Sell up and rent - thoughts?

AlexMac

Carpe Diem, Dave

CarpeDave wrote: »

...
Our monthly income is around £3,500, while we’re spending around £4,500 (including £1,300 a month of debt repayments).
We are giving serious consideration to selling up, investing the proceeds and renting a house of a similar size for the next 10 or 15 years....

In your choice of nametag, and in the way you ask the question, you've already answered it. So ignore the prudent moralists above.

Sell up, spend up, seize the day and live life to the full. After all, that also brings the incidental benefit that if you ever need intensive homecare, or worse, residential or nursing care in 20-odd years from now , after 80 years of living high on the hog, you'll have no assets so the state will pay...

...or will it? Because although I'm a glass half full sort of chap, recent years' experience suggests that 20 years into the future, the past 20 years' deterioration in Health and Social Care funding will not have reversed... aggravated by a dearth of cheap migrant labour willing to wipe your 4r5e for peanuts?

But you don't have to worry about that as your philosphy makes clear

CarpeDave wrote: »

...We believe that life is for enjoying now, rather than for struggling every day so there might be something for the children to inherit one day.

Just don't tell the kids

AdrianC

There is a certain irony in the OP splooging through his good fortune in inheriting a life-changing amount, while denying his own kids the change to inherit anything.

Crashy_Time

AdrianC wrote: »

Five years ago, you inherited £600k.
Now you have a £450k house and £50k of debts - which means you've burned through £200k, or a third of that inheritance, in just five years - £40k/year on average on top of your income...
Your income is considerably more than national average and you are not paying any rent or a mortgage - yet it's barely standing still. You are effectively paying off just £300/month of your £50k debts.

You say "life is for enjoying, not struggling", but that doesn't mean that you can continue to outspend your income.

Cut back on the expenditure and sort the debts NOW. Anything else is delaying the inevitable. Selling the house and spending £1,500/month in rent is just going to increase your outgoings.

DFW is where you want to be posting. They can help to put your situation into perspective, and help you to rescue something before it's too late.

The house will almost certainly be worth less after the Brexit drama plays out.

Bossypants

Crashy_Time wrote: »

The house will almost certainly be worth less after the Brexit drama plays out.

But the family will still be able to live in it just the same (rent and mortgage free to boot).

haras_nosirrah

Don't do it

At the moment you have security in having a mortgage and rental free property. If you have spent money on renovations and maintenance then it should be in good nick. If you sell, spend through it and end up in rented accommodation then you will look back with regret as you will then be at the whim of the landlord who can raise the rent or kick you out with little notice. If a job loss or illness happens and you go cap in hand to the state then they could look through your statements and see that you have been wasting all your money and they may well apply sanctions

While the circumstances are sad you have been given a gift which could set you and your children up for life. You say you want to invest the money but we all know that won't happen and in 8 yrs or less it will be gone with very little to show for it apart from some great holiday pictures and a depreciating car.

While I get the carpe diem and live for today as tomorrow isn't guaranteed, most people do have a lot of tomorrow and may spend 30 yrs in retirement. If you personally don't have a tomorrow you have children who do and this could set them up for life.

to burn through 200k in 5 yrs with no rent or mortgage? You can turn this around but you need to draw a line, live within your income and you can sort this out. Sell your only major asset and future you will be kicking current you

quantumlobster

Crashy_Time wrote: »

The house will almost certainly be worth less after the Brexit drama plays out.

Change the record, mate.

p00hsticks

AlexMac wrote: »

After all, that also brings the incidental benefit that if you ever need intensive homecare, or worse, residential or nursing care in 20-odd years from now , after 80 years of living high on the hog, you'll have no assets so the state will pay...

The OP's only 46 - at the rate they're spending they'll be living on the streets before they even reach state retirement agem so I think paying for residential care in their old age is the least of their concerns.

zagubov

The worst feeling in the world is "If only ...".
You'll be experiencing this if you either sell off your main asset-your house, or squander your money in the way that seems to be happening.

A person your age is likely to be around for at least forty more years, and your kids for much much longer.

So forget carpe diem, and pop over to the debt-free forum and take whatever advice you can get from them (e.g making a monthly budget, putting money aside paying off the credit cards first, finding what you can do with the car loan, finding out if you can use house swaps to make holidays cheaper, cutting up credit cards, never buying anything online using fingerswipes, keeping records of your spending, buying secondhand, there'll be tons of stuff like this).

This won't be struggling, it's just normal standard regular living.

CarpeDave

OP here.

I've been refreshing this thread on my phone and wondering why no-one's replying, then when I've gone on the laptop there are 19 replies to read! I'm not a troll. Thank you to everyone who's taken the time to reply.

I'm tryingt to post the initial piece on the DFW board, but when I click "New Thread" on there I get a screen warning me saying "The Grabbit board is for telling people about the top deals and offers" and asking if I'm sure I want to post there. Is there a glitch on the site or is it my cack-handedness at using computers?

Red-Squirrel_2

CarpeDave wrote: »

OP here.

I've been refreshing this thread on my phone and wondering why no-one's replying, then when I've gone on the laptop there are 19 replies to read! I'm not a troll. Thank you to everyone who's taken the time to reply.

I'm tryingt to post the initial piece on the DFW board, but when I click "New Thread" on there I get a screen warning me saying "The Grabbit board is for telling people about the top deals and offers" and asking if I'm sure I want to post there. Is there a glitch on the site or is it my cack-handedness at using computers?

Hi Dave, well done for taking it on the chin! You will definitely get loads of support and practical advice on DFW. I have PM'd one of the board guides over there to see if they can help you.

While you wait, I would strongly suggest filling in the SOA (statement of affairs) template here:

http://www.stoozing.com/calculator/soa.php

Be as honest and accurate as you can be, and when you're done select 'format for MSE' and you can copy and paste it over on the DFW board. It will help the regulars there give you the right advice.