We've been letting our house in the Lake District for almost 9 years. It is our family home and most of the refurbishment I did myself. So, when we decided to FHL it whilst on a series of overseas postings, we thought it would give us the flexibility to use it when we wanted to. Because we had lived in it for four years, we hoped that most of the teething problems had been resolved.
It's a big house over four floors - five bedrooms, two en-suite double rooms, two other bathrooms, two large sitting rooms with open fire, huge kitchen and dining room, utility room, garden and parking for three cars. The house is furnished with antiques and nice artwork; we had the dilemma that we couldn't afford to refurnish it when we let it, so apart from one or two precious items, the furniture has remained, and has survived. Decoration-wise, we've stuck with variations of BMW - Beige, magnolia and white. We also keep a detailed list of what paints we have used where - the busy parts of the house (hallway and stair case - 7 flights of stairs) we've used Farrow and Ball on the walls because of its coverage, finish and resilience. A winter job for me is to do the gloss-work in the house.
We use one of the largest FHL companies in the Lake District, who seem to have the greatest market penetration and they gave us very good advice on preparation - plus access to their buying power for crockery, linen etc. We agonised about pets - most people going to the Lakes take a dog so we didn't want to exclude a significant part of the market, but the company advised against it for all the reasons that you've mentioned. And, as you've pointed out, not everyone is a responsible owner. In spite of it being a no dog property, when I deep clean the carpets on a 6 monthly cycle, a huge amount of dog hair emerges...and we had a complaint recently about it after our dog - a golden retriever - had stayed with us as we did some work on the house. We had been meticulous about cleaning (did it ourselves to save the £150 turn around) but some hairs had been found. We offered them a 10% discount on the next booking.
But we've had very few guest problems. Typically we get a vertical family: grand-parents, parents and children, or two families - often to commemorate a wedding anniversary or somesuch. We have regulars from the Netherlands and the US. However, we banned one group who smoked in the property, disconnected a smoke detector and brought muddy bikes into the house. Just over a year ago , the wash-hand basin in one of the shower rooms was inexplicably broken, and a glass top protecting a chest of draws was also smashed. We had one guest complain about the feather duvets so we replaced all with synthetic ones, and the pillows. That was a big expense: 16 duvets, 16 pillows.
As far as I am aware, we've not had anything stolen and our library seems to accumulate a good selection of novels (to supplement my military history, intelligence and international relations titles...). We accumulate specs, CD/DVDs, cutlery, chargers, torches and walking equipment - a very nice day sack, hiking first aid kit and several walking poles. We advise the agent but they are rarely claimed! Recently, we decamped our collection of DVDs up to the house and I am pleased to say that they seem to be used, even though we have good broad band coverage now.
One of the smartest decisions we made was to replace the 87 (yes, 87) bulbs and halogens around the house with LEDs. Previously, the halogens in the kitchen would fail on a regular basis; the candle bulbs in the chandeliers would go etc. Since I have not needed to replace a single LED and our electricity bill plummeted. The garden security lights were a problem due to an intermittent cable fault so I have replaced those with solar powered PIR LEDs - very effective. I've also replaced the smoke and CO detectors with an integrated wifi system. Not cheap, but it means that if one sounds, they all sound; if you silence one, the only one still sounding is at the source of the trouble. Previously, if the kitchen one sounded, it couldn't be heard in the attic rooms.
We lost quite a bit of income two years ago when we tackled a roof leak in a 20 year old extension. As is so often the case, the problem was much bigger. The extension hadn't been properly tied to the house and had rotated slightly, causing leaks. It became a major (and expensive) job to sort it out, but in the process we upgraded the balcony and replaced all the rainwater goods at the rear of the house (4 stories) and tidied them up.
Most of our bookings are repeats and it's interesting to read the guest book comments: 'This time we used the AGA - it was brill!' or 'Don't stop what you are doing with the house, we love it'. Unfortunately we have also become addicted to the cash-flow, however I've just done the accounts for the last FY and our taxable income from the property is just 4.5% of turnover (but we do attribute every conceivable cost to the property). Overheads are high: utilities, (water is about £1000 pa), insurance, turnarounds, booking fees, replacements, re-decs, upgrades, rubbish collections (as it is regarded as a commercial property), maintenance contracts with British Gas, statutory testing... Luckily, now that I am back in the UK and have a bit of time on my hands, I can do most of the redecoration and maintenance myself.
One problem we are trying to tackle is grounds maintenance. My in-laws - keen gardeners - happily mowed the lawn and maintained the beds, the pots and window boxes. Now they are both a bit frail so we are seeking other ways of maintaining the garden. The quotes we've received are eye-watering. Our property manager who supervises the cleaning and is the key-holder, has just told us she's retiring through ill-health (and, coincidentally, has offered to sell her thriving business to us). Good property managers and cleaners are essential and they are also as scarce as hen's teeth in the Lake District. We've got until September to source a replacement cleaning contract that we can rely on.
PS: There are several weeks free in September and October. 20% discount to Arrsers...