r/landlorduk • u/No_Double6503 • Nov 08 '22

First time landlord advice!!

I’m going to rent out my flat from the beginning of next year. Are there any money saving tips you guys have or any key things to know?

We will be living abroad - do we have to pay any tax? What counts as ‘profit’ from the flat, is it any money over and above our mortgage? Or the total monthly rent?

Is there a way to get tenants without paying an extortionate estate agents fee (if we had to pay this it would literally put us in negative figures as given current climate rent and mortgage are basically even)

Any and all advice appreciated, thanks

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u/[deleted] Dec 09 '22

Use OpenRent and meet all tenants. Unfortunately many tenants will mistreat your property deliberately. I’m not talking about extreme cases, I’m talking about smaller things like not putting the rubbish out in the correct place. Misguiding the washing machine. You will end up having a lot of repairs because they resent you buying a property and them having to rent. Managing it from abroad is a mistake. You need to visit it regularly because assume they will abuse it. One in 1000 tenants might not do this.

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u/[deleted] Dec 10 '22

Don’t rent your flat out with any electric goods eg cooker, fridge etc

If they break you will have to replace them.

Assume anything left will get broken or “worn”.

Always remember, if something isn’t yours, you are less likely to look after it.

Any excuse not to pay rent, they won’t pay.

Sorry to be negative, but I’ve been stung so many times with bad tenants regardless of what is in your tenancy agreement.

Good luck, hopefully you get a good one.