Sell or rent out?

seven-day-weekend

lessonlearned wrote: »

I have been "virtual friends" with SDW for some time now so,I,do know a little about her circumstances which is why I feel able to discuss the issues with her. SDW has been incredibly supportive to me in the past, and although we have not met in RL I consider her a good friend.

Like me SDW and her husband are both "young (ish);) retirees", in reasonably good health and still pretty active. Like me they have owned a property in Spain, like me they have taken steps to ensure that their child has managed to,get onto the property ladder, and like me, although they do have pensions and are comfortable enough, they are not "rich beyond the dreams of avarice":rotfl:

Obviously there the similarities end, because unfortunately I lost my husband few months ago.

However, I can very much appreciate that renting out a much loved family home is never going to be easy. It was bad enough selling mine and seeing my beautiful garden fall into rack and ruin .......still it's none of my business now. The new owners are free to do as they please.

I merely outlined a scenario which could work for SDW and her husband, that they saved them the heartache of seeing their much lived family home fall into uncaring hands and yet still finding a way to provide income and lomg term capital growth.

There is absolutely no need for anyone to get too hands on as a landlord if they don't wish to get involved. There are plenty of foreign investors who simply buy a property and then rake in the profits without even setting foot in the UK. They certainly don't actively manage their proerties, they pay minions to do that......:rotfl:

I too want to be able to relax and enjoy my retirement, which is why I intend to invest some of my money in BTLs.

Why would I settle for a measly 2 to 3 per cent interest on my capital which doesn't even keep pace with inflation when I can realise double digit returns for just a little bit of effort

Thank you for the kind words.

Selling and buying a rental was always our Plan A. It was just that several people said 'why sell - you've got a place here', which made us waver.

I would hate to see tenants filling my lovely Victorian house with plastic tat or not taking care of the wildlife pond. I understand owners might do this too, but at least I won't have to watch it happen.

And being a Victorian house, it needs maintenance and you can't just go and buy (e.g.) a new door from B&Q because they won't fit. A newish property is far more sensible. We don't mind if it's a house or a flat, just as long as it's the 'right' property.

Thanks all for your advice.

Running_On_Empty

Hope this new venture all works out for you, SDW. I read your posts here and over the years I have worked out that you are very caring person.
All the best to you and yours.

lessonlearned

Glad to hear that you've come to a satisfactory conclusion to,your delemna. There's always a solution even if we don't spot it immediately.

As you know my OH died last August, then mum in March and of course I'm still sorting out mums estate and keeping a watchful eye on dad, who is now 89.

So all things being taken Into consideration it's taken me several months to get my head round it all, sounding out trusted friends and advisors, speaking to brokers and estate agents etc. and working out my "master plan".

Anyway I wish you well on your latest venture.

It's all very exciting and let's be honest it will be a nice adventure....

And its new adventures that make life interesting and which keep us young at heart and on our toes.

My dad is 89 years young, and he recently rode a horse for the first time in his life. I fully intend to follow his footsteps and live a long, fruitful and busy life - that extra rental income will come in handy in years to come;)

seven-day-weekend

Hi Pollypenny...yes, I knew about your bereavements and how awful that must have been for you

It's life events that make us change direction in our lives, isn't it? In your case it has been your recent bereavements, very sad and now you have to decide how to live the rest of your life. I wish you health and happiness doing so xx

In my own case, we were just going to simply downsize. The reason we had a mortgage on the bungalow was so that we could still live in our house while the work was done to the bungalow, then move in when it was done , then sell the house, pay the mortgage off, simple.

Then my birth aunt died. I had only known her three years, because I was adopted as a baby and only traced my birth mother when I returned from Spain. I also got to know my lovely Auntie V. My mother had no more children, my aunt had never had any, there were no blood relatives at all, despite them having several brothers and sisters, none had any children.

Anyway, long story short, apart from a few minor bequests (including my husband and son) and a couple of generous ones, , she has left her substantial estate to be divided equally between my mother and myself.:eek::eek:, I cried when I heard, I was so shocked, and felt I didn't deserve it. Anyway, as my husband said, she wanted me to have it, she referred to me as 'her own niece' ( her other niece is by marriage), she also had given me a silver bangle and a watch. I have got over the shock, but I hope I never get over the joy and gratitude, thanks so much Auntie V xxx.

Anyway, it is enough to pay the mortgage off and have a decent amount left over.....so then I had to decide what to do with it..

Sorry for rambling, I know it sounds like an Agatha Christie whodunnit - long lost daughter/niece turns up and gets all the money .

But now you know my story.

lessonlearned

Actually I'm Lessonlearned, not Pollypenny but never mind:rotfl: just a senior moment there........;)

What a fascinating story and no you won't forget to feel gratitude for you dear aunt's kindness, you will often remember her and offer up silent thanks. She in her turn will be smiling down at you.......

The bulk of my capital came from my beloved husbands loving care and attention to detail, from a life insurance policy he took out many years ago to protect me in the event of his demise. Same with pensions, he took every care to ensure that the boys and I would be well provided for.

As you know he lost the power of speech but his very last message to me, spelt out using an alphabet board, was "look after the boys". This I have done, ensuring that they both got off the renting treadmill.

I too will be due a couple of inheritances within the next few years, although to be honest I prefer not to think about them and I certainly don't factor them into my financial planning.

An inheritance always feels a bit like "blood money" iyswim but I know that the people concerned want me to have what is left of their estates.....they give out of love so I shall accept it out of love too. And like you I will be grateful and thankful.

My father did in fact gift me some land several years ago. At some point it will be granted planning permission. If I don't benefit then my boys probably will.

As you say lifes events do dictate the decisions we have to make and the dilemmas we face. My retirement is certainly not the one that my husband and I envisioned, but hey ho, it can't be helped.

You just have to,square up to it and get on with the job of living. I think the worst is over now and I'm starting to look forward to a revised future.....I'm sure it will be good.

As Hemingway wrote "the world is still a mighty fine place".

Life moves on.

My eldest boy has just met the girl of his dreams and we now have a wedding to look forward to next May. They are already looking forward to starting their own family.

I only remarked to my sister the other day that now mum has passed and dad is taking more and more of a back seat, she and I are now the "elders" - we are now the matriarchs of the family.

Scary:rotfl:

seven-day-weekend

Whoops sorry!! I think I had just replied to Pollypenny on another thread :o . Many apologies....

lessonlearned

seven-day-weekend wrote: »

Whoops sorry!! I think I had just replied to Pollypenny on another thread :o . Many apologies....

No worries - just a minor senior moment.:rotfl:

DianeBlack

I would rather rent it

seven-day-weekend

seven-day-weekend wrote: »

Thanks to all, we have pretty much decided to sell. Thanks for all your advice.

....or have we?

The house will be vacant when we move into the bungalow. It still seems sensible to rent it, rather than go to the expense of selling it and buying somewhere else to rent.

We think we will rent it for six months and see whether we like it or not. We can always sell it later if we wish.

Thanks all.

Old_Git

seven-day-weekend wrote: »

....or have we?

The house will be vacant when we move into the bungalow. It still seems sensible to rent it, rather than go to the expense of selling it and buying somewhere else to rent.

We think we will rent it for six months and see whether we like it or not. We can always sell it later if we wish.

Thanks all.

I was in a similar position to you .
I inherited a house and money ,sold the inherited house and bought a new house for me to live in. I rent out my old house now mortgage free .
Because its mortgage free I will have to pay more tax on the rental ,I dont mind that .As I have lived in the house I will have to pay less or perhaps zero CGT when/if I sell .