Rent or Buy?

Llwyd

I have been renting properties for many years. I am now in my 60's and in a position to cash purchase a property if I want to.

Problem is I am alone and have no dependants to bequest a property to.

I know that I would save the rent and that the equity of the property can always be recouped, but the problem still remains of whom then gets the money.

Of course, at the end of the day, my will determines who gets what.

Please any advice would be welcome.

booksurr

if you have no one to leave your money to then it hardly matters if you spend it on rent before you die or it remains locked in a house after your death, you will have spent the money either way. Pick a charity if it bothers you that much, I have - Royal British Legion.

HOWEVER, if you did buy a property for cash consider this:
a) at the moment you have a pile of cash which is able to produce an income for you as interest on your savings. Spend the savings on a property and you lose that income and also the ability to spend lump sums on unexpected big costs (new car? lush holiday?)

b) the size of your cash pile certainly means you are ineligible for benefits now, so if your income drops you will be expected to support yourself from that cash before you can claim any benefits

c) if you buy a house and then later in life need to go into a care home then your overall wealth may have risen more because you are invested in property rather than if you had simply hung on to cash savings. Therefore you may be able to afford a nicer care home and live a better life than someone dependent only on council funding