Moving abroad and will need to let my house: Letting agents

Hi all,

I'm moving abroad for 4 years and I'm hoping to rent out my house in Dublin while I'm away.

Have read quite a bit here about letting agents and as a result I'm quite concerned about having to use them! But as I'm going to be abroad I couldn't manage day to day stuff and so i don't think I have any choice.

Has anyone any advice about Good letting agents or success stories with them? I'm sure there must be some out there!

Thanks,
Mossy

Hi Mossy,

1. Let it yourself.
2. Pitch rent at such a level that you get your choice of good tenants. They do exist.
3. Get a friend or family member to deal with emergency calls. Pay them!
4. Have a list of emergency numbers in case toilet springs a leak. Leave them with tenant and also with person from point 3.
5. Money saved on not using an agent will pay for trip back every so often to check in with tenants/check property.
6. It is easier to set this up than to deal with the problems of a (bad) letting agent and a (bad) tenant.

Main point to remember with a letting agent is that the are rewarded for putting a body in your property, not for getting you a high quality tenant!

Best of luck!

I agree that it might make more sense (in Dublin) to just pay somebody as an emergency-contact person if things go wrong and to collect the rent via bank transfer. Renting to tenants in Ireland can generally be very straight-forward and you could go for years without any calls from the tenant. Rental agencies in Dublin tend to be mediocre at best.

Personally I'd never use a letting agent.

Just a quick point - are you aware of the non-resident letting rules by the Revenue?
If you are a non-resident landlord, your tenant is obliged to retain standard rate tax from your rent and pay this directly to the Revenue unless you have a Revenue "agent" registered.

Estate agents will not do this, and I would reccommend that a family member or friend does this. They will then get a new PPS number as an agent for you, and will have to file tax returns on your behalf each year.

If you want more info PM me.

Thanks everyone for your replies.
I am thinking in light of these, and other bits I've read on the site about letting agents, that to do it myself / have a friend as contact point would be the best thing. This frightens me though as I hate the idea of getting calls during the night about leaking toilets and bulbs blowing! I'm not from Dublin originally and so I don't really know anyone that would be happy to take it on.
Also (probably obviously) I'm not a pro at this game - just that opportunity to work abroad for 4 years came up, and I couldn't refuse it. But my house is 100% mortgaged, or probably 130% at this stage, and I will need somewhere to live when I come back.
If I do bottle it and decide on agents, can anyone recommend a decent one?

Domo - I wasn't aware of that. I will contact you. thanks.

Thanks all.

We moved abroad in 2007 and used a letting agent to manage the property. Whilst they have not been brilliant in making me aware of things such as BER, property tax etc.. they have been good in the general run of the mill stuff such as handling issues around heating, plumbing etc.. and any tenant queries.

Bare in mind - what are you going to do if you get a call at 2:30 in the morning because there is no hot water in your house in Dublin-.

Plus you will be amazed at the type of things that go wrong once you leave the house, since we have left the oil burner has broken down, hob stopped working, washing machine bit the dust, heating element in water cylinder went and other stuff. It was very handy to just get an email from the letting agent regarding the issue and to have them deduct the cost at the end of the month and forward on the invoice (so you can get it back off the tax man later).

Also the tax implications are important to note, it is important that someone in Ireland is responsible for paying the tax on the rent, Revenue demand an Irish resident or company be responsible for this- this is a big thing to ask a friend or family to do. The letting agency do this as part of their service.

PM me if you want details on the company I've used. Like I said, not fantastic, but they have done a decent enough job to have been worth it.