paisleylass Posted May 7, 2011 Share Posted May 7, 2011 Hi all I've seen loads of reference here to letting out your home back in the UK rather than sell. I'm curious as to whether many folk have managed to stay with their lender with consent to let, had to switch to a buy to let mortgage, or just kept it quiet and chanced it? I have spoken to our lender First Direct who will grant no more than 12 months consent to let, and don't do a buy to let mortgage of any kind. I told them politely where to stick it. What are we supposed to do, leave it empty? I have banked with them for nearly 20 years, have current, savings and credit card with them and have conducted my accounts immaculately - that's First Direct's words, not mine! But seems you get nowt for loyalty these days. So looks like we have to find a new lender and pay double the interest, no offsetting and a hefty arrangement fee ( Luckily we have enough equity for most BTL deals I've seen, but a revaluation might scupper that. It'd be good to hear from anyone who's found a great BTL deal, or even switched to a lender who grants consent to let for a reasonable fee. Also, who is a good landlord insurance provider? Our current building and contants deal is great - £15 a month - but up for renewal in June so I might look to switch to landlords then, though we're not leaving until Autumn. In fact it's a tonic hearing of anyone's experience with renting their home at all! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smirfyduo Posted May 7, 2011 Share Posted May 7, 2011 I do know someone who could not afford a BTL mortgage, so is just letting their house out without telling their lender. Their reasoning is that they will make sure the mortgage is always paid, so what possible reason could the lender have for having to try to contact them - if they have no reason to contact them, then how will they find out the house is being let. It does seem to be tough to get BTL mortgages due to the equity requirements and the current housing market. For landlords' insurance, we use direct line. We did a comparison on confused.com and they were the best value for money. Also - look at the British Gas home owners insurance package. Covers all gas and electrics, they do you annual certifications as part of the package, and it covers 24 hour call outs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paisleylass Posted May 7, 2011 Author Share Posted May 7, 2011 Thanks for the info! Because all our accounts are linked to the mortgage I fear it would be obvious we were away (no wages going in, international money transfers etc), plus I was daft enough to seek consent to let so there's probably a note on the mortgage account of that. No chance of chancing it really! I'd rather get it all above board anyway, and not worry about things going badly wrong in our absence - tenants being kicked out, house repossessed - shudder. Actually we know someone who does British Gas safety checks, might have a word with him and see if we can do a deal! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paisleylass Posted May 28, 2011 Author Share Posted May 28, 2011 After yesterday's news about house prices in Scotland reverting to 2007 levels (when we bought!), and seeing that houses round here are mysteriously going under offer shortly after being marketed, I think we're just gonna sell up :oD This apparent pick up in the local market has come at a very, very good time *fingers crossed* Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
belaroy Posted May 28, 2011 Share Posted May 28, 2011 I have thought the same about letting my house out and not telling my mortgage co, but thought if I do get landlords insurance and something happened like a house fire I bet the insurance co would find a way not to pay like we don't have the correct mortgage in place. I just wouldn't put it past them- quick to take your money but not so quick to stick to their end of the bargain... I have heard insurance not being paid out on chimney fires as they wernt cleaned regularly etc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
S92LAME Posted May 28, 2011 Share Posted May 28, 2011 a friend of ours put her house up for sale recently and was sold within a week for full asking price. on the market for offers over 89k and got the 95k they wanted. also my gran died a couple of months ago and her house was provisionally sold before going on the open market but no offer was accepted at that time. it went on the market properly and within 2 weeks has sold for full valuation. so i think the market in scotland seems to be picking up a bit. there are buyers out there and will buy for sensible money. the houses round here that have been for sale for a long time are asking rediculous prices. prob peak 2008 prices to get their money back. where i work though, Aberdeen, hasnt slowed at all and is as expensive as ever! so still cant buy in up there! We want to rent our house when we go to Aus. we can get consent to let for £100. but since i havent investigated further as yet, i dont know if there are any restrictions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest atticus Posted May 28, 2011 Share Posted May 28, 2011 Hi - I had exactly the same issue. I was upfront about everything, primarily because I was told if they do find you you have been letting you can potentially be blacklisted for mortgages and I didn't think it was worth the risk. Especially as we were going to be overseas and if there was a catastrophic incident, fire etc, then there might be insurance problems etc. Provider told us we could only do 12 mths so looked for other options.This was a few weeks before we left and we started to fall foul of the Aus govt regulation on selling financial services to an Australian resident ie a Uk provider cannot sell a mortgage to an Australian resident. Finally wrote a begging letter to our provider saying we were not letting for investment purposes just that we