Buying two houses when we retire

Errata

Much of it did land in your lap. House values in London have increased stratospherically over the last twenty years, and all you had to do was sit in your house watching the value increase.
You've been fortunate, so why not use some of your money to get some sound financial planning advice.

maisie1234

Really dont agree that its landed in my lap without doing anything!

I chose to live in London (or outskirts) where the jobs are and where you can get something fairly quickly if you are made redundant. It stands to reason that somewhere where lots of jobs are will have house prices to match. We chose to have just two children so could afford a bigger mortgage. We run two cars but one is a company car and the other is over 15 years old (like to think vintage but actually just old!). We have nice holidays if we can afford it, in the leaners years i.e 2008 we cut back. I look for good fixed price deals for our mortgage so that we have stability.

Wanted a steer from the forum and it has made me think that gifting to the boys is not the way to go, too fraught with issues and danger. We have wills but they do need a bit of updating and made when the children were much younger.

.

makeyourdaddyproud

I don't consider the OP wealthy: certainly thrift and good fortune played a part but a £1m+ house is nothing to brag about. Any one buying a decent sized home in the London suburbs in the the 1980's will have certainly achieve that irrespective of the job they do. Couple that with dedicated saving and investment, then yes, the position will be enviable to someone who didn't do those things.

With the OP being in their 50's then it's hardly surprising is it?

ognum

makeyourdaddyproud wrote: »

I don't consider the OP wealthy: certainly thrift and good fortune played a part but a £1m+ house is nothing to brag about. Any one buying a decent sized home in the London suburbs in the the 1980's will have certainly achieve that irrespective of the job they do. Couple that with dedicated saving and investment, then yes, the position will be enviable to someone who didn't do those things.

With the OP being in their 50's then it's hardly surprising is it?

I don't think the OP was bragging, she simply asked a question and then justified it when asked.

I also agree it is not a lot of money to many people in the south and for many maybe not the OP it was not planned.

I also agree with the OPs decision to not involve her children if she can't afford to lose the money.

maisie1234

You have put it very well Makeyourdaddyproud! There are lots of houses around here worth well in excess of £1 million.

I am also not in the first flush of youth. There are plenty in London who have done far better but they are often cash poor, big houses due to rise in property prices but dont want to/cannot move. I have a relative like this. Has a large house crammed with rubbish and things collected over the years. He is nearly 80. There is no way he can think about moving at his age. Of course he moans continually he has no money....

On the opposite end. My brother brought a 1 bed ex council flat near Holborn. Its tiny but is fine for him. He has been there for nearly 20 years. However the lady living next door to him early 60's has a three bed. Never worked, lived off benefits and has approached him asking whether he can help her to try and get the flat transferred to her son - who also doesnt work...

maisie1234

Sorry, I am really not bragging! I just wanted get some guidance. Of course I will look into it more formally in a few years. Its just I love London and my partner loves the country. I was hoping that I could have a bit of both. With our pensions and the school fees paid off along with the mortgage I think we might just be able to do it... We also have a dog so the flat in Richmond/Kew will need a garden. Suspect about £450k. I think we will end up using it about 30% of the time. We are quite independant people so one of us might go and stay at a weekend without the other.

Of course there will be two lots of council tax although I suspect things like heating will balance out because both places will be much smaller than what we have now. This place is a nightmae to heat!

Wondering about Oxfordshire for a 3 bed house, dont want it too far away from Kew otherwise we just want easily get from one to the other.

somethingcorporate

With £1m+ at stake I am also for the seek good, independent advice.

maisie1234

I'm really wondering whether we have say the flat in my name and the house in my husbands. They are likely to be of similar value. But will of course get proper advice. I like this forum because it points you in the right direction.

Of course I wouldnt take as gospel something someone said on this forum. However it has made me think - if I popped off and my husband married someone else I would want to protect the boys and vice versa if it was me. So that was definitely food for thought. We have wills and should be updating them in the next month or so.

hcb42

OP sounds like you have earned every penny. I agree with one of the first posts that the best solution is you own them both, and all taxes will be applied naturally as per the laws, which by then you wont care, and your kids will still have some kind of inheritance, so no need to make it complicated.

I hear what you say though, the main reason my husband and myself appear to have done "well" compared to others is that we have always had two professional salaries, despite the challenges life has thrown us along the way, the same people would also note we have moved around a lot...and we have both worked independently, sometimes having been separated by 12000 miles, definitely not inheritance and definitely not by luck..:s


EDIT: I make my comments assuming on death, the estate passes to the other, naive I realise, but worth mentioning in light of prev post

BitterAndTwisted

Oxfordshire is very pricey. How about Wilts?