Property related questions answered
What level of investment should I make when refurbishing to rent?
I inherited a house which I want to let, most likely to NUI staff/students as it's minutes from a university. It's 1950s and has not been upgraded since the 1970s and it will need a complete revamp and new fittings - central heating, double glazing, kitchen, bathroom, top-to-bottom decoration, and so on. (It was rewired in 2000). I expect to live there in five years time or so.
I know all the standard advice on neutral colours etc, but my dilemma is the level of investment I should make in this refurbishment given that the people who live there may not care too much about looking after it. What should my priorities be? Any advice that you can give would be most appreciated.
Your priorities should be heating and double glazing - they'll last longer than your tenants. Central heating is a standard now in the rental market - without it, the rent you'll be able to achieve will be lower and double glazing will increase your house's attractiveness to renters who will be keen to keep their heating bills down.
Renting does mean a great deal of wear and tear and it's likely that you'll want to redo the bathroom and kitchen again when you move in in five years time. So don't re-fit these rooms to your taste, instead look for kitchen units that will look good and last in the medium term and for appliances that will last that time too. Tile the floor in the bathroom, it's the most serviceable option. In the kitchen go for good quality, neutral lino.
Your floorboards will be disrupted by installation of central heating so this would be a good time to sand and varnish your boards where possible. It's a look that's appealing for renters and you can always cover them up when you move in if you don't like them.
Consider spending some money on the garden in order to make it low maintenance, eg a patio area, gravel, evergreens, and so on. You can put in the lease that the tenants have to do the garden but they are unlikely to be too bothered and your house may soon start to look unkempt, something that will infuriate the neighbours which won't help when you eventually move in.
As a landlord you can claim expenses against your taxable profit such as depreciation (but not purchase) of furniture and equipment, maintenance, legal fees etc, so make sure to keep the relevant receipts and consider taking professional tax advice when filling out your tax returns.
How can we secure a house while waiting on possible Budget changes?
We want to put a deposit on a (second-hand) house now to secure it, but we are nervous of actually going through with the sale until we see what stamp duty changes happen in the Budget. How do we do this?
The first thing to note is that a deposit does not secure a property, it simply notes your desire to buy. It's not legally binding.
In a private treaty sale you can put whatever closing date you wish - one that both sides are agreeable to.
The solicitor will put it in the sale conditions and sellers are now so thrilled to have a sale agreed they are usually amenable to the buyers' requests in terms of closings.
It's also worth noting that there are no indications to date that there will be any stamp duty changes in the Budget.
Send your queries to Property Questions, The Irish Times, The Irish Times Building, 24-28 Tara Street, Dublin 2 or email propertyquestions@irish-times.ie. Unfortunately, it is not possible to respond to all questions. The above is a representative sample of queries received. This column is a readers' service and is not intended to replace professional advice. No individual correspondence will be entered into.