wanted the house for our family return to in 4 years. So they agreed to us letting - charged £107, added 0.5% to the interest rate and stipulated a rental figure, 125% of the interest.It does mean we now have to transfer £600 back every month to cover the principal on the mortgage but on a BTL mortgage we should have been doing that anyway and at current exchange rates the $ figure is not so much. All worked out OK in the but a bit aggrieved we had to go through a lot of worry just because I tried to do the right thing. We got landlords ins through Homelet. Good Luck Atticus Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paisleylass Posted May 28, 2011 Author Share Posted May 28, 2011 I think ultimately the aim is to be debt-free, and not worry about a property we own on the other side of the world. We've come to the way of thinking that we could stand a small loss on what we paid 4 years ago, though it's heartbreaking that we also spent well over 10k on improvements including replacing the central heating that broke down after a few months. At the end of the day it's less about money than quality of life, and even without a chunk of money left over after the mortgage is paid off we should more than get by. There are greedy folk around here selling at silly high prices, and they are the only houses that remain on Rightmove week after week. We'll just be realistic with the selling price and with the way the market's looking, hopefully shift the damn thing before we even need to get the estate agents to facilitate viewings ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whichway Posted May 28, 2011 Share Posted May 28, 2011 ooh. don't know anything about house letting or that. But just wanted to say I am from Paisley too. Sorry, I know it's not related but I couldn't help it.:biggrin: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paisleylass Posted May 28, 2011 Author Share Posted May 28, 2011 ooh. don't know anything about house letting or that. But just wanted to say I am from Paisley too. Sorry, I know it's not related but I couldn't help it.:biggrin: Oooh hello! Are you still in Paisley or left for Oz?! We should be in Brisso by October :yes: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whichway Posted May 28, 2011 Share Posted May 28, 2011 I am in Oz live in Gold Coast!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paisleylass Posted May 28, 2011 Author Share Posted May 28, 2011 I am in Oz live in Gold Coast!!! Coolio, hopefully we'll be down there some weekends once settled. Bet you're missing Paisley! I know I won't. Actually I will miss the annual beer festival - highlight of the year in this town! Deffo won't miss the many betting shops and dodgy pubs :jimlad: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest ck0209 Posted May 28, 2011 Share Posted May 28, 2011 hi - we are with the Nationwide and just received our letter this week advising that we have been given approval to let our property to 2014. There was an admin fee of £50 which you can add to your mortgage or make a one off payment. It was a relatively straightforward process - 1 form to complete - and its taken 10 days for the approval to come through. There will be a 1.5% increase to our mortgage rate if the property continues to be let after 6 months but as we are on the variable rate just now this will still be cheaper than taking a fixed rate. The risk is that if the base rates start to rise we have no option to fix for the duration of the approval period - its a chance we have taken after all you can always increase your rent to try and balance it out. We also took out joint buildings & contents with Nwide too and the plan is to inform them nearer the time of a change to the policy in terms of renting. The Nwide advised us to do this. Next steps - apply to be landlord and get our house on the rental market! Hope this is of some help to you. :cute: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whichway Posted May 28, 2011 Share Posted May 28, 2011 Cool. Do I miss Paisley???? I miss Glasgow sometimes. Sometime when you are here we can meet. I am coming home for holiday too before October if my mum lets me out of her sight maybe we can meet then too.:biggrin: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paisleylass Posted May 28, 2011 Author Share Posted May 28, 2011 Cheers ck, although my focus has shifted to selling we may still need to rent out if things don't go our way. Unfortunately First Direct are less flexible than Nationwide, but hey ho. I figure if we lose a few £k in selling, we'd probably lose that much switching to most lenders' BTL deals anyway heheh. Luckily we can afford a few months leaving the house empty and paying interest only. Whichway, of course I was kidding that you must miss Paisley ;o) I can't wait to escape this ned-ridden rat hole heheh, I only moved here to be with the husband! I like the town hall and Abbey and that's it! Oh, and the Last Post. Sure, would be great to meet up and compare notes whether here or Goldie. Gonna friend you now... ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest destinationoz Posted May 28, 2011 Share Posted May 28, 2011 I'd be interested to know more from anyone who decided not to tell the mortgage company? Happy for PM replies if preferred... Just interested in both sides... