Mortgage Free Then Travel World 2 May 2016 at 2:24AM in Mortgage-free wannabe 5 replies 887 views

DanGray90

I am soon going to put down a mortgage to a cheap studio apartment. I am going to pay off the mortgage as quickly as possible.

My question is:

After paying off the mortgage could I rent out the property which would be my income to travel the world. I would travel the world from communes to volunteer projects and then leave when I would be ready to move on, never having to worry about a steady stream of income coming in.

Is there a flaw in this plan that I don't know about? Apologies if I'm being naive.

Thanks

want2bmortgage3

Sounds good you will just have to pay tax and estate agent fees for managing it while your away

DanGray90

Thanks for the reply.

Do you have any idea how much that would cost? I've heard it can be quite costly.

User1489

The Buy to Lets in my block - the tennant pays £1100, and the guy above me said they take 10% - but he has to do absolutely nothing so feels he gets an okay deal.

want2bmortgage3

Hi Dan, it's a great idea you have. I have similar thoughts, like the idea of travelling and freedom but also want something to come back to, not go back to square one.
Once you've paid off the mortgage you would have to pay an agent 10-12%+vat to manage the property and standard tax on the income minus expenses. So you should get about 80% of the rent each month. Also you would need an emergency fund for boiler repairs etc.

LadyGnome

I would build in a bit of a buffer for void periods as you may have a bit of time between tenants for cleaning and maintenance. Depending on how long you are planning to travel you might need to file your tax return remotely. You can offset either 10% of rent as wear and tear or actual cost against income for tax purposes but from memory you can't switch from one to the other once you have elected.