I brought a property recently and it is due to settle soon. The property is for investment so I have signed with an agent to advertise it. They have had open house for a couple of weeks but the response hasn't been great and while there are applicants, their financials hasn't checked out so to this point a tenant is still to be found. Today, I found out one of my friends is after a rental. If i rent it to my friend, I don't need an agent in between because it is a good friend and I trust them. Would I be able to do this and terminate my agency agreement? I'm not renting it out via another agent so do I need to provide the termination notice?
Avoid renting to friends or family, it's difficult to stay uninvolved. Eg giving them a break when they can't afford rent, or not raising it inline with market. Putting a property manager in place can help, makes it more arms length.
I have found that the only thing worse than renting to friends is renting to family. Maybe it's just my family and friends but try your luck.
I think you would be crazy to rent to friends or family. They will take advantage of you and pay late or sometimes maybe not at all. It won't be because they are intentionally trying to cause harm to you. It will be because people are inherently self centred and think of the situation entirely from their point of view and not at all from yours. From their point of view you are mega rich to be able to own a house so if you don't get your money on time or if it comes late, it's no big deal because you have lots. Regarding "it is a good friend and I trust them" - Trust comes in many aspects. You can trust them to be there to listen to your problems when you have one. You can trust them to give you some time when you need a favour. Neither of things things has anything to do with whether they you can trust them with your money. Separate these things in your mind. We all have friends who we care about and care about us by they simply are incapable of being responsible with money and if yours is in their hands, you ain't getting it back. I have been down this road with both of my two closest friends and I could not believe how they treated me when it came to money. I trust them to be there when I have personal problems and I trust them to make time for me when I need it. None of this comes into it when money was involved. In their mind, I am rich (in comparison to them living month-to-month), so it is totally ok if they did not pay me money they owed in a reasonable time (or at all). Just don't do it. Drop the rent by $20 and find someone else. You can probably raise it by that much in a year. $1,000 might sound like a lot of money, but firstly you get a third off for tax deductions, and $650 less is a very easy decision to make if you ask someone who has been through it. ALWAYS keep money out of relationships.
You could try renting to the friends or family of @datto (but given post # 5, without any aspersions cast in any way...), due caution should be exercised in your final determination. As a test, why dont you ring up 5 of your friends and 5 of your family and ask them if it's OK if you move in for a "while" (and maybe even at Mate's Rates...) and see how they feel about such such an arrangement? This should give you a heads up...
