Advice about renting out flat

Faith

My flat in Edinburgh will be empty over the summer and I want to rent it out. I can't be arsed doing it with an agency because it's a student flat and would require too much effort to get it to professional standards. So I'm going to rent it out to students. It's a really large 2-bed flat in one of the best neighbourhoods. There's a huge living room and kitchen/dining room along with the 2 bedrooms. All in all, it's worth a lot. I'm not going to hike up the price in August for the festival either.

Here's my problem: My friend needs a room for the summer and is interested in my flat. He said he'll sublet the second room and look after all that. However, he's not willing to pay more than £325 for a room per month (£650 in total per month). That's not bad, but I know I could get up to £400 per room if I wanted, given the rest of the flat (£800 per month). Should I rent it to my friend, knowing him and trusting him not to destroy the place too much, or should I look for other students I don't know who are willing to pay more?

The_Conductor

Faith to be perfectly honest- if I were in your position, I'd bite the bullet and accept the smaller sum from your friend, for two reasons- 1) its a short term arrangement, while the difference is quite sizeable, given that its only over the 2-3 months, its not a massive amount overall and 2) you can't really put a price on feeling secure about your tenants- its far better to trust the person who you are leaving your flat and possessions with, than having doubts in your head for the whole time you're away over the summer.

Maybe you could sit down with him and meet him midway?

Jo King

Better the devil you know! You are talking about a sum of £450 in total. Imagine what a fairly small amount of damage might cost to rectify, stained flooring, broken appliances, damage to sanitary or electrical fittings, damaged furniture etc. What if someone agrees to pay the higher rent and simply fails to pay up after moving in?
If your friend is genuine and cant afford more than £325 and is trustworthy, then that is the person you should deal with.

Faith

Thanks for the replies, guys. I get the feeling that I'll get bitten royally in the ass by being greedy alright! I'll try and come to a suitable arrangement with my friend so.

Victor

See what you can get for the other room. If its more than £400, you might try to bargain up your friend or indeed rent out the whole place.

If its less than £400, then his price isn't too far off.

For £325 give him the less desirable room / second choice.

Are you sure you will have a friend at the end of the summer? :eek: