to me....a lot of information to process..

good vibes

kceire wrote: »

Based on this I’d advise you seem professional advise and not advice from friends or chancers. They is no exemption for log cabins. Not even the small ones. If you sleep there then you are in breach of the planning regulations.

Log cabins rely on class exemptions. That’s for sheds, Stores etc but there’s a small portion that states that the finish must match that if the main house.

You are in serious trouble of the rest of your RESEARCH is similar to the planning research you’ve carried out.

Thanks for the reply

As I've stated this is all news to me and this is the start of my research j

Well I won't be getting a log cabin that's for sure... But I could rent out 2/3 Rooms 2 to 3 people and convert your attic and live there...

I think you're right about seeking advice from Friends and online sources... Even asking people a question seems to get some people very stressed out.

What would you consider to be the best professional advice ? A good solicitor ?

Thanks for your help.

SmartinMartin

You've already got the best advice you're gonna get from Samuel T in post #28.

ted1

Are you or are you not moving ?
Tax is very different.

Don’t do it, it can be a lot of hassle and the government are further socialising private rentals.. Plenty of other places to invest money. If you do invest in property it might be worth good advice and looking at commercial properties.

Without being an expert and offering no real advice. I’d look at green funds like wind or solar farms.

good vibes

Yes I'm beginning to see Samuel T's advice was very good advice.... But I will also be seeking advice from a good solicitor....Thanks

good vibes

ted1 wrote: »

Are you or are you not moving ?
Tax is very different.

Don’t do it, it can be a lot of hassle and the government are further socialising private rentals.. Plenty of other places to invest money. If you do invest in property it might be worth good advice and looking at commercial properties.

Without being an expert and offering no real advice. I’d look at green funds like wind or solar farms.

The government are further socialising private rentals ?... I don't understand that ?

I won't be investing into investments I don't understand ...green energy etc...

ted1

good vibes wrote: »

The government are further socialising private rentals ?... I don't understand that ?

I won't be investing into investments I don't understand ...green energy etc...

Do you understand property ? You don’t seem to (living in log cabins)

By socialising private rental I mean. Rather than building social housing they are using private rentals to provide social housing.

They make it illegal to refuse HAP, they give the tenant 6 years tenancy after 6 months and are looking to increase this further. They are looking at removing selling as a reason to end a tenancy.
They have made it virtually impossible to evict tenants. You could have a tenant who refuses to pay and you can’t do diddly squat. They restrict the rent increase you can have even if you are 500% market price you can’t increase it more than 4%. I could go on

mikemac2

good vibes wrote: »

I was thinking about buying a 3 bedroom house in tallaght

If I rent out two rooms @ €14000 a year.

We all know the Dublin rental market is expensive but even that is ambitious for Tallaght.

Samuel T. Cogley

mikemac2 wrote: »

We all know the Dublin rental market is expensive but even that is ambitious for Tallaght.

€500 per room plus some bills. Easily achieved depending where in Tallaght of course.

https://www.daft.ie/dublin-city/rooms-to-share/tallaght/

Spanish Eyes

OP, it's early days in your research. What's your approx budget for buying, bearing in mind Surveys, Solicitors, Land Registry, Stamp Duty and so on.

IF you find a suitable property, utiising the rent a room scheme is the only way to go these days. The licensee (room renter) has no rights, and if things don't work out you can get rid of them pretty sharpish.

Bear in mind that if you rent two rooms for say 4- 500 a month per room occupier (forget about couples, they will take over your house for you thank you very much), you will have 12k tax free income, adding in utilities per month to the rent would not bring you near the 14k limit if you think it through. You will NEVER achieve that untaxed income by renting out the entire house under a tenancy agreement. AVOID.

Start small, build it up. If you have never shared your property, it could be a difficult transition to have people in your house all the time. Tallaght IT might have Mon-Fri applicants. Great, you have your weekends to yourself. Concentrate on how much you would get by putting the money on deposit and how much you would get from one or two lodgers. It is a no brainer.

Caranica

The other thing to take care with if you are doing an attic conversion would be to make it comply with building and fire regulations so that it can be used as a bedroom. It's not as straightforward as you might think.

YipeeDee

good vibes wrote: »

I looked it up... there's certain sized log cabins that you would need planning permission for but the two smallest ones you don't.

I really recommend contacting DCC, you absolutely need planning permission for log cabin or any kind of structure that you plan to use for human habitation / dwelling.

Gumbo

YipeeDee wrote: »

I really recommend contacting DCC, you absolutely need planning permission for log cabin or any kind of structure that you plan to use for human habitation / dwelling.

Or SDCC if in Tallaght

_Kaiser_

Here's my suggestion OP.. find another way to invest your money

Reading your posts, it seems to me that like too many other LL's, you just expect "easy money" and to be able to "fudge" the rules as much as possible to get it, including packing as many tenants as you think you can get away with into the place.

The market doesn't need another LL like that.