My parent want to sell there house and get rented bungalow

jamestay1

My parents (mum 70 and dad 68) are thinking off selling the 4 bedroom house and renting a 2 bedroom house (the other room for me,the remaining 'child' at home.
My dad is thinking of retiring soon and my mum wants an hassle free life away from looking after an house.
the house is worth about £150,00 and they owe £12,000 mortgage on it, they both have good pensions but would it be a good idea to rent ??

thanks

Dunroamin

jamestay1 wrote: »

My parents (mum 70 and dad 68) are thinking off selling the 4 bedroom house and renting a 2 bedroom house (the other room for me,the remaining 'child' at home.
My dad is thinking of retiring soon and my mum wants an hassle free life away from looking after an house.
the house is worth about £150,00 and they owe £12,000 mortgage on it, they both have good pensions but would it be a good idea to rent ??

thanks

Why not just sell the 4 bed and buy a 2 bed bungalow? Private rentals have little security which is particularly unsuitable for older people.

jackomdj

If they are private renting and not in some kind of retirement rental scheme the only real problem I could see is that they end up having to move several times if landlords decide they no longer want to rent to them.

I hope whatever they do turns out well for them.

Fire_Fox

Much easier to be a tenant than an owner occupier - no repairs or maintenance, no mortgage.

Callie22

Fire_Fox wrote: »

Much easier to be a tenant than an owner occupier - no repairs or maintenance, no mortgage.

But as Dunroamin noted, there's little security of tenure. I'm in my 30s and moving every year or so is a hassle - I'd hate to be having to do that in my 60s/70s. Also, if they do have to move fairly regularly there's always the possibility that they won't be able to find suitable housing. Certainly in my area rented bungalows are fairly scarce, and they tend to be more expensive than a house with a similar number of bedrooms - that needs to be factored in when thinking about costs, along with the costs of possibly five or six house moves over the next ten to fifteen years.

Fire_Fox

Callie22 wrote: »

But as Dunroamin noted, there's little security of tenure. I'm in my 30s and moving every year or so is a hassle - I'd hate to be having to do that in my 60s/70s. Also, if they do have to move fairly regularly there's always the possibility that they won't be able to find suitable housing. Certainly in my areas rented bungalows are fairly scarce, and they tend to be more expensive than a house with a similar number of bedrooms - that needs to be factored in when thinking about costs, along with the costs of possibly five or six house moves over the next ten to fifteen years.

Nothing stopping them applying for social housing, yes you can do this as a homeowner.

pinkshoes

I can't think of anything more stressful than moving into rented!

I'd tell them to BUY a 2 bed bungalow.

Owain_Moneysaver

Callie22 wrote: »

Also, if they do have to move fairly regularly there's always the possibility that they won't be able to find suitable housing.

And many landlords may be unwilling to offer tenancies to people not in work. Also it can be difficult or impossible to made adaptations to a rented property - or even to put up pictures and bookshelves.

Dunroamin

Fire_Fox wrote: »

Nothing stopping them applying for social housing, yes you can do this as a homeowner.

Why would anyone want to live in social housing and pay rent when they could own their own property?

rosyw

I would have thought that buying their own bungalow would be preferable, and if you are living with them, (or even if you're not), then lending a hand with any maintenance wouldn't go amiss!

Fire_Fox

Dunroamin wrote: »

Why would anyone want to live in social housing and pay rent when they could own their own property?

In the case of the OP's parents "My dad is thinking of retiring soon and my mum wants an hassle free life away from looking after an house."

In the case of my seventy + maiden aunt (owns outright) because they are starting to consider sheltered housing, doesn't feel they can afford to buy a bungalow outright and pay the ongoing charges, doesn't want another mortgage. My other seventy + aunt (also owns outright) has slowly spent her savings and slowly letting her house deteriorate, her husband is unwell and she isn't any good at maintenance.

One compromise is a leasehold flat where a lot of maintenance is done for you, but not everyone wants to commit to quarterly service charges and possibly thousands in major works in their twilight years. This is what my parents have done, but they really are very comfortably off so no major works are going to wipe them out.

Another option is to go into rented, decide it is absolute pants and buy somewhere in a couple of years! It's an extra move, but does mean the OP's parents would be in a strong chain free position.