But thats my point, if you need to claim on housing insurance then there is a likelihood that they will find out.
I don't agree with them getting extra money for nothing, it's just how things work!
Buying our first house together - Third person as a lodger? Thoughts appreciated!
- Thread starter Bromhead
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But thats my point, if you need to claim on housing insurance then there is a likelihood that they will find out.
I don't agree with them getting extra money for nothing, it's just how things work!
Man of Honour
still needs declaring though doesn't it?
I may be thinking about people renting out their properties rather than live in lodgers though
Associate
What has my house insurance got to do with the mortgage? Data protection act would mean that information is kept seperate. I don't inform my mortgage company if i claim, unless the house burns down.
Man of Honour
True - or the amount may be different, I forget.
Definitely worth checking with house insurance. If you have contents insurance too, and a lodger then I found that many companies will not cover the contents (your contents) for accidental damage if you have a lodger, and not for theft at all unless there is physical evidence of a break-in.
Also their contents wouldn't be covered, anyway. (in most cases)>
Soldato
Yep, I think the amount has changed so it's probably worth checking.
1. Do you think having a lodger is a good idea and if you were in the same position, would you?
No, not if I could comfortably pay the bills as you say you can. Fair enough if you're strapped for cash, or desperately saving for something, but personally, my house wouldn't feel like my own if I had some randomer living there. Nor would I want the associated stress. It would be more understandable if you were buying alone, but I think it's even more odd that your partner will be there too. I also shared houses at uni, but there's no way I would want to continue the shared culture!
2. In regards to the price, again do you think it is a fair price when considering all bills are also included.
Seems very cheap, but I guess that depends on where you live.
3. Anything else you think might be important
- You'd probably need some kind of contract between you and the ledgers.
- Might affect your home/contents insurance.
- You'll have to worry about your tenant being an absolute psycho!
No, not if I could comfortably pay the bills as you say you can. Fair enough if you're strapped for cash, or desperately saving for something, but personally, my house wouldn't feel like my own if I had some randomer living there. Nor would I want the associated stress. It would be more understandable if you were buying alone, but I think it's even more odd that your partner will be there too. I also shared houses at uni, but there's no way I would want to continue the shared culture!
2. In regards to the price, again do you think it is a fair price when considering all bills are also included.
Seems very cheap, but I guess that depends on where you live.
3. Anything else you think might be important
- You'd probably need some kind of contract between you and the ledgers.
- Might affect your home/contents insurance.
- You'll have to worry about your tenant being an absolute psycho!
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Soldato
I currently rent out a room to a lodger and it will be a year since i did it come March.
Now I had been living on my own for 10 years and even then I haven't found it too bad living with a lodger.
An excellent link I found and read is www.lodgerlandlord.co.uk and then read their 21 days of tips blog as its a great source of info.
I would think you could up your rent to £350 inc bills as this gets you just under the amount that is tax free, and that is still an awesome rate to have free run of a house imo. The amount you can earn is £4,250 before having to pay tax btw.
Draw up a lodgers contract as per that link I have given as this can save hassle in the long run. Take a deposit of 1 months rent just in case they decide to trash the room. And also draw up a list of do's and dont's so you are both aware what is and isn't allowed. For instance you are happy for them to bring people over or you are not etc.
You should notify the mortgage company as it's usually in the t&cs, don't tell them and risk breaking your t&c's. All I had to do is fill in a form and get the lodger to sign it, no fee involved. And you will have to get insurance that covers having a lodger as if they trash your house then on a normal insurance policy you may not be covered.
Oh and also if you have any gas in the house, boiler, cooker etc you need to get a Gas Safety Certificate every year. I got mine for £60.
Think that's about it but that link will cover everything.
Now I had been living on my own for 10 years and even then I haven't found it too bad living with a lodger.
An excellent link I found and read is www.lodgerlandlord.co.uk and then read their 21 days of tips blog as its a great source of info.
I would think you could up your rent to £350 inc bills as this gets you just under the amount that is tax free, and that is still an awesome rate to have free run of a house imo. The amount you can earn is £4,250 before having to pay tax btw.
Draw up a lodgers contract as per that link I have given as this can save hassle in the long run. Take a deposit of 1 months rent just in case they decide to trash the room. And also draw up a list of do's and dont's so you are both aware what is and isn't allowed. For instance you are happy for them to bring people over or you are not etc.
You should notify the mortgage company as it's usually in the t&cs, don't tell them and risk breaking your t&c's. All I had to do is fill in a form and get the lodger to sign it, no fee involved. And you will have to get insurance that covers having a lodger as if they trash your house then on a normal insurance policy you may not be covered.
