To sell or not to sell???

guacamole_2

Hi - Can you help?

Last year my husband and I bought a new house. We kept the original as an investment and rented it out.We'd owned the house for 6 years.
We rented the house out for a year, but now it is empty and for various reasons it's almost become more trouble than its worth.
We had also heard more and more about capital gains tax and wondered if we should get out now, rather than later, and end up paying a huge tax bill.
Also the property is just in my name - should I put into my husbands name as well to get the 8,800 exemption doubled?
People always say ' oooh 2 houses thats a good position to be in'
But is it?
Should we invest another way?
Any advice or opinion gratefully received - I want to make the most informed decision and not an emotional one!!

Rick62

If its empty and more trouble than its worth then it does not sound like a great investment. Its hard to say without knowing more, but I would be inclined to sell it, particularly as property currently looks overpriced.

If you want an investment property you could then buy a property more suited, maybe a flat or whatever rents well in your area and is easy to maintain.

To put it partly in your husbands name would involve a 'transfer of equity' requiring a lawyer and potentially giving rise to stamp duty. For detailed tax advice you would need to speak to a tax specialist with a lot more information. But remember, you only get a huge tax liability if you make a huge profit, not guaranteed these days!

Scouse_Mick

I can't help with the tax advice sorry. I'm in a similar position to you though. I moved out of my flat 3 years ago and rented it out. Its now empty and requires a lot of refurbishment which is time consuming and a lot of hassle at the moment.

I mulled over the decision on whether to sell or not. As the previous poster said the market is very highly priced right now and if this is the peak in prices as some people think then it is a good time to sell. On the other hand there is still a strong demand for property and most of the New Year forecasts have predicted continued growth in prices.

The decision must come down to your needs and investment strategy I guess. My own plan is to build up a small portfolio of property to provide a long-term income in the future. The key is the long-term bit. If I wanted to make a short-term profit I could sell and hope prices go down. However, if you're in it for the long-term then buying and selling costs mean that it makes sense to hang tight if you can.

Sorry if this doesn't answer your specific questions. I'm not an expert - I can only explain the thought process I went through and hope it helps.

Good luck making your decision. Its a toughie I know!!!

guacamole_2

Thanks to both replies - we didn't see the property as a massive money making scheme short term but are now worried that if we kept the property long term we would be stung. Its a tough call and I appreciate both points of view!
Thanks