Letting Out Your Own Home

Things are still tough out there, no matter what anyone says

. Some of my friends who are home-owners are now considering letting out their home to try and cover the mortgage. I really feel for them.

Shelly, (not her real name), saved up for years for the deposit on her apartment in Putney. She lives just around the corner from me. Her hours have been cut and now she can't afford the mortgage. That is one reason why we rent. If my income drops or my partner loses his job, we can give our notice and move somewhere cheaper fairly easily. (As long as this doesn't happen around the time of the Olympics that is!)

Jared has a flat in Richmond that he bought a few years ago. He'd had a great business career and was doing pretty well for himself. Then the company he worked for went bust. So as I say, I have friends considering letting out their own home. They thought it would be easy. It isn't, but with the right help it's not as difficult as it can be.

First of all, go to speak to a letting agent to get advice on what you need to do, legal wise, to rent out your home. One of the first things you need to do, for example, is to inform your mortgage provider and insurance provider that you are going to let your home.

You might, depending on where you live, also need to get permission from your local borough council too. I know, for example, that in certain parts of London, such as Westminster, Camden, Islington and Kensington it is illegal to let your home without planning permission. If your home to rent is in Putney, Richmond, Twickenham Barnes or Roehampton, however, you don't need to pay for planning permission to rent out your home.

Then there are health and safety considerations. Then if you have any gas appliances you will need to get a gas safety certificate for your home. This needs to be renewed every year. You also need to find out whether you need to have fire alarms installed or fire doors. Your local letting agent and council can help you with this.

Now you need to get an accurate appraisal of the rental value of your home. Talk to letting agents who know your area well. They know how much the average rental price is in your area for properties similar to yours.

Think also about any restrictions you want to place on who can rent out your home. Will you allow people with young children to rent the house? Will you allow pets or animals in the house? Smokers? Do you want to let it to a family or a professional person or couple? Naturally the fewer restrictions you have on who can rent out your home, the easier it will be to find a tenant, but this is a decision only you can make. Another decision only you can make is who is going to manage the property, your or the letting agent?

Ensure that the letting agent you choose will market your property as effectively as possible; not just in local papers but also on the internet.

Finally, and this is the hard part, stop thinking of it as your home, but as a property you manage. It makes it easier to be business-like and to cope with someone else living there.

by: Dawn Taylor

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