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Suz2011 Posted May 28, 2011 Share Posted May 28, 2011 I am in the same situation. The house has been up for sale since January with no offers, thinking of renting it out. The only thing is I need to remortgage to release some equity to help with the move and set up costs. Do I remortage now and then change to interest only in a few months, I would need to tie into a two year deal I think. It's unfair that they would change you to but to let mortgage where the rates are unfavourable. I spoke to one letting agency who said it is not a legal requirement to tell the bank. Just need to be registered as a landlord and have proper insurance. The only thing is both our wages are paid into the same bank. It would only be a matter of time before they found out. I have a few letting agencies coming out next week and also going to speak to financial advisor. I will post my findings. Good Luck to everyone, hopefully the market will pick up soon. suz:arghh: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest milliesmum Posted May 31, 2011 Share Posted May 31, 2011 Just wanted to add that I rented my house out in Scotland without notifying anyone. I just kept quiet and told landlord insurance my bank knew what was happening. My agents found excellent tenants which is just as well as it was a large show home type house. Two and a half years later, all is still well. (now heads off to find a piece of wood to touch) I have no regrets...so far. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Suz2011 Posted May 31, 2011 Share Posted May 31, 2011 Just wanted to add that I rented my house out in Scotland without notifying anyone. I just kept quiet and told landlord insurance my bank knew what was happening. My agents found excellent tenants which is just as well as it was a large show home type house. Two and a half years later, all is still well. (now heads off to find a piece of wood to touch) I have no regrets...so far. Hi sorry, I dont understand the post. Did you tell the bank or just take out landlords insurance. What letting agent did you use if you dont mind me asking? Thanks in advance Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest milliesmum Posted May 31, 2011 Share Posted May 31, 2011 Hi sorry, I dont understand the post. Did you tell the bank or just take out landlords insurance. What letting agent did you use if you dont mind me asking? Thanks in advance Although I made a general query at the bank, after hearing all the rigmarole and costs involved to change our mortgage, I did not follow it up. So the bank was never told. Nor have there been any queries even though they must see internet banking taking place from this side of the world, not to mention the rent being paid in every month. I used a reputable local letting/estate agency to rent the house out. I interviewed about 5 letting agencies before choosing one. I chose the one more interested in finding the best tenants, as opposed to those who only wanted to tell me how much rent they could get for the property. But it was our choice to do it this way. It is not a recommendation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
belaroy Posted May 31, 2011 Share Posted May 31, 2011 Just wanted to add that I rented my house out in Scotland without notifying anyone. I just kept quiet and told landlord insurance my bank knew what was happening. My agents found excellent tenants which is just as well as it was a large show home type house. Two and a half years later, all is still well. (now heads off to find a piece of wood to touch) I have no regrets...so far. I don't understand why you even bother with insurance as you have lied to them about your bank knowing about it being rented out !! There is no chance of them paying out if something major happened. You may as well save the insurance money... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest destinationoz Posted May 31, 2011 Share Posted May 31, 2011 I don't understand why you even bother with insurance as you have lied to them about your bank knowing about it being rented out !! There is no chance of them paying out if something major happened. You may as well save the insurance money... That sounds harsh .... Milliesmum did say she had landlords insurance so I don't see why that would be invalid ... either way I appreciate her honesty to hear the other side - it is her choice and not for us to make judgement in my opinion Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
belaroy Posted May 31, 2011 Share Posted May 31, 2011 That sounds harsh .... Milliesmum did say she had landlords insurance so I don't see why that would be invalid ... either way I appreciate her honesty to hear the other side - it is her choice and not for us to make judgement in my opinion I appreciate they are being honest but insurance companies will find the slightest reason not to have to pay out in the event of a claim. Absolutely its their choice to tell the bank or insurance company about the change in circumstances. best of luck to them , just hope nothing happens. isn't that why we take out insurance policies ?? to reduce risk of finiancial liabilities on our own bank accounts. I wasn't trying to be harsh but I suspect they worked mighty hard to buy their house then harder still to make the big move.. then to gamble it all for a little more paperwork thats all...... not to mention they would be breaking laws by doing it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jamesnparry Posted May 31, 2011 Share Posted May 31, 2011 I run my own lettings and property business here.....and hope to do the 457 route next year to brisbane. Its a tough call staying quiet, as you have already kind of gave them an indication of what your intentions are. My personal opinion is that as long as the mortgage is paid, and the property maintained, and your address does not change which gives them concern ( have post office do forwarding to your parents or family)- or get agent to make regular visit to collect and forward your post. I would consider a medium term goal of changing the mortgage to a buy to let with yorkshire or clydesbank bank, as they are owned by NAB, which if they know you both sides of the planet, it would be better. Silly to sell when you can rent it, and then decide if your staying, sell to act as a deposit for property in auz when time comes, or if things go wrong and your heading back, at least you'll be in same situation as you went, but with a better sun tan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.