Frequently Asked Questions for
Homeowners
The Letting Process
What do I have to do to advertise my house for letting?
Leave it all to Lakelets as we are very experienced in this field. We will tell you exactly what needs to be done, but a lot of the questions below will help you understand a little bit better. Remember you are in control, you decide when you leave, how long you let your house for and to how many people, and we ensure that the contract is the way you want it.
How long should I let my house?
That is entirely up to you, but of course it will also be up to the guest/applicant. You can make your house available for very specific dates, or you can be very flexible with your dates. We recommend that you are flexible with your dates as you maximise the value of your letting and chances of getting one or repeated lettings.
How do I decide what price to put on my house?
We suggest you follow our advice. We give extensive advice on our website that explains both the Standard Pricing at £35, £50 and £70 per night and also the Bespoke Prices which are the prices for the property per night irrespective of the number of guests that stay (subject to your own maximum). We also suggest that the Olympic Period should be double whatever your Standard Pricing is. For the vast majority of people this will be £70 per person per night but this may reduce to £50 as more properties come onto the market. Of course, it all depends on the demand.
How much notice will I have of a letting?
That is entirely up to you. The procedure we will go through when taking your house details and advising you on terms and conditions, contract etc, will also include how much notice you wish to have. Our website that will advertise your property will only show the time from which you are willing to let your house. For instance, if you would not be prepared to let your house unless you had at least 3 months notice, then the availability dates shown on the website at any given time will always be 3 months from the current date.
What do I do if I am not sure of my exclusion dates?
Our advice is to play safe and exclude more dates, rather than take a risk of including dates and then finding you have a booking that you cannot commit to. You can limit the “Last Bookable Date” so that you don’t have to commit yourself too long a period of time in the future. We have automatic email that goes out when your Last Bookable Date is less than 6 months.
How many people can I let my house to?
You can restrict the number of people you let your house to, or you can extend the number of people by putting in extra beds. We recommend that the beds are substantial and the advertised price for your house can either be per person or for the entire house.
What type of people will want to rent my house?
All types. Just because we are advertising during the Olympic period, does not mean that we will not have enquiries from, or be willing to let houses to all sorts of people, even those not associated with the Olympics.
Can I choose who comes to stay in my house?
Not really. We can of course vet the guests and inform you, but our attitude is that we have a very clear and tested contract and we can make regular inspections.
How can I be sure that the guests leave on time?
We will be monitoring the letting throughout, making inspections (as appropriate) and contacting the tenants a few days before the end of the term, to ensure everything is in order.
What agreements will be made?
A formal written contract will be entered into by both parties, which will have been vetted by solicitors.
What about different types of agreement for the letting?
We will have a standard letting agreement with a menu of additional clauses to cover such matters as cleaning, gardening and so on.
What about electricity, gas, water etc?
The contract will have a “reasonable usage” clause, which means we will take meter readings at the beginning and end of the term. Anything that is beyond what is agreed as “reasonable usage” will be deducted from the deposit and paid to you.
What happens with the deposit?
We hold the deposit and as the letting agents, we inspect the property at the beginning and the end and we inform the guests about any retention of monies for damages. As this is not a “residential letting”, there is no requirement for us to have it held by one of the deposit schemes that the government have recently set up, therefore, you are in full control and it is our decision what deposit will be retained or returned and full details will be given to both parties.
Do I have to inform my mortgage company?
We always think it is a good idea to inform your mortgage company of anything unusual, but if you have a mortgage broker, he/she will give you advice.
