Unoccupied House Questions !!

DoozerT6

A cheap car that is clearly not being moved at all might attract attention also, especially if tax/insurance etc are out of date. I tend to notice if cars in my estate are not being moved for long periods, I'm sure anybody scoping out the area would also notice. You run the risk of the car being stolen or vandalised, and the skangers involved might then just turn their attention to the house.

TSQ

I'd say Airbnb is worth a try, much safer than creating a tenancy which you may have difficulty terminating when you either decide to sell up or return home. I have seen posts on Boards regarding landlords who have offered rolling 1 month tenancies via Airbnb, so it does not necessarily need to be a holiday let to be advertised on Airbnb. In the posts I have seen, the landlord charges the going rate or slightly more, since you will have to pay the electricity and cable tv. You may not get as much rent as a normal tenancy but you do have the security of Airbnb backup and the rent is paid in advance by credit card. As long as you don't roll over the Airbnb rental for more than 6 months (less 1 day) you won't create a permanent tenancy. Do a search on Boards for the posts (can't remember where I saw the post but it was before Christmas). Since you have family in the area, you will have someone to keep an eye on the house while let to Airbnb tenants. A few insurance companies offer holiday home insurance and is only slightly more than domestic insurance.
Alternatively, do you have someone who would occupy the house at weekends so that the house is not unoccupied for more than 30 days and you can get regular insurance?

mrcheez

Something to consider OP if you decide to leave the house empty but want to be able to keep an eye on things is get a Ring doorbell (or similar).

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Ring-8VR1S7-0EU0-Video-Doorbell-Nickel/dp/B0758975BR/

I have one of these and get notified of any movement outside my house no matter where I am on the planet and all activity is continuously recorded and can be viewed later (annual subscription of $30 too for this service)

Would require your internet connection is maintained of course, but worth it for peace of mind.

You can also answer the door using the speaker and pretend you are at home but too busy to come to the door

evolving_doors

Long shot... House swap with place you're going in Canada!

WicklowGyrl

Panjandrums wrote: »

This post has been deleted.

We currently have an alarm on the house but it's not monitored. We will be getting a monitored one installed but just trying to decide which one would be best for us.

WicklowGyrl

mrcheez wrote: »

Something to consider OP if you decide to leave the house empty but want to be able to keep an eye on things is get a Ring doorbell (or similar).

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Ring-8VR1S7-0EU0-Video-Doorbell-Nickel/dp/B0758975BR/

I have one of these and get notified of any movement outside my house no matter where I am on the planet and all activity is continuously recorded and can be viewed later (annual subscription of $30 too for this service)

Would require your internet connection is maintained of course, but worth it for peace of mind.

You can also answer the door using the speaker and pretend you are at home but too busy to come to the door

That's actually a great idea. Thank you.

WicklowGyrl

evolving_doors wrote: »

Long shot... House swap with place you're going in Canada!

I think the odds of someone from Toronto wanting to relocate Wicklow for at least one year might be slim!!

WicklowGyrl

TSQ wrote: »

I'd say Airbnb is worth a try, much safer than creating a tenancy which you may have difficulty terminating when you either decide to sell up or return home. I have seen posts on Boards regarding landlords who have offered rolling 1 month tenancies via Airbnb, so it does not necessarily need to be a holiday let to be advertised on Airbnb. In the posts I have seen, the landlord charges the going rate or slightly more, since you will have to pay the electricity and cable tv. You may not get as much rent as a normal tenancy but you do have the security of Airbnb backup and the rent is paid in advance by credit card. As long as you don't roll over the Airbnb rental for more than 6 months (less 1 day) you won't create a permanent tenancy. Do a search on Boards for the posts (can't remember where I saw the post but it was before Christmas). Since you have family in the area, you will have someone to keep an eye on the house while let to Airbnb tenants. A few insurance companies offer holiday home insurance and is only slightly more than domestic insurance.
Alternatively, do you have someone who would occupy the house at weekends so that the house is not unoccupied for more than 30 days and you can get regular insurance?

We have looked into doing AirBnB in the last few days and I believe it would be too much of a hassle for us. While I have family in the area I think it would be too much of a burden for them to have to deal with it for us. They're more than willing to check on the house once or twice a week for us but I don't want to make it too much work for them. But thank you for your suggestion.

