Reply With QuoteHim: "I'm a bit skint can I just pay you the rent next month"
You: "sure, no problem mate"
And then it begins.
Moving house shortly and, to make the world easier with chains etc, am remortgaging Beaunidle Towers as part of the deposit on New Beaunidle Towers. Kind of need to do this as we have a very narrow window to move and can't risk chain collapse.
Anyway, a very good mate of mine, ex Welsh Guards and best of all OCD about cleaning, wants to rent my existing house at asking rent.
Seems best of all worlds right? He's a professional guy with a salary and a daughter who is friends with mine.
Am I risking a poostorm or have you done similar without problems? I know there are a few Landlords on here.
Cheers
Simon
Him: "I'm a bit skint can I just pay you the rent next month"
You: "sure, no problem mate"
And then it begins.
Done it a few times, never had a problem. Quite the opposite. Mates made a social effort to leave the place in better condition than how they found it. If you can trust them, why not?
I would say that you know him better then any of us here.If you think he is a good guy then you should not have an issue. Do the usual thing.One month in advance and a small one off charge that will be refundable when he/you decide to end the agreement and you are happy that he has looked after the place properly.
Last edited by itsgotournameonit; 28th March 2015 at 00:30.
the fact you have doubt says it all.
No real up side to this. You can get a Tennant elsewhere, easily enough, he could rent somewhere else for same money. Downsides are many, as above, takes piss with rent, if it goes sour, lost rent for you, loss of a friend, daughter loses her friend. I'd avoid, but now it's been put on the cards, could now cause problems to turn him down. Never mix business and friendships, renting is a business.
Even if all goes well it could still cause issues with the daughters friendship, 'me and my daddy are your landlord'
Brighty
Last edited by Brighty; 28th March 2015 at 00:38.
That's it, when I first started renting houses I rented a room in my house to a mate who had just split with his wife, the lad had a decent job and eventually took me for 6 months rent, at the time only £1000 but hey life goes on, the best way to assess such risks is toss a coin and choose heads or tails,Originally Posted by itsgotournameonit
Many years back when I was in a bit of a fix I rented my best mates flat. He did me a deal on the rent and I looked after his gaff until he sold it. Never had a problem and will always be grateful to him for helping me out.
If he's a good mate he'll make sure everything goes ok to keep your friendship.
It would all depend on how 'good' a mate he was.....
In my opinion it would be a risk, if you can rent it to someone else, that's what I would do.
Don't mix business and pleasure.
Not quite the same but I rented a room out to a mate once. We no longer speak.
My colleague has just put the finishing touches to about 30k worth of renovations, after renting his flat to his sister and BIL.
If you fancy risking your friendship as well as thousands of pounds in lost rent then go ahead.
I don't employ mates nor would I rent property to them. Keep these two things seperate from friendship.
Bad idea. I won't go into details but lets just say I won't be renting to a 'mate' ever again.
As has been mentioned, it's a business.
All the downsides being mentioned are the same downsides from normal renting, at least you know the guy going in and as you say, he's professional, so by the sounds of it, would have a lot to lose if any negative financial feedback was given, especially if he's still in a military type job.
It's a test of your friendship really; if he's a true friend then he'll respect you and your property and you'll have no problems.
If not then he clearly doesn't see you as a friend and you've actually lost nothing in terms of friendship.
If you do go down this road, get him to sign a contract like any other else - the horror stories I have had that start with "because we were mates we agreed on a handshake and did no paperwork..."
Renting to a friend is like lending a mate some money. Worst case is that they don't pay you back and you take the hit, or you lose a friend. There's not really an upside from your point of view.
Having said that I would rent to my 'best' friend because I've known him since we were ~7yo and trust him 100%. Any thing less (or family!!) and you're taking a big risk. What if the daughter has a a friend round or a party and something gets really damaged? It's just awkward for you both.
As said above , is he just a mate or a best mate ? I would rent to one if my best mates no question as they would never take the piss, as I would never to them.
Cheers..
Jase
I had more problems and hassle renting to a friend than anyone else, I´ve been renting properties for about 15 years now.
Whats his wife like ?
No downside at all.................if you treat himlike any other tenant. Get deposit, put tenancy agreement in place etc. You might save a couple of quid on referencing and tenant find fee too.
All of my friends are (known to be) more trustworthy than a stranger so I'd say there is an upside?
I certainyl would provided s/he understands the same 'rules' apply.
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No downside at all.................if you treat himlike any other tenant. Get deposit, put tenancy agreement in place etc. You might save a couple of quid on referencing and tenant find fee too.
All of my friends are (known to be) more trustworthy than a stranger so I'd say there is an upside?
I certainyl would provided s/he understands the same 'rules' apply.
Don't mix money and friends is always a good rule to follow
I learned a pretty hard and expensive lesson when a friend of mine built me an extension. I have never mixed business and friendship since.
A difficult one. If he's a really good mate you wouldn't want to risk souring the friendship. If he's not such a good mate there's no telling he'd be any more reliable than a stranger.
Money and mates can be a bad combination, but I guess you have to go with your own instincts. Getting a non-paying tenant out isn`t straightforward and it would be a whole lot more difficult if the tenant was a friend.
Paul
:)
As said treat it like you would with any tenant and all should be ok, make it clear as crystal from the off that this is business agreement and done, get a tenancy agreement put together signed by everyone, i rent a house to a cousin, and parents rent another house from me after selling up.
My husband has been renting his first house to one of his friends for the last 25 years without incident. The rent is paid every Saturday without fail. My husband does not bother the tenant and the tenant never bothers my husband. All the testing is done annually (gas i think) and the last time my husband entered the property was 17 years ago and that was to have a beer with his friend after an evening out. Good luck.
Thanks all, really appreciate all the advice.
I think that I will rent to the mate (have known him well for a good five years) but will also very solidly 'business' it with full contracts and escrow deposit. I don't see a problem with that - worst case it goes pear shaped and I lose a friend, but from a business perspective I'm covered and, as said above, he's at least pre-vetted.
Cheers again!
Plus, an OCD cleaner - where am I going to find another one of those?
I rented off my mate for 3 yrs and I kept better care of it than I did my own house. It's not about whether he's yr mate or not it's about if someone can be trusted
Here haha -
http://www.ocduk.org/support-forums
Only you can judge this, but remember if things go south it will be worse as you are dealing with a friend.
If neither you or your mate are dicks, you'll be fine.
Sounds like a good tenant, however I take out non payment rent protection insurance so I can sleep soundly and not worry about non payment issues
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