Help - really struggling to decide what to do with my property

economic

sorry if I sounded inconsiderate.

I think you may have a point. I am still young. I own roughly half of a property - itll cost 20-30k in agent fees and stamp I had already paid if I sell. perhaps its better to release equity and let it out and buy another to live in. the current flat is well located, has potential as a 3 bed and itll be hard to find something like this in zone 2.

annoying though with the second home 3% tax from april. think I will just wait and take my time finding the right one and will have to put up with paying the extra 3% on perhaps 550-650k property. I'm hoping demand will start falling so I ca get something cheap (maybe a fixer upper?).

right so that's sorted what do I do with the 195k cash earning next to nothing? the rest of my cash is in isa/nsandi accounts. have 50k in isa fixed maturing in june next year so will pu that into stocks. wat about the rest of the money given I will need some to purchase a 2nd property.

atush

i have to say I would not entertain a one bed flat.


I would entertain making your flat a 3 bed for the capital appreciation (and rent a room relief with a lodger if you like).

You have too much in property and should boost investments. Be it thru income or rent a room, or switching from cash.

atush

economic wrote: »

but you also own 8 london properties...

think it is bad advice telling someone to keep it and buy another especially when you also say prices are on the high side.

you have had a run with luck buying how many you have and with prices rising a lot in London.

doesn't mean it will continue to go up even in the long term...

Not getting this attitude.

Forget what they own, look at yourself.

DO you WANT to live in london zone 2? If yes, stay if not, move further out Get a bigger place or use extra cash to boost pensions/investments.

Prices in london may fall short term. but dont ever see (unless they have rent control like NYC) them falling over the long term. You dont worry about the value of your property short term if it is your home (and your rate isnt large nor are you in neg equity).

It is where you live, and any increase in value is gravy. But an icnrease in size of property can bring income free of tax (if you are living in it too)

economic

true. I do want to live in zone 2/3 but just in a better area.

just to be clear when I say convert to a 3 bed its not adding an extension or anything, its simply adding an internal partition wall.

by having too much in property do you mean in terms of equity? if I were to buy another I would release equity in current place to buy another (current one has LTV of around 23%). I would let out my place and over time as rents rise this can be used to help pay off the mortgage of my new place.

I am prepare to take a 20-30% fall in prices short term.

atush

with adding an internal partition this can be either good or bad, depending on t he size of the rooms left, and the rental figures in your area for the 2 sized flats. So ask an estate agent if your flat would be worth more or rent for more with or w/o the partition.

It isnt cut and dried.

economic

I already did and rents will definitely increase (as u still have two proper doubles and a new single which can fit double bed wardrobe drawers)

It won't make much difference to property value though

Why do u say I have too much exposure to property? If I buy another ill have 1.5 properties (as own roughly half of current one). Is this too much?

economic

so I decided to put my property on the market - not desperate to sell but will see what I get. if I do get an offer I will probably sell and buy in a location I prefer.


In terms of my cash savings I am thinking of the following:


use my 15k allowance this year into my S&S isa account. I have 55k cash isa in june next year maturing and will likely put this into a S&S isa as well (depending on interest rates and where the market is).


my question is that I want to put it into low cost funds/trackers etc that give me exposure to global stocks with a higher weighting to US stocks. I also want the investment to be in sterling however the underlying stocks not currency hedged so that if the USD goes up then even if stocks do nothing I still make a gain on the investment.


are there any such investments out there I can put my money in?


thanks

atush

economic wrote: »

I already did and rents will definitely increase (as u still have two proper doubles and a new single which can fit double bed wardrobe drawers)

It won't make much difference to property value though

Why do u say I have too much exposure to property? If I buy another ill have 1.5 properties (as own roughly half of current one). Is this too much?

It is if you dont have other savings, investments, and a pension.

grey_gym_sock

economic wrote: »

my question is that I want to put it into low cost funds/trackers etc that give me exposure to global stocks with a higher weighting to US stocks. I also want the investment to be in sterling however the underlying stocks not currency hedged so that if the USD goes up then even if stocks do nothing I still make a gain on the investment.


are there any such investments out there I can put my money in?

you could use a global equities tracker, which would currently give you over 50% in the USA. most trackers don't hedge the currency.

economic

ok thanks


so I have put in 15k into Vanguard LS100 fund in my isa.


this means I have another 15k for next years tax year isa to invest plus the 56k of my cash isa which matures in june which I will probably transfer to S&S ISA.


I have 45k roughly in NSandI and fixed rate cash isas (earning rates of around 2.8%) which I wont touch. also have 20k in Santander 123 account which again I wont touch.


I will also overpay my mortgage by around 12k in jan. this then leaves me around 155k earning next to nothing. I don't want to put any into pension (I have instead increased monthly contributions to pension plan).


what can I do with this money? part of it may go to costs with buying another property (once current is sold) however I will still have a fair chunk of cash I don't know what to do with.


thanks