Oh and also if you have any gas in the house, boiler, cooker etc you need to get a Gas Safety Certificate every year. I got mine for £60.
Think that's about it but that link will cover everything.
Soldato
We had someone stay with us for a few months (more as a favour to him) but he insisted on paying for the room (£10 a day) and had full use of the house.
I have to say the money came in real handy and we were able to do a lot of work to the house with that money.
I would say, however, that it may not always work renting to someone you know. We were lucky with my friend as he enjoyed cooking and was happy to make us a meal every now and then as well as knowing to keep himself out of the way to give us a break - others aren't so considerate and I'm sure friendships have been damaged in a lodger scenario.
Having something in writing about guests coming over is important as well as I could imagine that could get out of hand depending on the person. Also overnight guests as well...
I have to say the money came in real handy and we were able to do a lot of work to the house with that money.
I would say, however, that it may not always work renting to someone you know. We were lucky with my friend as he enjoyed cooking and was happy to make us a meal every now and then as well as knowing to keep himself out of the way to give us a break - others aren't so considerate and I'm sure friendships have been damaged in a lodger scenario.
Having something in writing about guests coming over is important as well as I could imagine that could get out of hand depending on the person. Also overnight guests as well...
I'm not long out of Uni and due to the passing of my father was able to buy myself a 4 bedroom property.
I always planned to have lodgers to supplement my income. I had my first arrive 2 months after I moved in and recently got another once I had cleared one of the spare rooms. My second lodger goes home most weekends and they're both pretty quiet and we all like our own space.
Best thing I ever did and easy money really, £410 per room, bills inc. There re lots of lodging websites about with rooms for grab or people looking for rooms, so you can 'screen' through candidates if you like.
I'd draw up some house rules and an agreement. Make sure it's a lodging agreement and not a tenancy agreement.
£4250 of income from lodging is tax free too.
In other words, yes, and see AFK AMtrix's post
I always planned to have lodgers to supplement my income. I had my first arrive 2 months after I moved in and recently got another once I had cleared one of the spare rooms. My second lodger goes home most weekends and they're both pretty quiet and we all like our own space.
Best thing I ever did and easy money really, £410 per room, bills inc. There re lots of lodging websites about with rooms for grab or people looking for rooms, so you can 'screen' through candidates if you like.
I'd draw up some house rules and an agreement. Make sure it's a lodging agreement and not a tenancy agreement.
£4250 of income from lodging is tax free too.
In other words, yes, and see AFK AMtrix's post
Thank you very much for the responses guys! I think having a lodger will be a good step to take, especially as we have some decent friends who living with would be great.
Although we can comfortably pay the mortgage, we will be dumping anywhere up to 14k on the house deposit, then another 4k on bits for the house, solicitors fees, so a lodger and the extra income will be nice to build up our money pile again.
We won't use the extra space, so I really see it as just free money. I will as advised look into getting a contract and talking to my bank about this. I will also have a think about the price per month, if £350 is tax free then that is maybe something to consider.
In terms of who the lodger will be, it will be one of several close friends we have, that we would feel comfortable with and that we've known for years and shared previously with.
Although we can comfortably pay the mortgage, we will be dumping anywhere up to 14k on the house deposit, then another 4k on bits for the house, solicitors fees, so a lodger and the extra income will be nice to build up our money pile again.
We won't use the extra space, so I really see it as just free money. I will as advised look into getting a contract and talking to my bank about this. I will also have a think about the price per month, if £350 is tax free then that is maybe something to consider.
In terms of who the lodger will be, it will be one of several close friends we have, that we would feel comfortable with and that we've known for years and shared previously with.
Soldato
Even if you are sharing with a friend I would still do the contract, deposit and do's and dont's. I know it will probably seem silly as you know your friend, but when it comes to money then things can change. With the contract etc in place you and the lodger have everything covered and hopefully won't have any problems but if you do you have the contract etc to fall back on. I currently rent out my room to a work college and had big reservations about it but its worked out great so it can happen but just because their friends don't let them get away with stuff your not happy with.
I would also say in the contract that a months notice is required on both sides. Now this is just for pure curtousy really, as its your house and if you wanted to could throw them out with 24hrs notice. So just remember that, the lodger has pretty much no rights and you have all the power. If you don't like something tell them, obviously in a nice way to begin but then if it gets really bad, chuck them out!!