WicklowGyrl

DoozerT6 wrote: »

A cheap car that is clearly not being moved at all might attract attention also, especially if tax/insurance etc are out of date. I tend to notice if cars in my estate are not being moved for long periods, I'm sure anybody scoping out the area would also notice. You run the risk of the car being stolen or vandalised, and the skangers involved might then just turn their attention to the house.

Actually our neighbor has offered to park one of their cars in our drive when they are around.

WicklowGyrl

BrokenArrows wrote: »

OP you could rent one room out in the house. Keep the other bedrooms locked.
The tenant would be a licensee and would not gain full tenancy rights to the property and you could evict them without issues on your return.
Their contract would state they have access to the bedroom, bathroom, kitchen and living room. All other rooms are off limits and they no other person is permitted to live at the address.

You would be renting the room and not the house.
The house remains occupied but you still might need different insurance.
You should also look into buying a cheap car that you can leave in the driveway which will make the house look occupied anyway.

It could be a good idea but my mind see this as being too risky .... i guess being a landlord or whatever is not going to come naturally to me!! Also, our neighbors have offer to park one for their cars in our drive while we a re gone.

WicklowGyrl

DoozerT6 wrote: »

Have you checked out MindMyHouse.com? It seems like a house sitter might suit.

Might be worth a look, even just for information. Talk to your solicitor re. an iron-clad contract between yourself and any sitters you hire. Also check with your insurance company. tbh I'd rather pay a bit more for peace of mind.

I would be very hesitant to just leave the house vacant. Word will get out and your house may be targeted.

Thank you for the website. We'll definitively check it out.

ClaireKav

WicklowGyrl wrote: »

Thank you everyone for your replies.

My brothers and sisters all have their own houses and the oldest of my nieces and nephews is only 15 so that rules them out!! Of my cousins the few that I would be close with are not currently in need of a house. On my husbands side he is an only child as was his father and his mother had only one sister and she and her family live in Australia. So they are also ruled out.

Just so we look at all our options, if we were to look at using a caretaker would there be any tax liability on us? How would you find someone looking for such an arrangement? Also, would a estate management company take care on an empty house - the thought has just popped into my head?

Would you reconsider renting it out? I am currently looking to rent in the Wicklow area and there is just nothing out there at the moment!
I have lived in the town all my life and worked in the town for the last 11 years? Have great references from employer and current landlord.

It's Worth asking anyway! If you don't ask in this life...you don't get!

ClaireKav

WicklowGyrl wrote: »

Thank you everyone for your replies.

My brothers and sisters all have their own houses and the oldest of my nieces and nephews is only 15 so that rules them out!! Of my cousins the few that I would be close with are not currently in need of a house. On my husbands side he is an only child as was his father and his mother had only one sister and she and her family live in Australia. So they are also ruled out.

Just so we look at all our options, if we were to look at using a caretaker would there be any tax liability on us? How would you find someone looking for such an arrangement? Also, would a estate management company take care on an empty house - the thought has just popped into my head?

Hi there, would you re-consider renting? I have lived in the town all my life, and have been in full time employment in the town for the past 11 years. Very reliable and have great references from both employer and my current landlord. Thought this was worth a cheeky shot as there is nothing to rent in Wicklow at the moment!?
Even if not myself and my family, someone would appreciate and look after your lovely home I'm sure. X

Auscast

WicklowGyrl wrote: »

Any advice / opinions gratefully received

Hi WicklowGyrl,
Please consider this option, we're a family from Wicklow town (our 3 young kids go to Bethlehem school) and yesterday we were given notice after just a year tenancy as the owners intend to sell, so we're desperately in need of quickly finding a 4 bed home for our family in the town. We have great references from estate agents (that you can call) and will treat your home with great respect and pride. I work in Dublin in a good job... Can we connect over PM and at least explore this option? We even have a local agent that could even make the management as painless as possible, while giving you an income while you're away. (Check your PMs) Thanks.

WicklowGyrl

Hi,

I would like to thank everyone who has offered advice, opinions and suggestions.

We are going to reconsider our decision of not letting it out. However, whether this happens or not will depend on the outcome of meetings we have arranged with a local estate agent and a tax accountant.

Whilst we still have reservations about renting it out it does seem a shame to leave it idle when there is such a shortage of houses for rent in the country. It has never been a house to us it has always been our home so maybe it could be a home to someone else whilst we try out life in Canada.

My apologies for the slow replies, there just seems to be so much to do and not enough time to do it all!!

Once again thank you.