Renting your house out to go cruising for a few months?

[wully1]

We are planning on clearing off for 4 months cruising from May and are exploring the idea of renting out our house.
It would be great to hear from anyone who has done the renting out your house thing - especially if you have a resident cat...

We’re looking for some real world experience and advice.

TIA!

 

[Robert Wilson]

Sounds like a lot of potential hassle for only four months; four years, perhaps.

Providing you can get your cat looked after by a friend/family, then I would tell your insurers the house is empty etc etc and leave it at that.
You have no worries of breakages, loss of cat, squatters etc and everything is "as left" when you return home exhilarated, rewarded and "happy to be home".
Unless of course the income is a strategic element of your cruise?

That is just what I did when went round our Sceptred Isle.

 

[Richard10002]

What he said - in spades. 4 months is too short a period to rent a house out, for many reasons.

 

[richardsn9]

In general, I believe estate agents are unwilling to take on properties for short leases as all the hassle surrounding safety checks, advertising etc is barely recouped from their fees, if at all.
That does not always apply in touristy areas, such as the west coast, where you could look at holiday letting, but here again, costs mount up and you might have to pay to move and store your possessions, gas safety/electric checks, insurance, plumbing cover etc. If you still have a mortgage, the lender must agree. It all means any financial gain is limited.
There are organisations who set up house swaps, but I guess you want to be on your boat, no in somebody else's house!
Alternatively, let it out for a year and head south for the sun!

 

[Deleted member 36384]

No experience but the location of your house would suit holiday lets from those who travel, have money and like to stay somewhere for a while e.g. wealthy Americans. I would look into that if it was me. Loads of folks doing AirBandB with an agent, if you could get someone to s=do that, say a trusted local for a small fee. House swap sites but without you taking the swap at the other end, could be of interest to someone who gets the accommodation in Scotland and don't mind leaving their own home unoccupied.

 

[Yellow Ballad]

As mentioned AirB&B might be your best option but you'll need some one to "manage" it for you whilst your away.

Kitty might have to come with you..

 

[lw395]

Mainstream letting, you need to be talking about a year minimum.
In your position, I would talk to holiday cottage operators.
If nothing else, they may help you with people to check on your home and sort any problems, or keep the garden in check.

Some people only rent their home for one week a year, for events like Cowes Week or the TT.

It is quite a lot of work and usually expense to sort a house for renting.

 

[mattonthesea]

Friends in Pembrokeshire go off for 3 months each summer. They use a holiday let company who do everything. All my friends do is collect up their valuables and go. The company take about a third. Works well.

 

[duncan99210]

We let our 'main' house (where we lived for many years) before setting of to sail to the sun. Long term, not a problem. However 4 months is far too short for residential letting unless you happen to have someone already lined up who wants a short let, in which case it could be viable. As others have said, an agent wouldn't take you on for such a short term.

However, we also own a holiday cottage which we live in during the winter/academic year and let out during the summer. We market it ourselves via our own website and Owners Direct. Airbnb is, for us, a bit of a busted flush. It's really aimed at rooms rather than whole properties and we've had little business through the site. We employ a housekeeper to oversee handovers and cope with the inevitable hiccups. You need to be prepared to clear the house of ALL your personal stuff and you'll also need to do a bit of work getting safety certificates for things like gas appliances, PAT testing and the like.

As to whether it's worth doing is all dependent on location. Our holiday cottage is just outside Falmouth and we find letting it for the summer season easy as the demand for accommodation here is high. Outside that season, prices have to be low to attract customers and we find that we often have vacancies which we can't fill.

Hope that helps. PM me if you'd like further help.

Edit: a resident cat will likely be a significant problem. We have a strict no pets rule, not because we don't like animals but because cleaning between guests has to be rigourous with pets, as there are so many folks out there who have pet allergies. Allowing pets cuts off quite a chunk of potential customers, which we feel outweighs the potential increase in customers who might want to bring a pet, as well as the hassle for out housekeeper of the deeper clean required.
End edit.

 

[JumbleDuck]

I am not a lawyer or a landlord (yet - I'll be letting out a house from the summer), but I think it might be worth checking the new letting rules in Scotland. Fixed-term tenancies are no longer possible, it seems, so you'd have to offer a Private Residential Tenancy, which is open-ended. You'd also have to be registered as a landlord with your local council. Lots of details at https://beta.gov.scot/publications/private-residential-tenancies-landlords-guide/

I have friends (in Scotland) who do extended house swaps every year. Perhaps some systems let you swap non-simultaneously, so someone would get four months in your house and then later on you get time in theirs.

 

[jonic]

I have to agree 4 months might be difficult, but when we were renovating the house recently and had to move out whilst the builders were in, it would have been a Godsend. The best we could find then was two months in a friends BTL between rents, a month on the boat, then holiday cottages by the week and finally camping in the garden! The very confused cat came with us (apart from the month on the boat).

In the past we did once rent our own house out - for what we thought would be a 12 month cruise......and finally came home eight years later :encouragement:

 

[davidej]

One of my friends has gone sailing for 4-5 months every year for the last 10 years or so.

