inheritance advice..

peazz

hi all,

im 23 and just inherited a house, im the sole executor and no one else to split the estate with. Basically my father died in october out of the blue and ive inherited the estate. theres no mortage, and no savings, just a mortage free house, an unkown amount of premium bonds and DEBT.

As im not living in the area till next summer i need to decide what im doing. do sell the house and invest in setting up my future for security, or should i keep hold of it and rent it out.

Now if i sell it, i would want to invest in making sure i have a secure future, but where do i start? dad dying so young was a shock in itself, going from having nothing to have everything is a big shock.
the house is currentlly worth £309k thats mortage free, so i would have alot of room for investment, Or would renting the property out be better untill house prices in hertfordshire rise? i need as much advice as i can get, im known to be careless with money and really dont wanna be looking back in years to come wondering where it all went..

Any advice would be greatful

opinions4u

I wouldn't see property as a great investment in the medium term.

If I were you, I'd hire a competent but reasonably priced solicitor to help you wind up the estate (unless you have an overwhelming desire to do it yourself) and then I'd sell the house and see an IFA (www.unbiased.co.uk).

Newbie2saving

Firstly I'm very sorry for your loss. It really is your decision in terms of selling / renting, but you need to consider with a lump sum or monthly payment, what you will do with it? You need to look at this money setting you up for the future (also the tax implications which I can't help with as I've no idea sorry). Seeing an IFA may help, but ensure it is an IFA and not a financial advisor from your bank etc. Don't rush into anything, if I were you I would probably decide to rent the house out for 6-12months as it will give you some thinking time. Just a thought, but grief can cloud judgements and this time next year your thoughts may be different to those of today. Good luck.

CLAPTON

Not enough data to give any answers

how much debt?
how much in premium bonds?
any other money?

if you return to the area in summer next year would you wish to live there

do you have any income
is it adequate for your needs
where you do live now

getmore4less

im 23 and just inherited a house, im the sole executor and no one else to split the estate with. Basically my father died in october out of the blue and ive inherited the estate. theres no mortage, and no savings, just a mortage free house, an unkown amount of premium bonds and DEBT.

First job will be probate so with unknown assets, debts that may require IHT and a fulll return, that will need sorting before you can do anything.

Any life cover or pensions to include in the estate?

Are you getting help with the probate or going DIY?

peazz

Hey mate,

with funeral, solicitors fees and built up debt im looking at £9,000 - £10,000 give or take. i dont know about premium bonds, i went back earlier this week to check mail and dad had won £25 on the bonds, i gotta give the paper work into the solicitor as i cant find any paperwork relating to them.

theres 201 shares with the national grid which equals to roughly around £1100, theres about £2,000 from his wages and left over income from work. i am currentlly not working and living between wales and essex living with my fiancee, she is studying her last term at univeristy. ideally i need more income JSA is not cutting it, jobs are scarse in wales.

EDIT: i have the same solicitor that dealt with my grandads and nans death, being so young and knowing little about probate ive left it down to him

DoubEDIT: i forgot to mention there is 2 cars totalling £11,000 in value.

Mojisola

peazz wrote: »

im 23 and just inherited a house, im the sole executor and no one else to split the estate with. Basically my father died in october out of the blue and ive inherited the estate. theres no mortage, and no savings, just a mortage free house, an unkown amount of premium bonds and DEBT.

I'm sorry you're having to deal with all this at such a young age. It must have been an awful shock.

Any debts will have to be cleared before the rest of the estate becomes yours. If the premium bonds don't cover the debts, you may have to sell quickly.

As im not living in the area till next summer i need to decide what im doing. do sell the house and invest in setting up my future for security, or should i keep hold of it and rent it out.

You can't just "rent out" a house. You will have to become a landlord with all the legal responsibilities connected with that position. You may be lucky and get very good tenants but what would happen if your first tenants trashed the place? Could you afford to put it back into a rentable condition?

Now if i sell it, i would want to invest in making sure i have a secure future, but where do i start? dad dying so young was a shock in itself, going from having nothing to have everything is a big shock.
the house is currentlly worth £309k thats mortage free, so i would have alot of room for investment, Or would renting the property out be better untill house prices in hertfordshire rise? i need as much advice as i can get, im known to be careless with money and really dont wanna be looking back in years to come wondering where it all went..

Any advice would be greatful

I can't help with advice about savings/investment but others will point you in the right direction.

Mojisola

peazz wrote: »

ideally i need more income JSA is not cutting it, jobs are scarse in wales.

If you are on means-tested benefits then they will stop when the estate is settled.

peazz

ok mojisola thanks for the heads up.

the plan i had was to sell the cars and hope it covers everything, the cost of the estate will come under the tax thresh hold i hope, i was told it was £340k? i maybe be mis informed, im estimating with bills and solicitors fees and funeral expense's,and the shares and little bit of cash in the banks left over, and if i got £11k for the cars i would be able to cover the final bill without having to sell the house, im not fussed what i have to give up to keep the house, its a great opurtunity ive never had in my life.

Do i have to go through the procedures to become a landlord if i let it through a house mojisola?

thanks for you help already, thanks given

GSDog

Sorry to hear of your loss.

I'm in a fairly similar situation to you in that I have recently inherited a property from my grandfather at the age of 21. It can all be a bit overwhelming.

Take it all one step at a time. Don't rush into any decisions or feel pressured into anything. Give the solicitor all the documents that he/she needs and let him/her get on with the job of probate, etc. It should take a lot of unnecessary stress off your hands. Also, wait until you know the full picture regarding the total amount of fees and debt owed before making any decisions.

In my case my brother and I decided to take out a small mortgage to pay off the debt and we're planning to move into the property in a couple of months once we've finished renovating it. I personally didn't want to go the rental route because I thought it sounded complicated and potentially risky for someone like me with no experience of that kind. I also decided against selling it because I thought it would become incredibly tempting to spend some of the money; at least if I keep the property I know it won't be going anywhere and it should, hopefully, increase in value.

It really depends on what you want.

Loanranger

So sorry to hear of your loss. What an awful shock for you.

I am not up on benefits for funeral expenses but this link may help here.

I also think you should wait before selling the house. It's a big step and you need to be around to clear the house of its contents. You need time to reflect on what's best for you in the long term.
Make sure you maintain the insurance on the house and check if you need to inform the insurance company if it's left empty for more than about a month.
Best to visit it regularly to make sure nothing has gone wrong such as burst pipes. Perhaps leave the heating on very low at this time.