I would also say in the contract that a months notice is required on both sides. Now this is just for pure curtousy really, as its your house and if you wanted to could throw them out with 24hrs notice. So just remember that, the lodger has pretty much no rights and you have all the power. If you don't like something tell them, obviously in a nice way to begin but then if it gets really bad, chuck them out!!
Caporegime
Your mind changes to how people treat a property when it is your own property.
Make sure whoever you rent to are decent people who will respect you and your things.
Friendships can be lost by allowing people to lodge for money!
Make sure whoever you rent to are decent people who will respect you and your things.
Friendships can be lost by allowing people to lodge for money!
Bromhead - if you want me to fire you over the house rules & agreement I drew up for my lodgers let me know. E-mail in trust.
Regardless of how good a friend they are set some ground rules for cleanliness, noise, parking, pet peeves etc. Take a deposit too.
More likely than not whatever you draw up won't hold up in a court however chances are the other party doesn't know that and isn't prepared to shell out to find out if it does!
It's all just a precaution really but you'll kick yourself if you didn't do it if something kicks off.
Regardless of how good a friend they are set some ground rules for cleanliness, noise, parking, pet peeves etc. Take a deposit too.
More likely than not whatever you draw up won't hold up in a court however chances are the other party doesn't know that and isn't prepared to shell out to find out if it does!
It's all just a precaution really but you'll kick yourself if you didn't do it if something kicks off.
Soldato
From speaking to guy at work about his mortgage and wanting to have a tenant, they don't like you renting a room to someone using a formal contract because if you default on your mortgage and the bank repossess your house they have difficulty evicting the tenant due to the rental contract.
me and the wife own our own home, And i can safely say i would NEVER have a friend as a lodger...
We value our Privacy a lot, we both come home after a 8-10 hour day and want to chill out in our own space and do what we like, I walk about in the nude and can be a right slob at times!
yes the money would be nice, But as we don't have a mortgage we can live very happy with the money we have coming in and don't need more.
Then again it all depends on the friend.... The only friend i would ever think about living with is someone i would then say no to, simply because he doesn't care about anyone's property unless its his own...(leaves rubbish in my office, put teabags on the kitchen counter after use..) To this day he doesn't like it when i entered his parents house!
i say NO
We value our Privacy a lot, we both come home after a 8-10 hour day and want to chill out in our own space and do what we like, I walk about in the nude and can be a right slob at times!
yes the money would be nice, But as we don't have a mortgage we can live very happy with the money we have coming in and don't need more.
Then again it all depends on the friend.... The only friend i would ever think about living with is someone i would then say no to, simply because he doesn't care about anyone's property unless its his own...(leaves rubbish in my office, put teabags on the kitchen counter after use..) To this day he doesn't like it when i entered his parents house!
i say NO
+1 on the be careful about the house insurance thing.
I had someone stay with me for a few weeks in between flats, during that time i was robbed.
There was obviously either forced entry or an attempt to make it look like forced entry (i was always suspicious for various reasons) as the kitchen windows were put through, the police came and fingerprinted and gave me a crime number and all that.
However the insurance company refused to pay out on the basis i had someone living with me that i hadn't declared to them.
I had someone stay with me for a few weeks in between flats, during that time i was robbed.
There was obviously either forced entry or an attempt to make it look like forced entry (i was always suspicious for various reasons) as the kitchen windows were put through, the police came and fingerprinted and gave me a crime number and all that.
However the insurance company refused to pay out on the basis i had someone living with me that i hadn't declared to them.
It's worth notifying your insurance company and mortgage provider. My mortgage provider didn't care as long as I wasn't letting out the property and was still resident myself.
My insurance company updated my policy which made no change to the premium.
Worth doing for peace of mind. They wouldn't stop be doing what I want to do but ultimately you don't want to be throwing money into a void policy.
My insurance company updated my policy which made no change to the premium.
Worth doing for peace of mind. They wouldn't stop be doing what I want to do but ultimately you don't want to be throwing money into a void policy.
If you can comfortably afford to repay the mortgage and bills each month, e.g. having disposable cash each month, and actually affording to save - which many don't seem to do then I really wouldn't consider getting a lodger.
First proper house with your significant other, especially when you're not renting is an exciting chapter in your life - why let a third wheel ruin it?
First proper house with your significant other, especially when you're not renting is an exciting chapter in your life - why let a third wheel ruin it?
Am I missing something here? You split have the mortgage? Is that the same as charging a set rate for rent and bills etc on top?
I think what bluepower is saying if his mortgage was £500 per month and the bills were £100 per month.
Then he would put £300 towards the total cost of house and bills and the lodger would pay the same.
Then he would put £300 towards the total cost of house and bills and the lodger would pay the same.