He lets his house on holiday lets with English Country Cottages, and has a local to service it between lets. Very successful, but he does live at the seaside which probably makes it easier

 

[CCJ]

Mainstream letting, you need to be talking about a year minimum.
In your position, I would talk to holiday cottage operators.
If nothing else, they may help you with people to check on your home and sort any problems, or keep the garden in check.

Some people only rent their home for one week a year, for events like Cowes Week or the TT.

It is quite a lot of work and usually expense to sort a house for renting.

Some holiday rents have become "Pop-up" brothels, best get the mattress reconditioned when you get back :encouragement:

 

[chrishscorp]

4 months is too short a spell, the house will need to meet certian criteria, ie electrical and gas safety checks, carbon monoxide and smoke detectors mandatory, all gas appliances serviced etc etc etc, holiday lets dependant on where you are based may be an option as has been said and the guests hopefully have jobs and a house to go back too....

Renting can be very complicated, current client has a flat he rents out he was 1 day late in carrying out an inspection of the flat with tennant, so the tennancy automatically extends another month as he would have to give 3 clear months notice for them to leave, which isnt too bad if the property is being looked after and rent is being paid.

I have another friend who rented out the family home in kent after they moved to hampshire, the rent stopped then they tried to get them out, when they finally did the agent was aghast at the state it was left in, my chum walked in and was blue lighted away with a heart attack. Of course some tennants are lovely

 

[Richard10002]

......current client has a flat he rents out he was 1 day late in carrying out an inspection of the flat with tennant, so the tennancy automatically extends another month as he would have to give 3 clear months notice for them to leave, which isnt too bad if the property is being looked after and rent is being paid.

I'm not sure what carrying out an inspection has got to do with the actual tenancy period? And what is it that means that 3 clear months notice is required?

With an English Assured Shorthold Tenancy, only 2 months notice are required once any fixed term has ended, (or notice 2 months before the end of any fixed term). Once/if a fixed term has ended, the tenancy becomes periodic and 2 months notice are required.

Agreed on the state that some properties can be left in, and the fact that the rent can stop at any time after a tenant has moved in, and the fact that you cant just throw somebody out... you need to go through a long and laborious legal process.

 

[Richard10002]

What he said - in spades. 4 months is too short a period to rent a house out, for many reasons.

I may have spoken too soon....Holiday lets might work, particularly if you are in a nice location on the west of scotland. You need someone to take care of the actual lettings, changeovers and maintenance and problems, and you would almost certainly need someone to look after the cat. I cant see a cat being able to fend for itself, and I would not want to trust my pet to the luck of the draw that the occupants might care, or otherwise.

 

[wooslehunter]

I think of my rentals in terms of, would I be prepared to rent under my terms. 4 months is too short IMO. I generally offer 6 months with the idea that I'll offer a further 12 months if everything works out OK. If I get a really good feeling about the tenant, then I'll offer 12 months to start. Make sure you have very good legal insurance. If a tenant refuses to leave when you want your house back it can take months to get them out. A good insurance company can do all of that for you.

Not sure where you are as some have mentioned Scotland. I cant comment on the laws up there but in England, it's not really that complex. I manage my own & have learned a lot over the last few years. If you take on an agent to manage the property, they will advise on whats needed in terms of smoke alarms, gas safety etc. That said, read through everything, especially their terms & conditions. I had one agent that had small print that they would swap all the utilities, even though they weer just on a tenant find only. They get back-handers from the energy companies. That caused all kind of problems.

If you're thinking of managing yourself, from a yacht somewhere, forget it. Use an agent. The one piece of advice on agents is to stay as far away from big chains as possible. Even what appears as a local agent may actually be owned by another big company. A local one or two shop guy will charge you more but you can be more confident. Also see if you can get any recommendations from people you know. Having said that you will only really know what they are like once you've been with them for a while.

One way rather than a rental could be to look into airbnb. You'd need someone to manage the property & it would have to be suitable.

 

[chrishscorp]

I'm not sure what carrying out an inspection has got to do with the actual tenancy period? And what is it that means that 3 clear months notice is required?

With an English Assured Shorthold Tenancy, only 2 months notice are required once any fixed term has ended, (or notice 2 months before the end of any fixed term). Once/if a fixed term has ended, the tenancy becomes periodic and 2 months notice are required.

Agreed on the state that some properties can be left in, and the fact that the rent can stop at any time after a tenant has moved in, and the fact that you cant just throw somebody out... you need to go through a long and laborious legal process.

Yes, having a senior moment, it was 2 months before tennancy period ends, inspection missed by a day so that would then add on a month if they wished to give notice for tennants to quit. I presume that in the contract that was signed periodic inspections set out and tied to notice period.

 

[OceanSprint]

Just to add fire and carbon monoxide detectors must be hard wired in. At least in Scotland in rented property.

 

[webcraft]

.
Let me know what solution you find Wully, we have the same problem. A house sitter might be better.

- W