My parent want to sell there house and get rented bungalow

ruggedtoast

If your mum wants a hassle free life I really wouldn't be going into Britain's dreadful and poorly regulated private rental market.

Some landlords are fine, others are complete scheisters. The law couldn't care less what they do,and its been years since I've seen a rental that wasn't overpriced.

xylophone

Buy a two bedroom bungalow ( in area with good shops/ public transport) and


"future proof" it - accessible shower, double glazing, worktops, power points at suitable height etc

xylophone

And if they do buy again see http://www.which.co.uk/money/retirement/guides/writing-a-will/will-trusts-and-lifetime-trusts/

Werdnal

I would suggest (as others have) that they downsize to a modern 2 bed bungallow. Use some of the released equity to have the place professionally decorated throughout, take out a good home maintenance insurance to cover gas/plumbing/electrics etc, and sit back and enjoy their retirement, knowing the place belongs to them and they are not reliant on anyone else for the roof over their heads.

I can think of nothing more full of hassle than a private rental, with little or no long-term security (6-12 month fixed term max), and that is even if they could get something with no guaranteed earnings. No rental inflation to worry about, no LL going bust and suddenly selling the property out from under them, no problems with letting agent referencing fees every time the have to up sticks and move again.

At least if they own their own place, they have control over how long they live there and when repairs/maintenance are necessary, they know they have help at the end of the phone; rather than a dithering, tight-wad private LL who might think about, maybe arranging a provisional date for someone to visit to look at the repair .... then think about it for another 3 weeks before they finally dip their hand in their pocket to do a shoddy cheapskate job, on a day which doesn't suit the tenants ... so they have to re-schedule and start thinking about it all over again ...

ruggedtoast

They should just buy a decent place that doesn't need work. If they want to experience the feeling of renting too then when something breaks, instead of calling someone who will actually fix it they can call a mobile number of someone they've never met who will never call then back.

Then for a more complete experience they can go and find some spiv in a letting agency who hates them and pay him £900 a month by direct debit. They should let him in every 3 months to walk round with a clipboard sneering at their home and complaining that they aren't taking care of it.

if they want the full works they can fine themselves £200 every time they put a picture up, get rid of any pets they have, set fire to £100 every 6 months for a tenancy renewal, and finally evict themselves with 60 days notice.

shop-to-drop

Private rental does sound like a nightmare idea but wonder if shared ownership may be an option if the want to release a lump of equity? I don't know how it works but was just an idea I thought I'd throw in.

If they have good pensions though maybe just buying a bungalow outright would be best although bungalows can be expensive so may not leave much to spare after costs and paying of the mortgage balance.

MobileSaver

jamestay1 wrote: »

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 ??

How many zeros are missing from the question? It may well affect the answer!

seven-day-weekend

Buy a bungalow or, if they can't afford one, a ground floor flat. That is what we are going to do in the future. No way would we consider an insecure rental tenancy where you can't even put a picture on the wall.

pelirocco

Or apply for sheltered ( warden controlled ) accommodation , freeing up equity for them to enjoy a better quality of life , plus future proofing their needs as they get older

Just realised the OP still lives at home , so this wont work , unless OP leaves home of course

pinkteapot

jamestay1 wrote: »

My dad is thinking of retiring soon and my mum wants an hassle free life away from looking after an house.

What exactly does she mean?

If it's the housework, garden maintenance etc, they'll still have that in a rental. It makes no difference whether you own it or not.

If it's repairs, decorating etc, then yes you do lose those responsibilities with a rental.

I agree with the others that buying would be a better idea for them. Security of tenure is so important and tends to be reassuring to elderly people. It is possible (though God forbid) that they could develop problems such as dementia when they get older, in which case having a stable long-term home will be even more important.

I think their best bet would be to buy a 1-bed or 2-bed flat, instead of a bungalow. The maintenance on a flat is hugely less than that on a house. I used to live in a flat and it's a world of difference. You're not responsible (usually) for the gardens or exterior of the building. They could look for a building with older people in it if they're worried about noise, and ground floor if stairs might become an issue. There are some flats which are for over-65s only, so they could even go for those and not have to worry about younger noisy people potentially moving in in the future, though this would mean that you couldn't live with them.

If they do look at flats, check out the service charge and ground rent payable as it varies significantly between buildings.

One other thought - how much do bungalows cost to rent in your area? They could be looking at 20 years or more of renting. They'll clear £138k from the house sale. The cost of renting will generally increase with inflation but it's hard to earn interest on savings equal to the inflation rate at the moment and so their money will be eroded away by inflation over time. If they do go down this route they should take financial advice to ensure the capital amount provides a sufficient long-term income stream to cover their rent.