Inherited Property

blackbirdxx

I am fortunate to have inherited a small bungalow from mylate Mother down in Devon and it has left me with a few choices to make. Sellingthe property and putting the money into a low rate savings account is not anoption and as the choices are purely financial, I was wondering what you guysout there would do….…

· Sell the bungalow and invest the money(where???)

· Keep the bungalow in Devon and rent it out,managed by an agent.

· rent it as a holiday let for say 6 monthsof the year, again managed by an agent.

· Do I sell it and buy another property to rentout in perhaps Croydon where I live or somewhere else affordable in London.This is currently my favoured option as it will be close by but there areselling/buying costs to consider. Also, my feeling is that Croydon house priceswill increase far more rapidly than down in Devon and the area is being significantlyregenerated following the riots the other year. In order to improve my pensionnow that I’m 56 years old, my thought was perhaps to get a small mortgage oversay 10yrs, while I still can, to allow me to buy a better property to rent.

· Or do I do something else??



Any ideas appreciated. Many thanks in advance.

Pixie5740

Without any figures it's impossible for anyone to give you advice. What kind of rental yields are you looking at in each of your scenarios?

Property is a long term investment and we don't know when you plan to retire.

agrinnall

Of course putting the cash into a savings account is an option, if you don't want to consider it that's your choice but discounting it completely is really not sensible.

getmore4less

Do you want or will ever want a this house in Devon, visit, retire etc.

Once you decide that then the other choices become clearer.

One option you seem to have overlooked is invest in where you live, bigger place smaller mortgage etc.


56 is getting close enough to be thinking about your next/last move and you have new options based on a bigger capital base.

G_M

What's your salary?
What are your living expences?
What current savings do your have?
Investments?
Pension?
How old are you?
Married? Kids?
What about next year/ 5 years?
Any dreams? What are they?
Fancy a holiday? New car?
Got any debts? What kind? How much? What interest rates?

Jeez and I've hardly started but no way can anyone advise till you answer in full.

(plus of course all the financial Qs about the property value, rental yield, agent costs or will you self-manage tc etc)

.....

ognum

Firstly I am sorry for your loss.

Now, what are your feelings for the house in Devon, does it have great sentimental attachment? Would you go there on your holidays or maybe retire there in the future?

If you are only looking for an investment and you want it to be in property then I would sell and buy somewhere closer to where you live in an area you know.

Without knowing your spread of assets we can't tell you whether to stick with propert or invest elsewhere. But, never have all your wealth in one place. If you have a good pension, savings and investments and some property as well it's a good spread.

Think long and hard, draw up a spreadsheet / buisness plan and work out the expenses and costs of each idea. That is the only way you can work out what's best.

blackbirdxx

Apologies for the vagueness of my question. I guess I was after the general answer that Ognum came up with. I'm new to this forum so many thanks to all those who took the time to respond.

AdrianC

Holiday rent may be the most lucrative, depending on the property, but it's also the most work - you need to have it fully fitted-out, including linen and kitchen store-cupboard basics, and it needs thoroughly cleaning and all the laundry done every week. If you aren't local, that's going to cost you. What will you do if somebody's holiday week is interrupted on the first evening when the boiler explodes into a ball of steam?

Holiday areas tend not to have great residential rental yields - because the local employment tends not to be lucrative, and all the incomers own their own places, driving prices up.

Don't forget that whatever you do with it, if the value of the property is a significant part of your total wealth, then you need to consider the ratio of eggs to baskets.

As for how to get a better return if you sell the place, there's a whole raft of ways to earn 5-6%+ with varying levels of risk - the investment forums and articles here will give you some suggestions, including P2P lending as well as equities (shares) and equity-based funds.